Iam a shut in quilter so I get almost 95% of my material from Joaans on line and with the discount coupons can aford to pay postage I am very happy with them.

I rarely buy fabric at Joann's. If you hold it up to the light, you can see gaps in the weaving. Chances are it won't last very long is my guess but that's just me. I DO buy equipment there with the 50% off coupons--best deal in town! I do rubber stamping as well as quilting and the 50% coupon works on stamps as well.

it's okay for notions with a coupon, but even then it's limited. I do like for the artbinsatchels with a coupon. Definitely go to LQS or good online stores for fabric.

We have JoAnn's, Hancock, and Michael's. It depends on what you are interested in. Michael's has nothing for me. You can't use their coupons on books or magazines. Hancock's is ok, but I find their sale ads confusing. Sales start in the middle of the week, or they advertise something that is only on sale for a few days. I don't go there often. We don't have a quilt shop closer than 15 miles. JoAnn is two miles from my house. I buy books and magazines there, tools, and some fabric. But I've reached the point where I don't need anything more. My room is stuffed!

I wait until Guttermans thread is 40% off and stock up...Last week the notions wall was 50% off and again a stock up on needles, bag snaps, etc. I also don't love their fabric, but do love the sales and coupons for batting.

And the best part is the Lindt chocolate ball at the checkout!!

My friend said it was on the web that Joann's was filing bankruptsy (misspelled). Has anyone else heard this?

Not sure about the bankruptcy, but a few months ago the Joanns store in my hometown in Iowa moved into a different building across the road, and now my sis tells me they are going out of business. This Joanns has been there for at least 20 yrs and done well, so something is going on. Can't believe that it's just because they moved across the road!

If you have a local fabric store you like, and you're only looking for quilt fabric, you don't need to go. But if you're looking for "other" fabric, like fleece, knit or whatever, it'sprobably worth at least one trip. You can see the quality and order on line in the future if it's too far.

Joann's is not going bankrupt. They were bought out by another company. I understand that they are expanding and planning to add a lot of stores.

A new store is due to open in August in my area. other stores in my area have been restructuring.