Author: Teresa

Quilts, good books and dogs. Plus a cup of tea. Life is good.

The sad state of my local Joann’s

April 16, 2024

Last night I took Big Girl shopping at the Joann’s in Kennesaw. It’s one of their Maker Studio concept stores. It’s a neat place and the only one of its kind in the Atlanta region. It also serves as a hub for online order fulfillment.

Chapter 11 has hit this store hard – particularly when it comes to quilting and sewing. There are obvious holes in product availability throughout the store. Large sections of aisles are bare. While there is still fabric available, sewing and quilting notions are extremely limited and your available options are few. It’s surreal. If I’d needed to buy a twin size package of Warm & Natural quilt batting, replacement blades for my rotary cutter or a pincushion, I’d have been out of luck. It was a similar situation for cross-stitch supplies and the Happy Planner section. Staff told me that they get two trucks a week. It must be all the home decor and seasonal items up front, not items that I typically buy at Joann’s.

Is inventory of certain product categories being allowed to deplete because they are planning a major reset soon? Or is it due to bankruptcy? Think Big Girl and I are going to take a trip to the Alpharetta Joann’s later today for comparison. I’ll report back. So we made the trek to the Alpharetta location. A little more inventory is available, but it’s obvious merchandise hasn’t been replenished in a while. Some empty spaces in the displays, but not as jarring as the Kennesaw location. There’s one area that’s full of boxes. Another area full of clearance stuff. Looks like a reset or a shrinkage of floor space devoted to sales is in the works. I sincerely hope Joann’s emerges from bankruptcy in a good position. We need a solid brick and mortar retailer in the sewing and crafting space.

By the way, I did buy 3 yards of a really cute white-on-white print I needed for a specific donation quilt project.

Photo by WeStarMoney on Pexels.com

Why I volunteer

April 12, 2024

Her smile says it all. Big Girl is so happy to be back in “her” library doing what she does best – spreading some Sadie sunshine among the staff and patrons – in addition to listening to elementary kids read to her. Most of the time, you never know the impact your volunteer efforts might have, This week I did.

Six years ago, a rising 8th grader began reading to Boomer. She was new to the U.S. and spoke no English. We worked with her from late spring through the following winter. This week, her little brother came to read to Sadie. Mom recognized me and thanked me for helping her daughter so much all those years ago. Her daughter graduated high school and is now now working to save money for college.

Most of my personal sewing time is spent making things for others. Much of it is donated through the East Cobb Quilt Guild’s community service outreach. Yesterday was a “charity sewcial” where a large group of us gathered for fellowship and to work on charity projects. I pieced blocks for my bee group’s charity quilt, put together the sashing strips and sewed the rows together for another charity quilt made from last year’s Middle Georgia Shop Hop blocks, plus sewed pillowcases that will go to nearby children’s hospitals. I returned home with additional pillowcase kits and fabric to make even more blocks for my bee group’s charity quilt(s).

Charity quilt layout using blocks collected from 2023 Middle Georgia Shop Hop

If you’re in a guild or group, don’t let a lack of fabric (or the funds to buy fabric) keep you from participating in charitable sewing endeavors. If you have a sewing machine and are willing sew, there are plenty of materials available at no cost to you to create projects for donation. Reach out to a sewing friend or fellow guild member to ask if materials are available or let folks know you’ll be happy to take fabric scraps and excess stash to make items for charity. My guild’s current community service team has been diligently processing the influx of fabric donations to create themed kits and curated collections for charity sewing volunteers. They’ve done a great job! A few members of the guild have a challenge where they create quilts using only donated fabric and whatever current free pattern they’ve agreed on. Two of the ladies sitting with me yesterday were feverishly working on their charity challenge quilts. It was so much fun to see the action and listen to the banter as they sewed.

P.S. If you are a quilter with a large stash, consider leaving instructions with your estate documents to donate any remaining machines, fabrics and supplies that your heirs don’t want to a local quilt guild, quilt museum or pet rescue group with a resale shop. Your donation will make a world of difference.

Quilty travel planning

April 9, 2024

In case you missed it, the 2024 Riley Blake Designs Garden of Quilts class/event schedule has dropped. Sign-ups open April 15th. There are many, many classes I’d LOVE to take, but I must pass this time. We have some other things going on in September that take priority. Perhaps next year.

I did, however, make a list of the projects/designers that interest me. Of the five projects, I’ll only need to buy two patterns. I found online tutorials and did a little quilty math to figure out the other three. Now, I’ll have plenty of projects for upcoming sew days and any fall Koosa quilt retreats with my Friday Sew Squad I might be able to attend.

QuiltCon was fun and I’m eagerly anticipating my JK Quilts retreat in Idaho at the end of April. After this, I plan to keep the quilty fun close to home for a while. It’s kind of strange. Hubs and I love to travel. This spring & summer, we’ve opted to pass on events we’ve attended in recent years in favor of volunteer opportunities or similar local events. I think it’s a combination of wanting to do something different, all the crazy people travelling now and the increased cost of travel.

For me, does the value received for attending an event justify the cost to attend? I realize it’s a highly subjective and very personal decision. For example, Stitchin Heaven is currently advertising a mid-November retreat in Asheville, North Carolina. It’s within reasonable driving distance from me and the projects look fun, but I did a double take when I saw the price for a single attendee – $2549.00 – and then a second one when I realized what wasn’t included in the cost of the event. For that kind of money, I want to stay at the Grove Park Inn – not the Embassy Suites. You may have a different opinion, and that’s totally fine.

Most of my local sewing/quilting group retreats are held at a state park lodge, scout camp, FFA facility, church retreat center or a quilt retreat center. The total cost runs $300-$400 for 4-5 days. Occasionally, a local shop offers a “sleep in your own bed retreat” where the shop hosts a long weekend of quilty fun. These are a blast! Personally, I prefer retreats where I bring my own projects, sew with friends and have my own room/share with one person I know. I want to attend a Koosa retreat with my Friday Sew Squad, but I’m not sure about the dormitory style accommodations. Hubs is encouraging me to get outside my comfort zone on this one. His solution: drive up by myself and come home if it gets to be too much. He has a point.

Here’s to quilt retreats how ever you like them!