I read Holly’s comment about the padded envelope that can be filled to overflowing with fabric and no matter the weight or where it was headed, it was a set price. Too good to be true, right? Right!
There isn’t such a thing according to our post office. This Tyvek envelope goes by weight and distance as well as priority. The only thing they have is the priority mailer for a book which might accommodate more than one book that mails for $7.75.
Here is the Tyvek mailer:
Here is the $7.75 mailer:
I managed to get 4 half yards in it.
After the sale we will look at this again but honestly I am up for suggestions. Please don’t think we are trying to get rid of ALL our fabric! We are set to do another book for Martingale so we aren’t ready for the care center quite yet.
After my talk at church last week I realized that I have become that eccentric old lady who lives with a bunch of cats and dogs in her house and thinks nothing of cutting chickens’ toenails when needed. They told many stories about my love for animals and I realized that I had achieved my goal! Haha!
Get ready to watch Tim’s field across the road from our house – this took place a couple days ago. And just look at that fabulous equipment!
I stopped at Connie’s today after Bible Study – she’s working on Prairie and Pine. It just had to have a black dog in the yard, didn’t it? I love it – I want to make this, too!
So many quilts, so little time!!
There is a padded envelope. The price is $8.40. You have to order them from the Postal Service. It is very easy to do and they arrive quickly. They are not in the local post offices
Chris – is it unlimited weight and any distance?
Yes
Chris – so why doesn’t my post office know this?
Chris – is what I’m looking for PPEP14PE? It says priority mail prepaid flat rate padded envelope. $8.55
You sound knowledgeable on the post office – are you an employee?
If so, can this envelope be used to mail fabric, any amount that fits and any destination?
My envelope has that number minus the PP. I don’t pre-pay. The price may have gone up. I use it all the time to mail fabric and the last time I did it was only $8.40.
I am not an employee. I don’t know why the post office doesn’t know these things. I learned about it because someone sent me fabric in one
You can email me privately if you have more questions.
Chris – you’d have to email me so I’d have your address. Otherwise you’d have to post it here.
There is a flat rate bubble mailer. They have them at the Forest City Post office. You can also get them on the website. The sku is ep14pe_x.
I mail fabric in pretty poly mailers I get from Amazon. They weigh nothing and are sturdy.
Hi Connie! Love your house block.
Will the wind ever quit blowing. I was pulling broad leaf weeds in stocking hat and fleece today.
Exactly and I also use regional a and b boxes that are as big or bigger than the normal medium and large and significantly cheaper.
Yes
Beware of those envelopes, if they are too thick you will be charged for a package.
No you will not. I ship all the time in the padded envelope.
Is Prarie and Pine one of your patterns? I love the looks of it! Where can I find it?
Marsha B – it’s coming!!!
I love the look of Prairie and Pine. It looks like a fun quilt. I hope Telly is doing well and is able to enjoy the nice weather.
There are also flat rate boxes. Go to USPS.com and check out Flat Rate.
I don’t remember the yardage but was able to fit lots of fat quarters into the small flat rate box.
I also suggest you get a small scale, ie one used for weighing food. You can go to the USPS web site and get an idea of the cost. Especially for regular rate vs flat rate.
There is also a cheap book rate.
Drove down to Iowa yesterday to Nolting to get a roll of batting. So nice to see a few tractors in the field.
Hi
If you have a way to print out a address label use pirate ship. We have a quilt store and mail 15 – 20 packages a day. The flat rate envelope is 7.40 there and we stuff it. If it won’t fit we use the plastic mailing bags. The name is escaping me. They are grey. Anyway on pirate ship there is a rate called bulk cubic. Not available at the post office. We have mailed up to 10 pounds so far for any where from 7.8-9.50. The price is determined by the zone (distance). It is great!!! Please let me know if I was a clear as mud lol. Would love to help answer any questions
I agree there are flat rate supplies but you have to order them from the USPS website. Ironically a lot of them you can’t order a quantity of 1 (which you don’t really care about) they come in certain quantities. I called the 800# and they said just order whatever it is and any extras set out and your mailman will pick up or you can take to your local post office to return if it isn’t what you need or use. I was ordering a long tube type package. I have received orders from Etsy and quilt shops and the packaging they use I have never seen in the post office. Some flat rate boxes do have a “maximum weight” designation on them so you might check that on the website and that is where the extra charges might come into play. I get a lot in ziploc bags inside a box. I think they squeeze the air out of the fabric, that way they are able to get more in the package and also protects it if the box is left out in the rain etc. But that is why the padded envelope would be better than the boxes. Apparently paper products (TP, diapers etc) are going to be the next shortage this summer and when I was at the post office yesterday they had signs up that they were out of a lot of the sizes of mailing envelopes. I had wanted to use the small flat rate box but had to use the flat rate envelope like you have in the picture. Luckily I had already brought my own bubble wrap (from previous discouraging trips) and you would have thought it was December, line out the door, packages lined up all over the counter. I don’t know what the issue was (other than only one person working) but I thought the PO was back to normal from the holidays and pandemic etc. Be prepared you might have to educate your local PO when you take in the first one! Take a screen shot of the website and don’t be afraid to ask for the branch manager or whoever is in charge.
I’m interested in the Prairie and Pine quilt, but that one hanging behind Connie looks interesting also. What is the name of that one and is it available? I have Labradors also and years ago I made your quilt I Love My Dog and put all three of my dogs at that time, on it. I think that was the name of the quilt, but I know it was your and Connie’s design.
I don’t know about the boxes, but here is what happened to one of my packages. I ordered a cookbook as a gift from Amazon. It came in one of those padded envelopes, but it had been damaged on the back. It looked like the claws of a hammer had caught on it three times and ripped the book. It was not horrible, but I could not use it as a gift so my daughter took it😀. The USPS told us it could not be replaced by them because it was mailed as media so it wasn’t covered by them. Grrr. Who knew??
No wind today and 70*
Diane and Squeak – is it any wonder the post office can’t stay in business?
Very true! I was disappointed, but our daughter loves the cookbook—lose/win😀
A book from Amazon arrived the other day, scraped. Amazon accepted the return and gave me a full refund. Signed on and scanned a code on the web page and showed it to a local UPS store.
I did not do that because I did not feel it was Amazon’s fault and it is being used.
The cost of postal service has become very high, I mainly mail care packages to California & New Mexico,
When I leave the post office, I paid more for postal then what’s in the care package..I have mailed many masks since COVID, I use small envelopes, and put postage on them, put out for mail person to pick up , so far I have done ok, figured out the weight and postage..
I enjoy seeing the farm equipment, we have a few come down our road, most of my neighbors r on 1 & 2 acres but still a few with lots of land to grow and they have big equipment..
I like Connies current project , I do not have her talent, but I noticed I have the same iron she has, happen to be sitting next to my ironing board right now, I am headed the right direction , just need to practice ,spend
more time reading instructions..when working on quilts..
Farm equipment is amazing to this suburbs girl. While growing up we made vacation trips to my great grandparents homesteads in northwestern Minnesota. My dad’s cousins were farming the land.
Late 1960’s one of the bachelor cousins had an air conditioned combine! It was huge.
I have used the flat rate P.O. boxes too. Put a lot of stuff in a food vacuum bag, vacuumed the air out and packed those boxes. They are like a buffet, all you can pack in for one price. The fabric arrives wrinkled, but that’s why we have irons.
Mary, you are the only person I know to clip a chickens toe nails! What a mom!!!
My friend and I are going to a museum program on aprons tomorrow, won’t that be fun?
You are looking for the Priority Mail Flat Rate bubble or padded mailer. Flat rate of $8.40 no matter how much it weighs (up to 70lbs) or where its going.
There is also a medium or large flat rate box (2 different configurations) which you would possibly use for larger shipments heavier in weight, again up to 70lbs.
Lastly, only ship Priority Mail if your items are over 14 oz. Otherwise, use 1st class parcel service. It comes with tracking. Just saying. Yes, I work in private mail sector.
I bought a small postal (aka food) scale years ago. Comes in handy for food, postage, and projects – I made my husband put it in a ziplock to weigh his concrete-like stuff for a project a while back 🙂
I order all my FREE packaging supplies – envelopes, boxes, the clear stick-on mailing pockets – online from the post office at w.usps.com. I can package, weigh and label everything “in the comfort of my home”, and then just drop packages off at the post office – no waiting in line. I’ve also left notes in my mailbox for the mail carrier, asking that they pick up pre-paid packages from my front porch. Bonus – sign up online for a post office account and the shipping is a bit cheaper when you print your labels and pay online than taking your stuff to the post office and having them weigh and stamp it. Anyone can do it 🙂
I went to the quilt show in Amana last week. It was so good to see all those beautiful quilts, talk to quilters, it was awesome. Made me feel more normal. Ate lunch there too.
On the way, there was a plowed/planted field with the little green seedlings poking up. That too was a great look at the world to go on.
Yep, being a cat/dog old lady isn’t all bad.
Thanks.
Priroity Mail Padded Flat Rate Envelop
Pack of 10 or 15
9 1/2″ X 12 1/2″
SKU EP14PE_X
https://store.usps.com/store/product/shipping-supplies/priority-mail-padded-flat-rate-envelope-P_EP14PE
You can order multiple packs. The Postal Service ships these to you for no charge. Usuually takes about 10 days to receive them.
Love seeing the fields being plowed with those big green and yellow machines! My father worked for John
Deere 40 years and we remain loyal to that brand. During the years when we get to Forest City for GNR, they have a week long fair with a big parade on a Saturday. It’s a slice of Iowa Americana that I love, and at the end is always a stream of huge farm implements whose function I don’t even know. Last year, no GNR for obvious reasons and this year we can’t be in Iowa at that time. There’s nothing wrong with being the eccentric old lady who finally gets to be who she really is. I’m 76 and still working on that!
Pat Smith – oh no! You aren’t coming to GNR? I’ll miss you!
What does GNR stand for?
Betty K – winnebago’s grand national rally! People drive their motor homes to forest City for a rally – maybe Pat can tell us how many attend – it’s thousands!
OK. First Kenny and Joan Hansen moved from Rapid City to Forest City to teach at the college. Then Kenny’s parents, Clarence and Ilah Hansen also moved from here to there, too. Clarence worked at Winnebago for many years checking everything out before the vehicle left the factory. We would stop to see them on our way to Clarion each trip. They are all really great people.
Mary, I think this link will take you to the flat rate bubble mailer that hold up to 70 lbs and ships for $8.55
https://store.usps.com/store/product/shipping-supplies/priority-mail-forever-prepaid-flat-rate-padded-envelope-ppep14pe-P_PPEP14PE
I have used them for lots of items and had no issues. The cost of shipping boxes has gone threw the roof and I do like these mailers.
Mary the envelope you want to use is a padded flat rate. If the Post office doesn’t have them you can order them off the USPS.com site for free. They are like 8.55 to mail. But if you print your labels off of Pirateship.com you will get a discount so only cost about 7.75. If you have any questions please contact me I sell on ebay and do alot of shipping. Lori in Jewell Iowa