Originally Posted by ghostrider
Keepsake Quilting (local to me, too) also has an unconditional guarantee on anything you purchase from them. If you are not happy, for any reason at any time, send it back to them (insured and prepaid) for a refund or exchange. There's a return form on every packing slip. The Keepsake Quilting store opened in the late 70's in response to the renewed interest in quilting.
I don't know for sure, but I'd bet JoAnn's called their fabric brand 'keepsake' in order to take advantage of Keepsake Quilting's reputation. And FYI, there is also no relationship between Hancock's of Paducah (sellers of only high quality, name brand fabrics) and Hancock Fabrics (the chain of craft and store brand goods).
Ditto on Keepsake Quilting being local to me, about 1.5 hrs north of here. The crap in Joann's is NOT the same fabric sold at Keepsake Quilting! I also think it's Joann's attempt to capitalize on someone else's reputation. When I walk around Keepsake, like most people, I feel the fabric. It all feels wonderful and, having bought many yards over the years from them, it is really high quality stuff.
I should also warn everyone that it is not easy to escape from this shop once you enter! After you recover from sensory overload, you now have to decide what is coming home. It's so bad, they have comfortable chairs on their expansive porch for DHs and significant others to wait it out. Happily, there is a Duncan Donuts(?) nearby for DHs to get coffee. They need it!
I've also had experience with returning something that I didn't think was up to their standards. In this case, it was not the quality of the fabric, which was fine, it was the measurements of a charm pack (10" squares?) I'd ordered thru their catalog. The blocks were off just a bit and not square. In this case, I brought the charm pack back to the shop and, no quarrel, they immediately refunded my money! This was the one and only time I've had a problem; they stood by their guarantee! Interestingly enough, that particular charm pack was not offerred again in the next catalog; I'm guessing one of their suppliers got a slap upside the head.
One last note... I was at Joann's a couple of days ago. All of their fat quarters were gone! Or, at least I thought so because the small plastic squares they use to display them near the fabric bolts were all gone. Turns out, all the FQs were in a cardboard box on their cutting counter, marked way down, to get rid of them. Perhaps you heard that their latest FQs were cut just short of a true FQ. Joann's is in the process of getting another FQ supplier. Should be interesting to see how this new vendor will work out.