I would like to make a quilt for a baby from some nice flannelette in shades of beige/cream/coffee colours.

Naturally I can’t find the material or the colours. There is a certain selection of colours out there but not in the shades I desire. It feels like I’m looking for such colours or should I say neutrals that are such a “latest/newest fashion that you can’t find them anywhere.

Mate, it’s only out there everywhere for the last five years, so don’t worry mate, it’ll come eventually!

I tried to search the web, the yellow pages; I called up retailers and wholesalers …nothing. Not to mention that summer is only 3 months away so we can’t be possibly sewing with something that is perceived to be a winter fabric.

I am tempted to go and search the US market as it looks like there’s everything there and more of it too. Why?

Sometimes it’s even cheaper to buy from half a world away too. Why? So what makes us so expensive in everything here? Is it because owning a continent is not a cheep affair or is it because there aren’t enough people on this continent to make the economy bustle and hustle?

I know! Hey! You want to make a quilt!!?? Oh well, Mrs, then we have to charge you triple the price. Reason? Well, if you’re able to spend that teeny-weeny free time of yours on some leisure sewing than you should pay the price for it.

(and make do with what’s there! @#!!*#!) ……. Claudia

World famous U.S. retailing Giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will end layby service before the end of this year. Referred to in the US as “layaway”, and in some Australian firms as “laybuy”, the service will be scrapped by Wal-Mart due to reduced demand and rising processing costs. The Wal-Mart layby tradition started when Sam Walton founded the chain back in 1962 catering to low income rural shoppers in northwest Arkansas.

Is layby shopping also on the way out in Australia?

A layby system allows customers to make a down payment to hold an item and then gradually pay it off, with varying time frames usually reduced during the peak Christmas season.

Pat Curran, executive vice president of Wal-Mart store operations says demand for layaway service has declined steadily as consumers turn to current options including online shopping, shopping cards and zero cost credit alternatives that were not available when the company was started.” The company is working on ways to make other time payment methods available to customers with limited credit, such as Wal-Mart cards with zero interest for the first 12 months.

In other changes this year, Wal-Mart has introduced bonus caps for hourly workers, after forty years of unlimited annual Bonuses. It has also ceased retailing guns and ammo in about a third of its stores to make room for other sporting gear. The company is also deliberately tailoring each store to local demographics rather than presenting the same stock in all outlets. It is evident that big changes are taking place in major retailers in all western countries.

Many Australian retail stores still offer a layby service including major department stores David Jones and Myer. David Jones however recently more than tripled its fee for lay-by purchases, worrying consumer groups who fear people are being pushed into expensive store cards instead.

There are also a plethora of smaller Australian retailer and online shopping sites that offer layby. Will the major Australian retailers also push shoppers on to cards and eventually retract the layby system like Wal-Mart in the US? Will offering layby services then be another way that smaller retailers can better compete with the majors?

What are your thoughts on the layby service? Is it still needed? What stores offer it in your local area? Are they all charging fees for layby purchases? Are the terms excessive? Please tell our readers about your layby experiences.