WalMart

yes, but i forgot about Calico Gals, sorry. my bad. amy in CNY

We had FedCo in Arizona. I don't remember much about it, but I do remember driving by the Fedco store every day on my way to work.

Sunny

I think some of the Fedco locations were turned into Target stores but Fedmart was the company sold to Target. I remember nobody would shop at Target when they took over. We were in SD at that time. Sol Price was the Fedmart guy. He was the creator of Price Club that was the model for the big warehouse stores.

Way OT, but what an interesting question. I just googled, but couldn't find much. The first one I recall hearing about in *this* area when I was a kid (early '60s) was GEM (don't know if related to Gemco), but I suspect they go back much further.

That's because to economists, "recession" means a very specific set of conditions where the economy is contracting. When they say the recession has ended, they mean the economy has stopped contracting, not that the hardship is over. However, it is good news because the economy must stop contracting before jobs can be created. Jobs are always the last thing to come back after a recession.

That said, the unemployment rate totally sucks!

Best regards, Michelle in Nevada

i was in mesa az visiting my sister a few weeks ago and she took me to a little shop that started as just fixing sewing machines. now he carries all sorts of machines and supplies. then he started adding material. all his material is only $4.99 a yard. they are doing a booming business and the material was just to die for. also our walmart is remodeling (really old store) and the gal told me they are going to do all sorts of material and quilting things. so hope that is true. it is 32 miles for me to go to any store for anything. i live in the mountains. hope it was ok to post. i have only been on here a couple of times before. karen from Ca. karen(kz)

i am the one that posted months ago asking about sewing machines. i did end up buying a brother at Joanns. i also recently asked about finishing the edges of quilted material. i haven't quilted yet. i have purchased a lot of fat quarters tho and some yardage everytime i go shopping with my quilting sister. hope to get to doing some this winter while it is bad weather. thanks for welcoming me. i live in northern Ca. karen(kz)

Welcome, Karen Z!! We would love to see one of your projects when you get started!

amy in CNY (central New York)

Whereabouts in Northern California are you Karen?

Pauline Northern California

I second Roberta's welcome! Do you have any QIs?

Best regards, Michelle in Nevada