Part Two : Where to get Supplies

Getting the idea. Well ideas comes from all sorts of places, but in general I work on a 'I see it, I want it' basis. I find shops and shows and magazines a good way to see quilts I want. Usually the once a year show in my home town is more than enough to fill me to the brim with projects. Nearly every quilt on show is promoting a pattern and a range of material so it can be relatively simple to get going. The two shows I am hoping to go to this year are:

Shows
Chilford Hall Quilt Show - Cambridge - 13th - 15th March 2009
The Festival of Quilts - Birmingham - 14th to 17th August 2009

Other places to find inspiration closer to your fingertips is via books, magazines and online resources so below is a list of good things to get you going.

Books
Quilter's Complete Guide
I made this Durham quilt from this book. There's no patchwork, it's just one piece of white sheeting that you quilt designs over. It's great for learning how to hand quilt, but it takes an age.
Fast Quilts from Fat Quarters Quick and easy. More on what a fat quarter is later.
Around the Block with Judy Hopkins This book is great because it shows you various blocks and all the different measurements you need to make them your size.
Vintage Fabric Style Very tasteful and retro
Last-minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts Small projects
Quilts! Quilts!! Quilts!!!
The Encyclopedia of Quilting and Patchwork Techniques
Quilts Galore: Quiltmaking Styles and Techniques
Traditional Patchwork Quilt Patterns with Plastic Templates
Jelly Roll Quilts This is only useful if you buy Jelly Rolls. More about them later.

Quilt shops in and around London
Lady Sew and Sews, Marlow, Bucks
The Quilting Bee, Enfield, Middlesex
Just Between Friends, Buckhurst Hill, Essex
Creative Quilting, 32 Bridge Road, East Molesey, Surrey.
Tikki Patchwork, 293 Sandycombe Road, Kew Gardens. A dedicated patchwork shop
Liberties, Great Marlborough Street. A small range of patchwork material, some of which is very nice
John Lewis, Oxford Street/Sloane Square. A small stock of patchwork material, most of which is pretty grim to be honest
Fabrics Galore,
54 Lavender Hill, Battersea. This is the place for contemporary fabric. I get a lot of spotty and stripey material from here.Here is a huge list of other places

There are also many online stores selling material. I can be a bit hit and miss as it's always easier to see material in the flesh but it's a very quick way to get stuff. There are too many to list so below I have just listed my favourites. There is so much material out there, some of it is harder to find than others. I find modern fabrics harder to come by so I have listed a few more of these.

UK stores
Sunflower Fabrics
The Quilt Room
The Fabric Room
The Cotton Patch
Quilters Cloth
Sew and sos
The Tabby Cat

Worldwide Stores
Reprodepot. Lots of vintage fabric
Pink Chalk
Sew Mama Sew. A great range of contemporary fabric
Purlsoho. An excellent range of modern designers
eQuilter. A monstrous cavern of every kind of material under the sun
Phat Fabrics
Sew Loves Fabric

Mail Order
Strawberry Fayre. A great system for buying plain fabric. They send you a bundle of swatches. You choose the exact colour you want and send the swatch back to them.
Quilt Direct. Their catalogue is full of everything you might ever need.

Other supplies
Creative Grids Everything other than material. If you don't use templates, the other way to cut material to size is with a cutting matt and a rotary cutter. This a great place to get them from. They also sell a plethora of inch rulers like you see in my pictures. A good wide, long one over 18" tall, a matt over 18" tall and a cutter are the best investment you could make. They even do an A2(in inches) starter pack for £26.79

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