Heard something interesting about our JoAnn today!
 

I went in to buy some backing fabric for a quilt I'm making and commented to one of the clerks that I wished they had a better variety of wide backings and she said they probably would after they moved! That got my attention! They are getting a NEW store in August in the new mall. It will be twice the size of the present one. Since we don't have a LQS anymore, that is great news! Our Walmarts have fabric, but most of it is poor quality. The only other place is Hobby Lobby. I don't do a lot of shopping on line anymore because of the high shipping costs. JoAnn will start their pre-moving sales in May and the last of the sales will be "bolts". They have to sell off all their stock before the move. I'm really going to be watching!

My Jo'anns had less backings once they moved into a new store. The selection of backings seems to have gotten pretty slim in my area at Jo'Anns. If I want anything other than the 4 or 5 they might have , I have to go online for the best selection. My choice for backings is Thousands of Bolts ... so many many to pick from.. and they list who the manufacture is. I had purchased a few from Fabric.com ... but found they have some without the manufacture listed and it is a tip off that its not top notch.... found out the hard way.

Our Joanns moved several years ago and lost their selection and just put in tons of more crap, I mean craft items and home dec. I wouldn't get too excited until I see what they put in for sure. ONe of the other superstores has a lot of each item but no different items. I would be sooo happy if we could get a different store in our town to give JA some competition and maybe they would do something better.

You can get free shipping with a $35.00 purchase at fabric.com. You can also go to retailmenot.com for a code to get a price discount at fabric.com.

Thanks for the info ChaiQuilter!

Our Joann's just moved across the parking lot from where they were. They moved to a smaller store. I don't understand why they moved to a smaller location. I am so disappointed in them.

you can get free shipping over $50 at connecting threads

Just where in Southern Oklahoma is this store located?

I was just in JoAnns today and noticed they had several bolts of backing fabric in solid colors and maybe 5 in prints. I wasn't too impressed with the quality, thought it was too thin.

Our new Joann's opens Friday. I am quite excited and hopeful that I will find something there that appeals to me and is good enough quality. I don't make heirloom quilts and mainly quilt for my own pleasure. I've gotten some nice yardage and fat quarters in the Joann's I go to in Puyallup and in Atlanta. I do have to touch and feel all the things I'm interested in. Some are too thin, some have too much sizing, or feel stiff to me. But, it is another option in town.

I was in JoAnns in Indianapolis yesterday; and the quilting notions were 50% off. Yes I purchased a couple templates that I have been wanting but not on full price. Just thought you should know. Teresa

A beautiful big new JoAnns just opened in Oklahoma City. They do have a lot of stuff besides quilting but I'm quite impressed with the store & their fabric selection. And it seems their prices are pretty reasonable, too. I shopped there yesterday & found just what I was looking for. This store is a great improvement from their old location here. The sales are quite good this week.

Our new Joann's opens Friday. I am quite excited and hopeful that I will find something there that appeals to me and is good enough quality. I don't make heirloom quilts and mainly quilt for my own pleasure. I've gotten some nice yardage and fat quarters in the Joann's I go to in Puyallup and in Atlanta. I do have to touch and feel all the things I'm interested in. Some are too thin, some have too much sizing, or feel stiff to me. But, it is another option in town.

This isn't in Oklahoma, it's in Sherman, TX. I live about 3 miles from the Red River and do most of my shopping in Denison and Sherman. I worked in Sherman for years. There is a LQS in Durant, OK, but it's 20 miles away and I don't go there very often. Texas is closer and they don't tax food, so I do my grocery shopping there.

That's about what they had here. And the solids were not impressive at all and they didn't have a print in the color that I needed, so I didn't really inspect them closely. I ended up buying a light green print in the 45" size, so it will have a seam in the middle...no biggie, but it's better fabric than the wide backings. I came close to ordering one online at Thousands of Bolts, but I don't trust the computer screen to match the greens.

We have a new Joanns and they have lots of all kinds of fabrics. I was disappointed that they sell such small spools of gutterman thread, doubt there would be close to enough to quilt a quilt with, very expensive too. Prices seem very high for about all sewing notions, guess they need to raise prices so their coupons look like you are saving money.

Our JoAnns had more after the move - TWO bolts of each of the same eight or so fabrics. You could read the newspaper behind some of them.

I buy backing online from Christian Lane Quilters, Eleanor Burns or Hancocks of Paducah on sale. White or natural muslin can be bought in large yardages from Hancocks of Paducah or Marshall Dry Goods (online).

My most recent visit to Joanns revealed the prices were much higher, and the sales not as good. A 40% coupon on one item doesn't help much when you are buying 1/2 yard pieces. AND the 15% coupon off your entire craft purchase excluded fabric.

I haven't been to Joann in a few years. Their fabric is substandard, not quite as bad as Walmart, but bad enough. I think my time spent making a quilt is worth more than that.

Besides, the closest Joann to me is an hour away. I'm lucky enough to work at an LQS only 3 miles from my house! My boss can order anything I want and I get the employee discount.

All that being said, I rarely buy quilt backs. I find that even quilt shop quality backs are thinner than other fabrics. And, I often piece my backs so that they are more interesting, using leftover blocks and fabric from the front.

Found some great prices when the closest JoAnns moved to the mall. As the prices go down, so does the selection. I did score some great decorating fabrics the last day at 90% off. No quilting fabric left by then though.

That is good news. Just remember thre will be more crafts and flowers in the bigger store, not necessarily more fabrics. Joann's has considerably less fabrics than they used to have even with the bigger stores!

When our nearest Joann's reopened after 3-4 months renovations/expansion following some bad late summer flooding, I noticed the "new spacious/well lit store" has a combination of lots more craft/gift items, more clothing/decorator fabrics, books/patterns/notions etc., but it still looks like the same amount of quilting fabric. The good news is the isles are now 2 lanes wide (so carts can actually pass each other), the store feels much more open and and the lighting is very bright. Some of the new sales staff are very pleasant... a very nice change.

I'm glad to hear Sherman will be getting a new store. That's where I shop when I get a chance to go any where. I didn't know OKC had a new store, I will have to look up the location the next time I'm up that way.

We all need a wide variety of fabric! Looks as though things in your town are going your way!

We're getting a new store in Wyomissing, PA this month. It will be in a renovated Borders store near a mall. I'm guessing that they will close a much smaller store in Reading....a few miles away.

A joanns store near my daughter that a shop at often just did a big remodel, took down walls etc for more room. They added a lot of craft stuff and house items and cut back on all their fabric and sewing and quilting items, fabric notions etc. It was very upsetting to me and many other people that were in the store the other day.

our Joanns has a nice variety of muslin for backs. I really prefer it to other backings on most of my quilts. Haven't really looked at anything else there.

Try Hobby Lobby for your backing. About every two weeks I go in an check their "clearance" table. Their $6.99 and $7.99 are generally reduced to $3.00 and $4.00. I often cut and piece my backings, so I try to pick out fabric that would go with what I have already in my stash. Saving money and using up my stash. GiGi

our Joann's is 90 miles away, needless to say I don't get there much

I was in need of a backing for a large quilt. JoAnn's is 1 1/2 hrs away from me. So I called then first to see what they had in wide backing. The girl told me they had many colors and different muslins. So I made the drive to there store......what a disappointment. No colors at all and very cheap looking muslin. Won't be going there again. I will pay more at LQS

A new Joann's is opening soon near me. I don't have my hopes up for any bigger quilting area. It will be more craft then sewing. It will be next to Hobby Lobby and Michael s and Hancock Fabric. All the craft products are the same in each store.

Fabric.com has top quality fabric & free shipping for orders over $35.00
Connectingthread.com - has free shipping for orders over $50.00 - always have stuff on sale

Good luck with the move and getting what you need. Our JoAnn's is moving down the block a couple of buildings in mid April. I was there a week ago to get some thread and the store, especially fabric, batting, etc is nearly bare. And they have not even started their inventory liquidation yet. Hope I have enough essentials to last the next 4-5 weeks. I think it is poor service to sell to the bare walls so far ahead when the shop is only moving a couple doors down. They my loose in customers what the save in moving costs.

our Joanns just opened a new store a couple months ago (moved from down the street) and it is loaded with more craft stuff than anything else, there choice of Batting is gone, they only sell warm and natural or white, the selection of fabric and quilting notions have gone down ,also it has lost its "personal and homey feeling" a lot of regulars have stopped going in to Joanns for this reason

I just received by order from Connecting Threads. They had 4 designs for backings at 104". I bought all 4 and are they beautiful. Price was good.

I go to a "super" JoAnn Fab, and it used to be good, but since the company has been bought out by another entity, I too notice a lot more "other stuff" being put on shelves and fabric section being squeezed a bit.....Sometimes I think these stores just try to be everything to everybody and loose something in the translation..........Way back when there used to be a store called So-Fro and it was mostly fabric and it was great....I think that was what JoAnn used to be because they so-fro disappeared and suddenly JoAnn was all over..........but it used to be JoAnn Fabrics now its JoAnn Crafts.............

Research MarshallDryGoods.com, they have wide backings.
good luck with the new Joanns

I shopped for backing at JoAnn's and passed on it. The print was a paisley which I love and also blue which I love and would have coordinated well with the quilt top, BUT it was soooo thin, I had to pass. So disappointed. I am still shopping elsewhere. I am hesitant to order on line as it may be thin also. Years ago fabric was sold with a weight in the description so a person could tell if it would be suitable for their purpose-not anymore sad to say.

sylviak,

Lucky you! I wish I lived close enough to get in on that sale.

Our Joann's moved to a bigger store this year. 3 times the space, same fabric. They are more concerned with competing with Michaels than selling fabric.

My closest Joann's "remodeled" their store after moving several years ago, the no longer have the selection of fabrics that they did, the store has become a crafters paradise, but not so great for we quilters and sewers, quite a dissapointment