Hey Patrice, you are going to have to get a 2nd job so you can afford all those wonderful things you want. There are so many wonderful machines and fun things anymore. Go girl! Enjoy every one.

i found i can actually afford things sooner once i broke my addiction to credit cards and went back to the system my parents taught me: if you can't pay cash, you probably don't need it.

without those monthly payments to make, i can actually save up for things faster. i might have to wait for something instead of just running out to get it, but (1) it forces me to remember the difference between "want" and "need"; and (2) a $200 item only costs $200 instead of $200 plus months and months of interest.

one of these days i'll have practiced my way to having the skills it takes to make quilts i can sell for big bucks with a clear conscience. then i'll really go out of control. LOL

Have you ever noticed that we do not fully understand or appreciate what our parents were trying to tell us.............until we get to be their age? My goodness, the lessons we have to learn in this life would be so much simpler if we would take our elder's advice. They knew that what methods they used really did work, but being young, and sometimes beligerant (is there another nice word for this?) we want to do things our own way.

Well, it is only part of the growing, maturing process and we each learn at our own pace. Thank heaven we do figure it out in time and can see that paying charge card bills is not the way to go.

Peace to you sister, and enjoy everything you work for.

Oh yes, make some wonderful quilts that will take the market by storm. WE will all be there encouraging you.

:D

The lady in the fabric department in at one Wal Mart told me that the Walton family sold the company and that we could expect a lot of changes. My assumption is that the folks who purchased it might not be as service oriented as the Waltons were.

I've never had a problem iwth Wal Mart fabrics - but then, I check the labels to be sure it is cotton and not the "undetermined fiber content" some of their material has.

I also noticed in my area that Hancock Fabrics have been going in some of the shopping centers owned by Wal Mart. That could be a reason for discontinuing it, also. I used to do property leasing, and some companies require exclusive sales of some products.

Nina, do you suppose there are so many rumors about Wal-Mart that choosing what is fact or fiction is a tough job? I asked the question in a Wal-Mart Febric Dept today. She said that since employees are stock holders, she doubted they could do this without voting on this situation. I tend to agree with her.

I was trying to search for information on the web and found this very interesting site. However, how much of that is true? Just someone's opinion. http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2004/3103waltons.html

I was told that the new Super store would get to keep it's fabrics dept, but the smaller store where I was shopping for fabric for a quilt, would not. I told her the mgr at the Super store said they were NOT keeping fabrics and then told her that he own Mgr. told me they would continue to seel fabrics for at least a year. So where does the confusion lie? To date the numbers who have signed the petition are 26054. It keeps growing.

I think all we can do is wait and see. Stock up in the meantime.

scanned the article before I leave to fabric shop. really scary. Walmart has destroyed small towns and the small town feeling across America, all for the almighty dollar. Unfortunately, the government will never step in to control the situation, neither federal, state, or local because of greed and corruption. Obviously, the results of the mid-term elections are being ignored and we have another do nothing Congress. What happened to the anti-monopoly laws. And I don't even want to think about the negative effects big box stores have had on the environment. O.K., off my soapbox. Thank goodness for quilting to ease my mind. Ladies and gentlemen, keep signing that petition and get your friends and family to sign too. If they want to see you happy and quilting, they should sign.
Julie

I RECOMMEND that each one of you who are concerned about Wal-Mart do a Google search. there are lots of opportunities and information.
Open to the public. What is true and what is not?
One has this title:
Sam Walton is the ANTI-CHRIST! Here's the Proof!

There is a lot of venom as we well know. Read and decide for yourself, any and all of the subjects listed.

i've always had mixed feelings about the super store vs. "mom & pop" debate. i live in a small town. the only 2 businesses that have closed as a direct result of competition from WM were the KMart and the WinnDixie. The KMart shot themselves in the foot by providing no customer service to speak of. At first, their prices were competitive and there were things i could get there and no place else. I just got sick of standing in line forever, never being able to find somebody to answer a question, and watching prices go up while quality went down. The BigKs surviving their bankruptcy reorganization are now just big junk shops. The Winn Dixie was always the most expensive grocery store in town. i can count on one hand the number of times i shopped there, anyway, in the 25 years they were here. the prices at the other 2 - big chains, by the way - have also always been too high. i hate to think what their prices would be now without WM to compete with.
Our local lumber yards are still thriving in the face of Lowe's. the only Mom & Pop shops to close over the years closed because Son & Daughter didn't want to keep the business when the parents retired. The WM superstore shopping center actually attracted several new businesses, while other new businesses filled up their old shopping center. overall, they've added to our economy without much damage. and they've made HUGE donations to several causes that support soldiers and their families.
the problem now is that WalMart isn't WalMart any more. Sam was hardly cold in his grave before the kids sold out to a bigger corporate conglomeration. I feel now like I'm back in KMart. they piss us off at their own peril. we made 'em. we can break 'em. :evil:
found out yesterday our fabric department is on the chopping block, too. i'll make the calls and send the emails. in the meantime, i'll also be looking for new sources. went to hancock's today. their sale prices at least offer some opportunity to get decent stuff at decent prices. all i got was discouraged. (lots and lots of not-what-i-was looking for. LOL) most of the fabrics thin and flimsy - even at $9 per yard. all good quality, i'm sure. and hand-quilting would be a breeze. i just like my fabrics to have more body during the piecing phase. guess i'll have to start investing in liquid starch for pretreating.

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Are we dealing with another problem, that perhaps quality fabrics are no longer being made in this country? I have not done a survey, but I do wonder where the other stores, such as Hobby Lobby, get their fabrics. I visted their fabric dept once...and did not appreciate their prices.

I had an experience in K-Mart on Thursday that left me cold. I told the one and only employee that I could find that I would go to Radio Shack and buy a battery for my cordless phone. At least I would get service there. And paying a few dollars more to get the proper battery, was worth it to me.

My Hancock visit on Friday was uneventful. I never saw so many bolts of flannel prints. Wait, I take that back. I was in JoAnn;s Thursday and they had rows and rows of bolts of flannel, $2. a yard, if I recall properly. I did not need flannet and did not want to make a flannel quilt. Perhaps I should.
I have not gotten a flyer in some time. I signed up for it again, and still am not getting one. Did anyone else get one recently???

I got a flyer from JoAnn's sometime in the last couple weeks, I think, not much in it for me. I was there today. I, too, thought there was alot of flannel, an odd item to have this time of year. Kind of made the rounds of fabrics shops today. Got a good chance to compare. Of course, I had to go to the big city 25 miles away. The privately owned shop was nice, but the fabric was very expensive for me, so I didn't buy much. While there, a regular customer came in, and the clerk was very helpful, had even set back some fabric she thought the customer would like. I live too far away to be a regular customer. JoAnn's and Hancock's both were very busy, but I thought Hancock's had a better selection to choose from. It's strange that the busiest departments are the fabric aisles, but the biggest departments are the home decorating, in both stores. Go figure. I also stopped at a WM superstore just to check it out, their fabric department is much bigger than our local one. This WM is right on the edge of the city, close to a large Amish community, so they may be keeping this one. I didn't have the opportunity to ask a clerk. The thing is, if our local WM gets rid of the fabric, I will no longer shop there, not because of a protest, but because the fabric is what draws me there in the first place. I usually buy other stuff in other departments, but with no fabric, no need to go. I can and do buy groceries, etc. at locally owned stores. Prices may be a little higher, but they give so much back to the community, donating food and other things to local events. When our local Explorer Scout troop wanted to have a fundraiser at the WM a few years back, they had to jump through hoops to get the o.k.
The bottom line, some of us like WM, some of us don't. We should all do what we're comfortable with, buy where we're treated right, and maybe agree to disagree.
Julie

I buy alot of my fabrics in walmart and joanns(just because I don't have much of a choice), but in both stores the shelves have been bare of cotton quilt fabric. All the employees in both places think that there has been a problem with production of these types of fabrics in the last few months. Our walmart finally started getting alot of bolts in the last couple of weeks, so they are getting better, but Joanns is really running low.
I think they kind of shot themselves in the foot when they thought everyone was making those fleece tie blankets, so that is where they invested their money. I've noticed its slowing down with fleece, so maybe we'll start seeing some cottons coming in.
Plus our Joanns just had a big sell on everything clearance. Everything was only a dollar a yard-it was only one day-boy did I clean up. Took several bolts home with me!!!!! But then again, I spend about $150-200 a week on fabric.

Boy, you're right about the fleece. I got so tired of all that fleece, having to wade thru those aisles to get to what I wanted. But maybe the good thing is that the fleece got more people in the stores, and helped them realize there's more to fabric than fleece! :-) Let's hope we see a return to cotton fabric.

Fleece and flannel everywhere and not an inch to stitch. LOL

maybe we're headed for a cold summer and the weatherfolks haven't bothered to let us in on the secret ...

let's hear from the conspiracy theorists ... :shock:

Aw come on now! You know darn well they have all that fleece for another purpose. Everyone has to make Linus blankets to keep the project moving. If you have not made yours, pitch in and buy some fleece. Hancock and JoAnn will love you for it.

For lazy people, do into Family Dollar and Dollar General and they will sell you Linus blankets already made up. What could be better? I think I saw some of them in Wal-Mart, come to think of it!!

Honestly, even going to the fabric store is no pleasure any more. It seems like they have everything except what you want. What ever happened to the customer's needs? They ignore mine, how about yours??

I left both stores last week and still had not opened my wallet. Maybe that is a good thing.

Maybe they all bought into the coming ice age being emminant rather than global warming. We are all so confused :shock:

Hello all. Since we have been chewing on Walmart on four or five different topics, I thought I'd jump in real fast. There was a petition that was just for our area containing 15,000 signatures turned in to the corporate Walmart. I called, emailed, sent in the proper form letter from customer service, and signed every petition I could think of. The fabric at our local Walmart is gone. It's been gone about a month. They are doing a large remodeling at the store starting in a couple weeks. After that they are supposed to have the prepackaged pieces in cuts of 1, 2 or 3 yards. The gal that used to cut fabric at our local store has retired and she said she saw the new stuff come in. Really awful quality. No more 1.00/yd. Also, very little selection. This should be interesting.

Melissa

Here in Raleigh, we have two. One is slowly selling all of its stuff,at regular price, just not reordering. The clerk at the 2nd one said her store manager likes fabric and they have been ordering like crazy. Its not so much the fabric, but everything else that is higher everywhere else and the other store was emptying its shelves. We have Joannes and fabric stores, too, but not counting fabric, I've always gotten my batting and other notions at Wal Mart because they were so much cheaper. The fabrics is similar to Joannes, some good and some junk, but its "buyer beware" Read labels and feel.

if a WM fabric department has stopped getting new stuff, it means they are on the chopping block. if you haven't already developed a relationship with the women who work in that department, start now. they all sympathize with the customers and will let you know what they know as soon as they know it.

there are some fabrics at my local WM i really, really like and can't find anywhere else. they are already within my budget, so i am not waiting for them to go on sale when they start to close down. they'll be gone in minutes once they do go on sale. i'm buying as much as i can afford from each paycheck. when they do start selling off, if there's anything left when i get there from the higher priced stuff i still want, i'll raid my piggy bank and go as nuts as the supply permits.

i know many disagree, and it isn't true of every fabric there, but i think some of the stuff at WM is much nicer than you can get anywhere at any price. i may have to plan a trip to Raleigh. ;-)

well how do you judge quality? i just know to be sure it's 100% cotton

The other thing I know is to be sure the thread count is high enough that you can't see through it.

that too, i forgot

My walmart just got some quilting prints in bought a bunch. they are definetly closing the department. they must be using up warehouse stock. They had some really nice stuff for 1 and 2 dollars. I'll just haunt the place till they run out. The Joanns here hasn't had a good sale in a long time, I wish hancocks would come here. :shock:

Walmart {Layfette, LA} is closed. The store is being remolded. Seems that as they are being remolded, fabric depts are gone :( :( :( :(

I don't know how or why it happened, but in Klamath Falls, Oregon, the store was remodeled last year, and the fabric and crafts were actually expanded!!! It is a better department. Keep up the good fight, but don't give up hope!

Very interesting things happening in Wal-Mart stores. We had one that was remodeled, but stayed open during the work. It was months of trying to find things because most departments were being located. However, the Fabric Dept has about as much fabric as previously, but only a one person cutting table. They are getting more fabrics, but mostly cheap, inferior quality. The better fabrics up to $3.98 are name brands and could well be seconds. At least there are some good fabrics there.

I talked to the mgr of fabrics yesterday and gave her the link to the petition, and while I am not sure it is going to do any good, I thought she should have it if she thought it would help. Three customers immediately copied down the address.

Living in a city, there are a few inner-city stores, all of them small. But the Super stores seem to ring the city and are located at the Interestate exchanges. The newest (in my area) opened last Fall and of the times I have been there, it is never very busy. Most people I talk to say it is too big. But, the fabric mgr tells me they will surely get rid of fabrics. She has never said she was told they would close fabrics. She thinks they do not make any money on fabrics.

There is no rhyme or reason to what is going on. The petition was at 27943 when I looked. I signed at the end of Dec. and was #4346. those are a lot of signatures and they are speaking to Wal-Mart to try to get their attention. Many say they will never shop in Wal-Mart again. The mgr said she thought they were try to become another Target. Time will tell.

I was told fabric was a service department, and therefor must be serviced at all times. It did not show as big a profit as other depts, automtive, paint, deli ect..........they always cut back on what doesn't bring in a laRGE PROFIT

WooooHooooo! Fabric department (or lack of) closings have made it to the front page of THE Houston Chronicle today!

Here's the link if anyone's interested:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4601811.html

:D

Hi All! I live in Raleigh and my daughter called yesterday to tell me about a Wal Mart in a neighboring town discounting its fabric 25% now and 50% by the end of the month. I may not drive 25 miles for 25% but certainly would for 50% assuming that there is anything left by the time I get over there. So far one of the 2 in Raleigh is ordering fabric like crazy, so maybe we've dodged the bullet on that one. Keeping my fingers crossed!

I heard from a lady in the fabric department at a "LOCAL" Wal-mart (Weston, WV), that they are NOT losing their fabric department! This was not at the usual WM I shop at, and it is actually farther than the usual one I go to. This one isn't even a SUPER WM> When I do get the chance to go to my usual WM (about 40 miles one way), I have usually had one of the kids to the dr. We have no pediatricians in our county, and I had both my kids in this neighboring county (Nicholas County....Summersville, WV), so I have kept them with their original pediatrician. Hey, we have a Vet in our county. I guess they are about as good as the county human hospital (where NO pediatricians are).
My point is that I do a lot of my shopping (and doctoring) in Summersville at WM, especially grocery shopping. I am way farther from JoAnn's and other fabric shops. I guess we will just have to start growing more in our garden this summer and can more veggies. Hubby will have to kill more deer so we can can and freeze it, and then I'll be through with WM! LOL! I hate their Pharmacy, anymore! I've mostly switched everything to CVS.
I was also told that the only other WM in the state to get to keep their fabric would be the one in Martinsburg! OK...I've never even been to Martinsburg. It's really a long way from here.
We are supposed to be getting a new Wal-Mart in Flatwoods, which is in the county I live in. I don't know whether to be happy or not, now. The fabric dept. lady I was talking to said there would definately not be a fab. dept. put in the new WM. :(
Now, the new WM will probably put the local grocery stores like Kroger out of business. That's what happened in Summersville.
My aunt closed her fabric shop because she has two young boys that weren't enjoying spending their free time at the shop, especially in the summers. It was hard on her because she lived a county away from the business location, and the boys switched back to their original school.
I think she can still order fabric, but it was more expensive than WM.
Maybe I'll just open up my own shop.
I had in mind to open up my own bakery when the kids got just a bit bigger, but maybe I'll just sell everything. Need a cake pan or a yard of fabric? Just call me! I will also be specializing in handmade candles. yum. So, what kind of Birthday cake will you be ordering this year? :D
OK. I'll quit rambling... I just wanted to get my 2 pennies in there. again.
:lol:

Hi Miranda,
Do you have a shamrock cake pan?? Seriously, where can I find one in a week?? Need it to make and ice block for the kids wedding!! Geez, I may not live though this, it's hard to do a years work in a week, don't you think?

You need to really really look at the fabric lines you'd carry, you'd have to carry some cheaper cheezy fabrics to get through the overhead, wouldn't you? I'd like to have the wherewithal to get my own shop open, but it takes a lot lot of cash.

Good luck!!!
Sharon

I do have a large collection of cake pans, but I have no shamrock. I really don't sell anything, yet....someday, though.

Here is one pan on eBay. As of right now, it has like 23 hours left. There are some more on there with Buy-It-Now. Good Luck! If you were making cake, you could use the heart pan and put 3 of them together and decorate as the shamrock, but how you would do that with ice is beyond my knowledge. ;)
http://cgi.ebay.com/Shamrock-Shaped-cake-pan-for-St-Patricks-day-by-Wilton_W0QQitemZ110099085788QQihZ001QQcategoryZ116 002QQtcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I made a wedding cake in November, and it was my first one. We had to travel a LONG way with it. I assembled and decorated on site, so it was an easier trip. I started decorating around 10 pm. I got finished about 2 am. THe sucker was a big one! I was in the wedding the next day. It was so much fun, but I was so nervous. The bride was my sister in law to be....so, I really tried not to act nervous, but I really was a wreck. I went back to the cabin after I got it finished and had a beer. (Well, maybe more than one or two...but I deserved it!). I was so scared it would fall over night or something. It was fine for the wedding at 1:30 the next day, though. My hubby was helping me get the cakes set up, and our daughter shoved him from behind when he had one of the cakes! We almost lost it! It got a big thumb print in it, but I could repair that! whew!
I don't know if the selling of fabric would be my main reason for having a fabric shop. I could have access to it all, and make and sell my own stuff! LOL
But everything all goes together. if someone were to come over and pick up a cake, they would surely need a nice handmade gift to go with it! LOL!
Or a quilter could always use some extra energy from some yummy cookies or pepperoni rolls or something...
I've just got it all figured out, huh!?

Good luck finding the pan. I just typed in "shamrock cake pan" and got several listings. The one I posted above is a Wilton. I try to stick with those, personally. They're my favorite.

Hey Miranda,
I already thought of the ebay thing, but won't get here in time to freeze solid. I have to go to Wilmington tomorrow and they have several stores down there with Wilton products, I'll see but with 4 bridesmaids dresses to do I'm not worrying a lot about it. lol lol I was half joshing you anyway, it's a thrill to have the cake talent.

I did my son's wedding cake, three tier. Yep, I was as nervous over the wedding as I was at decorating the cake and setting it up. I was shaking so hard from nerves, but no one could tell. I have had to give up cake decorating, the arthritis just won't let me anymore, but I did love it while it lasted.

Oh, yeah, I gotcha, working up the product in all ways. lol lol You have it figured out for certain!!
Sharon

Hey Mimisharon. You said last night you were coming to Wilmington. I live in Wilmington. Where are you at? Would be nice to put a face to all my new quilting friends.

Hi Debbie,
I'm in Verona, actually the outer edge of Jacksonville toward Wilmington. We WILL meet up as soon as I get finished with this wedding thing. Four bridesmaid dresses and all the stuff like processional, recessional, reception, decorating....it's a grandson so I couldn't say no. lol lol

Sharon Dudley

Miranda. about the Shamrock cake pan. Why not make your own design. Make 2 round layers, then use a paper pattern and cut them to the shape you want. When my kids were growing up, there were not shaped cake pans, and if there were, I could not afford to buy them. And why buy one for using once a year?

I made all the Birthday cakes as cut-up cakes. I even made Opus the penquin for my daughter. You do have to be sure to make the cuts deep enough so that when you apply the frosting, it will still look like a Shamrock. You will be fortunate enough to be able to make green frosting, BUT in those days Black was not an option and I don't recall now how I did it, but it passed inspection. She was delighted. WE have pictures somewhere around here or there (at her house.) You can do this.

Enjoy your own creativity.

Mimi if you ever get an urge to come to the "big city', please look me up. The traffic is awful, so you'd probably have to want to come really bad :D
But I too would love to talk "quilts" face to ace. By the time it was over, you'd probably want to tape my mouth shut and run like crazy :!: Good luck on the wedding! There is a quilt show in Raleigh this weekend ;Capital Area Quilters Guild is putting it on. Its to be held at Peace College in downtown Raleigh.

Hey Vicki and Debbie,
We could meet somewhere in the middle and have a real quilt shopping day........any ideas (for after the 17th, of course, lol lol)????

Would love to meet y'all, come to Jacksonville traffic is nothing in comparison to Raleigh!!!

Is Jacksonville bigger than Wilmington, I've never been there. Would love to meet you guys for lunch and/or shopping spree. I've retired early and my days are pretty open. I have 2 boys. Men really, 30 and 34 still single I'll never be a grandma, sniff sniff. Just let me know when and where.

I'm game! Any quilting shows coming up for the Wilmington ara? I think they usually ahve one in June--Be a great way to meet and ogle quilts and shop :D :!: