Donna, is that just the Joanns in your area or is it chain wide? I would be really up a creek if our local J's stopped carrying quilting fabrics. The LQS here are overpriced and the selection is tiny. If you want something quickly (think a backing for a baby quilt or another yellow immediately or any of the other quilting emergencies), then you must go to J's. And I will say, I'm getting fed up with buying "clearance" fabric cheap online and paying so much shipping and handling that the cheap fabric turns out to cost $10 a yard. Anyway, sorry for the rant. I'm having one of those mornings.
According to the salespeople that told the LQS owner, it's nationwide. Just one store doing that wouldn't effect the fabric factories too much, but they said that will be one of the big hits - that the factories won't have anyone to sell to.
I agree, if this is true, it will be bad for lots of people.
Our local Hancock's is clean and bright and 1/2 full of fabric (the other 1/2 is that unfortunate collection of cheap, junky "home furnishings"). I reckon these newer, nicer stores would be further down the list on closings. Today's mail brings another round of coupons. Btw, their Chief Financial Officer resigned earlier this month. ...hmmm..what's it mean when the CFO jumps ship? Maybe he's gone home to make quilts out of the fabric he surely stashed w/ an employee discount. ?
I just had to go to my local Hancock Fabric store today to see if it was on the "hit list". It is not. Only 2 stores in Washington, both on the Eastern side of the state. However, the one in my area is being levelled and rebuilt, which makes me happy. That's supposed to happen sometime this spring or summer. Whew!
Personally, I don't think LQS fabrics are overpriced. The quality is much better (at least most of it) than what you can buy at discount stores.
It would be wonderful if all of our Project Linus quilts could be made from LQS fabric. :-) However, since a lot of volunteers can't afford LQS fabric, they buy what they can afford at WalMart, Joanns, etc. If the only place fabric can be bought is at the LQS, I'm afraid some people won't be able to afford to make charity quilts. Although, I will have to say that a lot of the novelty kid prints that make wonderful Linus quilts aren't sold at very many LQSs. At least, not in our area.
Well, if low cost fabric becomes more difficult to get then maybe we'll have to use our stash (horrors!) I suspect some quilters could be busy for years making charity quilts out of their stash - even if they limited it to their less expensive fabrics part of the stash. :-)
A very nice gentleman just donated hundreds of yards to our guild from his wife's stash. We'll be making charity quilts for quite a while just from those fabrics.
You're right, I could make a lot of quilts out of my stash!
Just before Christmas a lady donated 22 banker boxes of fabric to our Linus chapter. We've finally gotten it all sorted - only about 2 boxes worth were items we couldn't use. We've also had almost 400 yards donated from various quilt shops in the last month or so. As long as people keep donating, we're in no danger of running out of fabric!
I found a hunk of almost 5 yards of 'Valorie Wells for quilters only' fabric in a $3.99 bag of scraps at the thrift store yesterday (and it was my color!). There was also a large hunk of precious moments stuff that will work great for kids charity quilt backs. There was some nice fashion stuff in the bag too that I'll put on the 25c table at guild for someone that does clothes. Found too was an over 5 yard hunk of purple batik stuff. There is a flaw somewhere in the middle but there is a lot of usable fabric there. This wasn't as fun as finding vintage blocks (which I sometimes do find) but fun none the less. Sometimes getting creative in shopping isn't all bad. Takes time and is hit and miss but the hunt is half the fun. If you know your fabric quality there is good stuff to be found. A child isn't going to notice the print being off a bit and that makes a quality fabric a second. Some quilt stores can be overpriced but I have never heard of anyone getting rich running one. Taria
D> Personally, I don't think LQS fabrics are overpriced. The quality is much
Well, I could wish, anyway. Just came back from the local Hancocks, which is closing in a few weeks. That's it, buh-bye! What about all the employees? Like the woman who's worked there for 20 yrs, and the one who's been there for 25 yrs.? Too bad, so sad: you're out'a here!
So, while everything is 20-40% off, I stocked up on Schmetz needles, some batiks, the bandana fabric no one else carried, and then I found a bolt of Northcott's Herbal Garden of the same quality as what I got online but at 1/4 of the cost , so I got all 12 1/2 yds for 50% off their price. Yee-Haw! I'm going to miss this store, because of the bargains on some good fabric, because of their "house line" fabric (good but not best quality), and because of the very, very friendly people who work there. And I told them so and we had a commiseration moment. *sigh*
There's no rhyme or reason to these closings, far as we can tell. Maybe someone just threw a dart at the map? Or put all the names in one bucket and chose 134 to black ball? 'Cause our Arlington store has been busy; the next closest is 25 miles north in the mid-cities (Hurst), an older location which does not entice me.
So, with all of us interested in fabric and sewing notions, all of us wanting a bargain when we can find it, with Wallyworld closing most of their fabric depts (no matter what individual employees say, the corp. has said the fabric is going away), with Joann's carrying less of the 100% cottons we want, with Hancocks in bankruptcy and expected to disappear, WHO has the fabric? Why isn't *someone* paying attention? Quilting is a $4 Billion dollar industry ($6 Billion if you add the quilters' travel and extended publishing industry). Quilt shops can't cover this kind of trade. So why isn't some retailer stepping up and saying, "We will!"?
That's really too bad Sandy, about the long-time employees. I hope they're going to give them some kind of severance package for all their years of dedicated service to the company. I'm wondering about all the fabric stores disappearing too. While I buy a lot online, I still love to go to the fabric stores when the "mood" hits, to find something fresh and new, and be able to touch and feel and walk around with a bolt or two under my arm, looking for a match. I'm thinking that all the online stores have perhaps put a huge dent in the revenue generation of the traditional brick and mortar fabric stores. So many women are crazy-busy anymore and simply don't have the time to "shop". I know I did probably
90% of my Christmas shopping online last year, and that has got to have an effect on local stores, etc. I'm glad our Hancock's here will be safe, just closed for a while for a rebuild. I hope the women at your local store can find something even better, somewhere down the road. Bless their hearts.
I ran over to our Hancock's today to see if there was anything I missed earlier this week. If their normal business would have been anything like the crowd that was over there today, they wouldn't be filing Chapter 11!!! I didn't see anything I wanted to stand in line for. However I did find a few things at the Bernina store that's located inside the Hancock's store!! They had some of the John Flynn precut batik quilt kits for half off. Those are really nice. I figure at that price they would make great gifts....finished or not!
But not all charity quilt makers work in organized groups. The big groups are not in all localities, and there are small local charities to donate to as well. There are many people who work as a single charity quilt producer, and they would no longer be able to afford to if the fabric available is out of their price range. Debra in VA See my quilts at
Sandy, I can't speak for anyone else but for me this is how it works. I can buy 2 or 3 yards of fabric at Walmart, Joann's or Hancock's for the price of
1 yard at the LQS. Since my money goes further that means I can build my stash and make more quilts. I can give those quilts away and make someone happy. At the LQS prices I would not be able to build a stash, makes quilts to give away or anything like that. I would only be able to afford quilts for my family. As it is, I have to save for months just to have $100 to spend on my rare trips to Hancock's. If the LQS were the only place I could buy fabric then I would have to give up quilting because I simply could not afford to make quilts at their prices, especially if I had to pay LQS prices for the backing as well as the top. I realize that the fabric is usually a bit better quality than what Walmart/Joann's carries but that's something I've learned to deal with. I love quilting and being able to share them with others. As far as LQS's being overpriced, I can find fabric at Walmart/Joann's for $3.96/yd that is just as good a quality as the $8.99/yd at the LQS.
This is one reason that I quit participating in swaps and stuff. My fabric comes from Walmart, Joann's and Hancock's because I can afford more of it than I could at a LQS. I know a lot of people don't want fabric from those stores because they don't feel the quality is up to their standards. So rather than offend someone by sending fabric that they feel is inferior, I just don't participate. I have also learned to be very selective about who I send squishies to for the same reason. If this sounds harsh or selfish or whatever, I don't mean for it to, but I know what my budget can handle, especially if I want to share with others. But that's just me. Maybe I'm overly sensitive about it but it would hurt me if I thought I had offended someone by sending them what they considered inferior fabric. JMHO.
I have to agree with you on everything here. I've never found any fabric at JoAnn's or WalMart that was not good fabric. Maybe not the same prints or same feel, but they hold up very well in quilts, look pretty when the right combination of color and pattern are used, and are always received with appreciation. Doesn't get much better than that.
My stash also contains some LQS-type fabric from garage sales as well as skirts and shirts from the Salvation Army. I believe in the pioneer spirit of re-using good fabric wherever I find it.
I totally appreciate where you're coming from as far as your money going farther at the chain stores than at the LQS. One thing to think about as an extra resource though is that most of the LQS shops have a sale section - the % discount varies, but many of them have fabric at 50% off & I've found some great fabric in the bargain bins. Just wanted to mention that for future reference.
I'm sure the people who are on the receiving end of your quilts are tickled to death to receive a handmade treasure from you & could care less where your fabric comes from. Pretty & thoughtful are what really stands out in a quilt!
I understand, Mika. Btw, I don't ever put the fabric from wallyworld in the same breath. The breath I would use to mention fabric from an LQS. And that's not just because of my concept of "quality", it's because I abhor the wallyworld biz. There's wallyworld fabric in my stash, some I bought, other that showed up (I don't vet fabric at the door) & was welcomed to stay.
I was asking about "what is 'overpriced' for the LQS?" What is *over* priced? Considering that many quilt shops are just getting by, barely making enough profit to stay in business, and considering that so many big chains are dumping us regular fabric-buying customers, and considering that there is a difference in the quality of fabric (often depending on where it's sold), I reckon I get what I pay for, quality of goods, quality of service, quality of seller's knowledge included. I find the best quilting supplies available on a regular basis at quilt shops. And all shops are different, some carry my favorite needles, another stocks "my" brand of finger cots, and most of the employees know more about quilting than the average wallyworld clerk and many of the fabric cutters at the fabric chain stores, in my 20+ yrs. of experience paying attention to the different fabric store venues. I no longer shop at wallyworld, don't have to, can't make me. I like the stuff I just took out of the clothes dryer, bought at the Hancock's Going Out of Business Clearance Sale last week. But Hancock's doesn't care what an average quilter likes. Quilt shop owners do. Joann's seldom (if ever) has any contact w/ our local guild. LQSs in the area do. wallyworld NEVER offered a Quilter's Discount or told us about a sale or donated ANY thing for door prizes. The quilt shops come thru', again. And again and again. That's why I wonder what "overpriced" means in regard to the overall quilting world. ;-D When the big chains no longer sell fabric.. I reckon price won't matter. I don't own a quilt shop, don't want to, but I do want them to stay open, as many as can. Esp. the ones who know how to run a business & take care of the quilters. ;-)
Cheers! Ragmop/Sandy -- it's my opinion, YMMV
On 3/27/07 11:15 AM, in article sqbOh.1095$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe12.lga, "Mika" wrote:
You do get what you pay for. As far as I'm concerned, some of the quilts I do warrant LQS quality fabric. These are the ones I keep for myself or plan to give to someone who truy appreciates them. Others warrant JAF fabric - particularly for things like baby quilts that aren't likely to be around long.
L> Considering that many quilt shops are just getting by, barely making
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