Times are tight. Craft and sewing retailers – from Joann’s to the local mom & pop quilt shop – are suffering. Several weeks ago, I posted that the Kennesaw Joann’s looked awful due to the bankruptcy filing. It literally had no merchandise in key areas. Sadie and I stopped in earlier this week and I’m happy to report that key sewing supplies and notions have been restocked, yet quilt batting and quilting rulers remain in short supply.
Today, Sadie and I visited our friends at Cabin Fever Quilt Studio in Ellijay. This shop had the additional yardage I needed for a project in stock and was also running a 30% off sale on most of the Lori Holt inventory. I was not prepared for the owner’s response when I casually asked when she was expecting the new Autumn collection from Lori Holt. She said she hadn’t purchased any of that collection because she still has plenty of the current lines to sell through and what she has in inventory will coordinate nicely with the How To Build A Scarecrow sew along. She’s 100% correct. This is also not the first shop in my area to skip an entire Lori Holt collection or two, but the first time this shop has. BTW, I’m not doing the scarecrow quilt. I’m making my own version of Autumn Love using templates and some vintage LH fabric gifted by a friend. I also picked up some Lori Holt sale fabrics in fall colors today.
Instead of one or two collections per designer each year, it seems as if major players like Moda and Riley Blake are introducing new collections of 40+ skus from each designer every three months. It’s too much for most quilt shop owners, let alone quilters, to keep up with – especially when most of the fabric lines now look so much alike. I have wholesale credentials, but I haven’t ordered in a while because the order minimums have been raised and the fulfillment rate isn’t the best. I’ve been kitting all of my classes and lessons using existing inventory. If I do need something, it’s usually cheaper for me to buy it on sale or with a coupon locally.
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