Actually the international shipping isn’t outrageous. Just to see what it looked like, 8 charm packs plus one jelly roll was $40, shipping to Ireland. However for me it wouldn’t stop there as there are import duties. If the goods and shipping come to about $200 I would have to pay about another $60 in taxes. Which is a great deterrent from buying more fabric from the US -she’s says while hiding the FQ and yardage that arrived in the mail yesterday from a European shop-
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All this talk of the crazy costs of shipping is making me think I should hold another round of the Scrappy Mail Swap. Maybe do a holiday theme this time so people could craft small projects for gifts and decorations? Or 5" Charm Squares instead of Mini Charms just to change it up? Not sure…
But I am sure the $1.40 stamp could get a couple pretty squares to Ireland or Canada!
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I do a lot of shopping with Wool Warehouse. Their shipping to the USA is so reasonable and quick. I think it was free in the UK. I know they have fabric…I just did a massive clean up and inventory of my fabrics and just need to stop! (But, I can still look and dream!)
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Me too! I get all of my crochet yarn from them (Stylecraft Special DK). Great prices and fast shopping. Cheaper than buying from US merchants.
I love that yarn…and they keep introducing new colors without discontinuing some of the most popular colors (like turquoise!)…the two last afghans I made (The Harbor Blanket), were kits from them…the shipping was about $6!
It’s time to vote in the All Things Being Equal - A Craft The Equinox 2022 Challenge! The poll is live through Oct 27! Choose carefully, friends!
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Get thee behind me Satan. I do not need more fabric 
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I used to buy a lot from British webshops, before Brexit! Their shipping is still reasonable but now we have to pay VAT on top of that price. Fabric is much cheaper in the US, so what I usually do is every other year I order one big online purchase, slightly under €150. If the price is more than €150 we have to pay import dues as well as VAT but as long as the purchase price is lower, we only pay VAT. My last order was $120 incl. $25 shipping but it seems shipping is getting more and more expensive.
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Question for all of you quilters (I figure you’ll probably have the best answers to my question) - I have a bunch of quilting cotton that was washed and dried but not pressed and now has some pretty heavy wrinkles in it. What’s the best way to remove said wrinkles? A hot iron with steam and pressure doesn’t seem to be doing the trick.
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Get a spray bottle of water and spray them down as you’re ironing them. It might take a lot of water. If that’s still not working, you can do a bit of distilled white vinegar in the spray bottle. It will smell powerfully of vinegar while you’re ironing, but as soon as it’s dry, you won’t smell a thing.
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Wash it again or just run through the rinse cycle. Dry to a damp stage and then iron dry. Cotton does like to keep creases. So this should help.
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What size are your squares?
They’re 3.5", 3" finished.
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I’m not sure if I’m committing a major quilting sin, but for garment sewing I sometimes use starch (you know, the old fashioned stuff to make collars stiff) and then I iron it. You can make your own or buy it in spray bottles to use on dry items, or use the old fashioned powder variety that goes in the washing machine. I don’t pre-wash quilting fabrics but I always pre-wash garment fabrics.
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Also, I just picked up my sewing machine and it’s fixed 
I paid €65 for repair and routine servicing, which I feel is more than fair. It must have been a very easy fix! I try to remember to have my machine serviced maybe once every two years. I do the basic maintenance myself but I really notice the difference when it comes back from the shop.
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Yay for getting your machine back!! That’s great that they were able to fix it!
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That would be really fun! I missed out on the last itty bitty scraps swap and would love to participate in this one. Holiday fabrics would be a fun theme!
@photojenn - when I have tough to get out wrinkles I soak them with water from my mister bottle, then put the hot iron on top of the fabric, leaving it in place for about 15 seconds, then it repeat as needed.
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That was great!
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Right? I’m actually looking for a 5-6" square printed fabric to make it dead simple, lol.
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