You are so right! Quilting historically was made from scraps of cloth from making clothes for the family. Now, buying fabric is a status symbol. My gosh, my grandmother would have been sooo happy to walk into a Joanns or a Wal-Mart and see bolt after bolt of beautiful fabrics. Just buy what you can afford and be content with it. If someone tells you that Joann's or Wal-Mart fabric is not any good, just ignore them.

I have absolutely nothing against the fabric quality at Joann's. My issue with Joann's is this:

You get a flyer either in the mail or online. The flyer offers a coupon for whatever percentage off any single, regular priced item, excluding certain items, of course. What are the odds of finding anything to use that coupon on? In our local Vancouver WA Joann's, the answer to that question would be just about a big fat "0", because...here's the kicker...nearly EVERYTHING at Joann's is on sale ALL the TIME!

That coupon is simply a "come on" and it disgusts me to see such blatant disregard for our intelligence!

Until just before Christmas, our local store expected customers to wait in line for an hour while their one or two checkers worked their way through the line. ugh I will give them credit: since their recent remodel they seem to have more checkers on at any given time, although I've only been in there once since then.

I think the real turn off for me was when they moved the quilting fabrics to the wall shared with PetSmart and now we get to listen to dogs bark and howl while trying to choose fabrics. I'll take my business elsewhere, thank you very much.

Um...yeah, I'm grumpy. lol

I was just telling my daughter about how Joann's used to be...and I had 5 close to home or work. Remember when the stores were more than 1/2 fabrics. And I had a Minnesota Fabrics, which was all fabrics and sewing supplies. The good old days. Now I have 2 Joann's and both have terrible customer service. The regular prices are ridiculous, and you have to watch for things to NOT be on sale so you can use a coupon. But LQS employees are frequently snobbish. (What is with that?) I have bought fabric anywhere and everywhere, and it varies everywhere. One of the worst fraying fabrics I had was a Moda from a LQS, and I've gotten fabrics at Joann's recently that were equal to good LQS fabric.

Lots of people here shop at joann's, for fabric notions, what have you. I don't know who would say a real quilter wouldn't shop at joanns. I get mostly books and notions, but have gotten some very nice fabric from them. As long as you know quality you can shop safely at any joanns and get great deals especially with sales and coupons. I got like 12yards of fabric for 60 bucks would have cost me like 150 at an LQS not that LQS fabric isn't worth it. I get cheap practice muslin, and I got some nice muslin at joanns the other day for my embroidery.

I live in Canada so we don't have Joann's, we do have fabricland and i hear the same .
i do get alot of good fabric from Fabricland.

Joann's and Walmart are my go to stores for fabric. I have never had any problems finding just what I need. I have shopped at the LQS, but just for fat quarters for an american themed quilt. I think the love pored into a quilt is the most important part of a great quilt. Just my opinion.

I think everyone should shop where they find fabric that meets THEIR needs and the qp be damned.

I do with that I had given my Mamaw better fabrics. I have always sewn and I always gave her my scraps which she made into quilts - that we use! I have an Around the World that she made for my college graduation in 1990. She used fabrics I gave her. The navy with tiny white polka dots (Easter dress 1987) now looks gray. I do believe it was a Cloth World fabric. There is a green that I made maternity dress from that I thought should have worn out but is still going strong.

These quilts aren't works of art to other people but they are to my family because the generate so many stories. I think we are missing that with all of our quilt shop fabrics!

Mikes does that.

I love my local quilt shop, but I'm doing some animal quilts for kids right now. Little kids like the different textures of satin and fleece and flannel and suede and fake fur and minky. You just can't get those things at a LQS. Lets all stop apologizing for not sticking to someone's idea of proper fabric for a quilt. Who made those rules anyway???

I find fabric when and where, make no excuses and never tell. if asked where I got a certain fabric I just say oh I don't remember and let it drop at that. no questions answered or asked.