A Trip To Sauder Fabrics

Last Friday (July 3), I drove from my house in NJ to my mother's house in Michigan. Since I was on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and it would be only a five minute detour, I thought it would be a good idea to stop at Sauder's on the way. Sauder Fabrics is in Lancaster County, home to many Amish, and is a bargain paradise for quilters. I had to suppress my natural urge to go nuts around all that fabric and limit myself to what I need for current projects, 'cause I still have fabric in the stash that I bought at Sauder's 18 month ago!

Here's my loot:

Two blue pieces for backs (one will go on the blue and gold quilt currently in the works) and one yard each of two creams destined as backgrounds in the Fig Tree Rosettes quilt. But get a look at the prices! One was $3.99 a yard, the other was $6.49. The lighter blue (on left) is Robert Kaufman Fusions; it was $6.49 per yard. The darker blue on the right is Konabay and it was only $4.99 per yard. Around here, most fabrics are over $9 per yard now so the savings can make it worth the two hour trip when I need something major.

Sauder's can do it because they don't have the overhead of a typical LQS in a suburban location. It is a "no-frills" operation - lots of fabrics and patterns but no samples or enticing store decor. And the restroom is an outhouse (I made a pre-emptive strike at the highway rest stop right before the exit).

They have a limited website so internet shoppers can take advantage at www.ZandSFabrics.com.

If you go to Sauder's, there are several other good fabric stores in the area, particularly in Intercourse (hey, that's the name of the town!). And the farmer's market right in Lancaster is well worth a stop for lunch or to make purchases to take home (not open on Mondays though).