Last month in my newsletter I mentioned the upcoming Fabric Extravaganza event. I received several inquiries…apparently I didn’t explain it well enough so here goes…
For those of you who have been in New England for awhile – remember Filene’s Basement in Boston? It’s kinda like that except it’s for quilters.
For everyone else – imagine 8 quilting vendors in a ballroom at the Holiday Inn in Nashua NH. There are no fancy displays, no stylized pretty quilts being showcased, we get to wear jeans (ok, so I’m probably more excited about that one…), nothing is full price and everything is ready to go home with you. It costs NOTHING to get in so you are free to come check it out and leave anytime you want. You can even come every day if you want to and not buy a thing…go ahead, I dare ya!
Now, let’s answer some of the specific questions I received…
**Why do we do this? Well, it’s winter…there are few quilt shows to vend at and we like to eat and heat our homes. It also gives us an opportunity to clear out items to make way for all the new stuff coming in the spring. We also like to make sure the cardboard recycler keeps his/her job.
**Is everything “broken”? Absolutely not! The fabrics are everything that we currently carry. For me that means all the good quality batiks and landscape fabrics will be there. There will be a few notion items that have a scratch-and-dent issue from being carted around but nothing that makes it “broken”. I have a few items that I have too many of and will be offering those at a discount. Or it may be an item that I will no longer be carrying, for whatever reason, and need it to move along.
**Is it just fabric? Not at all. I will have notions, thread, patterns, retired samples and whatever else turns up while I’m packing up. So do the other vendors.
**Is everything gone the first day? Not even close. Yes, there is more selection at the beginning but there is still lots to choose from at the end too. We often can’t fit everything in at the beginning and will add things as space frees up. Some vendors will also give a deeper discount towards the end so we don’t have to haul it back home.
**Is it crowded? At times, yes, but not always. Besides…while you’re waiting in line to get your fabric cut there will be plenty of quilters to meet, get help from on choosing fabric or how much to buy, trade quilting secrets… Everyone is very friendly. I have never seen a fist fight break out over a bolt…yet…
Well, I think that about covers it… Grab your shopping totes, make a list of all those quilt backs you need and bring a friend. The hotel has a cafe where you can get a yummy lunch too! You can make a day of it. Hope to see ya there.
Fabric Extravaganza
Holiday Inn, 9 Northeastern Blvd. Nashua NH – right off Hwy 3, exit 4. Easy off, easy on.
Hours 2/11-12/16 10am to 6pm, 2/13/16 10-3
Purple Moose Designs, Vintage & Vogue, Fabritique, Maplewood Quilts, The Christmas Shoppe, Bits n Pieces, The Quilted Acorn and Nashua Sew & Vac.