Skip to main content

Fabric and the Evolution of Joann's (at least for me)

Last week I set out to Joann's to purchase a red "carpet" for our Hollywood-themed work event. One of the perks of a career in marketing / communications is getting a chance to dapple in the lighter side of business. I settled on a bolt of red felt, which worked spectacularly. I tried to convince my coworkers that we have an arts and crafts day and create some Valentine's Day decorations to adorn the office, but no one was buying it.


I just couldn't resist this. It will make a cute knitting pouch or lining for something...

Anyway while at Joann's, I spent some real time digging through the fiber - the first time in years and made some pretty surprising observations . First, a little background. I used to live at Joann's, The Rag Shop, even the Wal-Mart fabric section (don't judge!) and knew the fabrics by heart. Most of my time was devoted to the wall of calico. My main obsession was batik fabric, which I could never find amongst the standard fabric templates, and funky colors of corduroy. Basically, I just looked for anything different. I would have walked miles for this gem:

this was my "pricey" purchase at $3.95/yd.

But, with a healthy fabric stash and piles of clothes I've hoarded over the years with intentions of cutting up coupled with my recent jonesing for fancy, designer fabrics, it's been some time since I've seriously looked through Joann's (I've been in twice before to round up materials for the Weekender Bag, but managed to stay on task - plus, I didn't know what I was missing!) Oh, and until recently I lived really far away.

MY OBSERVATIONS (both of them):

Joann's is Ginormous. Was my old Joann's just really crappy or they all just five times bigger now? Seriously, my old Joann's had your usual fabric area, home dec, maybe an aisle devoted to unfinished wood, some dried flowers and some baskets thrown in a corner. And also junky kid crafts. These new-fangled Joann's have 5 aisles devoted to scrapbooking, a rubber stamp (?) aisle, a ribbon section bigger than my apartment, even a framing dept! I actually think all these additions are good, but I just wonder how all this happened under my nose.


Batik fabric!

I guess this craft revival really did happen, huh? Or is it really just the supersize trend?

The fabrics. Oh, how I love thee! I had tears in my eyes when I saw at least 5 or 6 shelves devoted to batiks! (but, where were you when I needed you?) After a quick walk through the $1/yard aisle, I was already pushing my hand-held basket (what was I thinking, right?) along the ground with my foot and stacking it with bolt after bolt of dirt-cheap fabric. I was even sweating! When I got to the cutting counter, I actually felt bad for people waiting behind me. At least they got to stare at all my pretty fabric. :)

I'm seeing lots of skirts and totes and pouches and maybe even a hat or two...


I think this one is my favorite and at $1/yd., you can't go wrong!
In other sewing news, I saw on YaiAnn's blog that Amy Butler is finally selling the bag I mentioned a few months back - but only as a premade item (for $112!), no pattern. Grrr. So bummed, but I'm gonna strike back and make my own pattern. I'd be happy if it's half as cute!


I think a nice, classy skirt for work...

As for my pile 'o WIPs flashed on my last post, I'm dutifully working on each and every one of them and making some decent progress. I'm officially captivated by Demi, which thrills me. I was worried its complexity would become a headache for me.
Hopefully I'll have something finished to report soon!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Oh my that shop sounds amazing! We don't have anything like that in the UK, selection is generally pretty poor. I like the stuff you bought!
7:43 AM
lobstah said…
Back when I used to actually sew (well, try to sew...I was never very good at it), I used to hit up Joann's a lot. Definitely was hit or miss--some cute stuff but a lot crap too. Then a few years ago when the GIANT Joann's came to Buckland, I was in heaven. I'm totally in love with the gigantic button section there! The Joann's nearest me is still the old, tiny model :( :( :(
I also used to go to Hancock Fabrics in East Hartford or Fabric Place in Cromwell (though I heard a rumor that may have shut down)? I've found some different stuff there.
How awesome would be to go to NYC to a REAL fabric shop?
8:11 AM
Stacey said…
I used to live right near 2 joann's - they were like you described - small, with little sections for stuff and a decent but not great fabric section. The closest one is now about 45 minutes away, and the last time I went my jaw dropped when i walked in the door. The fabric section was HUGE ( of course it couldn't have been like this when I had 5 quilts in a year to do) and they had so much stuff! Yay to the new Joanns!
9:25 AM
Anonymous said…
I think my Joann's is still the old and crappy kind, but luckily as far as crafting goes, we just got a new Michaels - it is fan*tas*tic.

Love your fabric scores - I especially love the green gem and the tweedy skirt fabric.
9:04 AM
knittingphilistine said…
Oh, if only I possessed even the smallest bit of sewing mojo... but alas, I am confined to using only eyeless needles.

Can't wait to see more of your fab wips!
12:46 PM
Unknown said…
The fabric that's destined to be a skirt.... did it end up as a skirt? It looks like wool, and I've got some of that and I've been wondering what pattern would do it justice (and if I really need to line it or not).
9:16 AM
ugg boots said…
ugg boots ugg boots
uggs uggs
ugg australia ugg australia
ugg sale ugg sale
ugg boots sale ugg boots sale
cheap ugg boots cheap ugg boots
winter boots winter boots
discount ugg boots discount ugg boots
cheap uggs cheap uggs
uggs on sale uggs on sale
australia ugg boots australia ugg boots
ugg boots 2010 ugg boots 2010
ugg boots ugg boots
ugg stiefel ugg stiefel
uggs uggs
ugg australia ugg australia
ugg boots sale ugg boots sale
ugg boots deutschland ugg boots deutschland
uggs on sale uggs on sale


uggs uggs
MBT Outlet MBT Outlet
GHD GHD
G Star Raw G Star Raw
ed hardy ed hardy
Abercrombie And Fitch Abercrombie And Fitch
tiffany jewelry tiffany jewelry
Abercrombie And Fitch Abercrombie And Fitch
Abercrombie And Fitch Abercrombie And Fitch
Cartier Cartier
Gucci Gucci
shamwow shamwow
10:46 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Box Bag Tutorial

A couple of you inquired whether I made this pouch based on a tutorial or pattern and if not, if I could provide one. Ask and you shall receive! I've learned so much from tutorials out on the internets, I'm happy I can give back for once. Bear with me, though. This is my first tutorial and creating one is much tougher than I imagined. I give anyone who's created a tutorial tons of credit! I feel obligated to preface this by admitting I'm a trial and error sewer. I make things up as I go along and test things during the sewing process to see if I'm achieving my desired results. Also, I taught myself to sew just playing around on a sewing machine, so I don't always use text book methods. Just wanted come clean before you all jump into this and so you have a little understanding if I did something in a backass way. The pattern works, which is all that matters to me! Because of the versatility of this pattern, my instructions can be used more as guidelines. You can
69 comments
Read more

Done: Weekender Bag

Happy 2007! I hope you all had a good time ringing in the new year. I have some lofty goals for this upcoming year and some musings on last year, but that's for another post because-- Finally! (the top looks kind of bumpy. I think it looks crisper when I'm holding it.) Pattern. Weekender Bag by Amy Butler Exterior Fabric. Amy Butler, Sunbloom Collection Cording Fabric. Amy Bulter, Charm Collection Lining. Khaki Fabric from Joann's I relied a lot on the tips from other bloggers who made this bag and wanted to give something back to the blogging community, so here are my.... 10 THOUGHTS & TIPS ON THE WEEKENDER 1. Dominating the cording. As the layers increased in the sewing, keeping the cording sandwiched in place became challenging. I had the best luck pinning the fabric together parallel to the fabric edge, rather than perpendicular. Stopping so often to remove pins got a little annoying, but was better than ripping and resewing. 2. Topstitching = Enemy number 1. I d
12 comments
Read more

Granola.

In all my years of baking, I don’t think there’s any one food I’ve tinkered with more than granola.  Actually, that’s a lie. Let me try again. Besides chocolate chip cookies, there's no food I've tinkered with more than granola.   But granola! The goal: delicious, crunchy yet chunky enough to eat on its own, and not just dessert masquerading as a healthy snack. Doesn’t sound too hard.  But… the best tasting is inevitably the worst for you (not to name names...Panera copycat recipe). Consistency should not be a trail mix of sugared oats and nuts and fruit. There should be chunks you can hold without crumbling.   So, when I stumbled upon a granola so good the restaurant sends guests home with their own little prepackaged personal sized portion, I had to give it a try. And to document my trials so when I inevitably forget the recipe, I'm writing this post so it’s here waiting and ready. (And maybe, you, too, have been seeking that perfect granola recipe??)
Post a Comment
Read more