I was thrilled when I moved to GA and had 3 Wal-Marts with fabric near me. 2 yrs later- NONE. I still resent it too! My fabric ladies were nice, knowledheabl and helpful.
My LQS has insiders and regulars that get all the attention. Outsiders must listen to their personal conversations and nasty gossip about their own teachers, as they are shop.
Oh well, there's always JoAnn.....

I fully agree!!!

I love this Board....the healthist place on-line. What a wonderful place to vent.

Thanks, JS. Couldn't have said it better myself!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I went to the Walmart IN PERRY, Ga last week and found they had the $5.00 bolts of fabric. You get 5yds on them. They still have a nice fabric dept. Although they don't have $1.00 fabric on the tables anymore, the manager usually have a good selection of $1.50-$2.00 fabrics.

They should keep the fabric dept and get rid of the crappy cheap stuff!

WM has really gone down hill in recent years. :thumbdown:

I am so sorry for you that are just now or recently lost your Fabric Dept @ WalMart. I do know & underdstand what a hardship that might cause some folks. We lost our Fabric Dept in 2 Stores sev yrs ago. And let me say that there was plenty of phone calls and emails & written letters to Corp. Did it matter or make a diff.? Hell no. We got the same generic letter that many of you received. There is a Hancocks across the Street from one of the WalMarts here & it has just got crap in it. Fleece mostly. And Home Dec. items. Approx 20 miles there is a Jo Ann Store. There is a variety of fabric to choose from, but their prices are rising also. I am not in the least bit impressed with the FQ's they are now carrying. Some are no more a FQ than I am.

Ohhhh & our WalMart Stores do not have pkg'd fabric either. No Fabric at all!!! We never got it here. Emails, phone calls and letters are still being sent, but it has done NO good at all. Yes, they have lost a lot of business over it & still won't bring it back. It makes me livid that WalMart is carrying less brands of food now trying to force their brand on people. They are just bullies. Greedy, selfish, thoughtless bullies. So a lot of us in the community flat refuse to shop there at all anymore. Carpooling, a few have decided it is more pleasant to go into the City to a Store & do their grocery shopping. I so agree.

Now, what to do about the loss of fabric dept.? Shop online, watch sales, may have to resort to Goodwill & Thrift Stores, do whatever we have to do. Our forefathers had no selection of Stores & Shops & the women still quilted. We have to be creative. Some just shop less for groceries & stick to a grocery budget. Cooking & freezing left overs or meals cuts costs some. More money for fabric that way. WalMart removing their fabric dept does not have to mean the end. Just have to get creative. And I would bet all of my stash that they will not bring back the fabric dept. Not for a few yrs if then. They have a Target CEO now & the stores are being fashioned more like Target. So like it or hate it, it is what it is. Now we as quilters have to figure out how to deal with it in our personal life.

I see your point but here's mine....We have a Walmart 15 miles from us who recently "remodeled" their store, and did away with their fabric department. Now I live in a small town, and the closest place for me to go to get ANY fabric is about 45 miles one way. With the price of gas (not to mention the time driving over and back), I'm not going to run over THERE for it without making a full day of it. I never went into our nearby Walmart's without checking out their fabrics, no matter what I was shopping for. In a larger city where there are plenty of choices, that's one thing. But for those of us in rural areas, it put us in a bind. really p.o.'s me that they don't take these kind of things into consideration when making their decisions.

Maybe we should all send letters to another chain store, like Fred's or the Dollar Stores that are popping up all over, or someone, and see if they could start a fabric department in their stores. Might be worth a shot.

Gramof 6-you have a point, 2nd hand clothes, cotton of course is a good source for quilting material. Men's cotton shirts, women's skirts - and I agree, we do have to become creative. Our little 2nd hand store in Brush is a treasure trove of cotton clothing - and the price is right.

I don't go to walmart unless absolutly necessary. They have remodeled, upped the prices and cut the choices of items in half.

We have the craft/celebration aisle....It has about 3 items for 10 different crafts....it isn't worth walking down the row. Now I have to drive 40 miles to have a selection of thread/elastic/buttons/or notions....What a joy!!!!!

OURS TOO HERE IN SHELBYVILLE. KY.

WM opened two years ago in my city with the "celebration" department and I'm yet to see that many people shopping in that section. The sewing aisle they refer to is pathetic (in my WM). I understanding their reasoning--doesn't mean I agree with it or like it--but what they call "celebration" is a very poor replacement for fabrics, zippers, patterns, etc. IMHO.

We still have a fabric dept. It is much smaller, and they have containers of fabric down the walk way between paints and tv depts.
We also have a celebration dept, which I first noticed when I went to walmart last time. There is a big sign and all the party goods almost direct center of the store.
It is rediculous looking and they had cards and streamers and plates before. Nothing too much sold then, don't know why they think it will cell now. Not unless they put stars names to it and say this one has these.. I can buy party plates a heck of alot cheaper, and get cards cheaper too. ( with many sending e cards) cards may soon become a thing of the past)

perhaps the reason for not getting over it so soon. I as well as many others in this group live in very small towns. Have to drive a good 75 miles one way if I want a Joanne, or Hancocks even.
When Walmart, which happens to be an hour drive had fabric, the dept was packed of school kids, parents, native indians ( we have a tribal area nearby) it was always busy, so much so, it ended with our quilt shops closing.
There is now nothing in my town, with the exception of my drug store, putting in a fabric section. Not too many choices, but, they have one. Can get yarn, needles,pins..
Thank heaven... but the quilt shops closed... then Walmart got rid of their fabric (they still have a small amt, not worth driving for). So they abandoned us after putting quilting shops out of business