My local Hobby Lobby IS pet-friendly

June 2, 2025

Today, I took Sadie shopping with me. I had a couple of stops in the same shopping center. The clerk at Petco informed me Hobby Lobby was pet-friendly, so we went next door after purchasing some dog treats. The Akers Mill Hobby Lobby location IS indeed pet-friendly. I politely asked the supervisor on duty if I could bring Big Girl in with me. Her only request was that I clean up any accidents. No problem!

Her highness sashayed around the store in usual Sadie fashion. There’s different vibe from Joann, but I’m so happy to have a craft/fabric store that will allow her to shop with me. Someone else mentioned that the Michael’s location next to Petsmart (across from The Battery/Truist Park) is also pet-friendly. We’ll have to check them out later this week.

If you’re looking to support a local quilt & gift shop that is pet-friendly – check out Stitched Gifts in Marietta (near Good Mews cat rescue). It’s been open a couple of months and the owner has two doodles who are frequently in the shop. Stitched Gifts also carries treats for your furkid.

Sadie’s ready to go to work!

The end of an era – Joann is no more

May 31, 2025

Or is it? This is what greeted me when I pulled up joann.com this morning.

So what’s next? An online company run by yet another private equity group that has zero clue what the crafting community wants and needs? No thanks.

I visited the Kroll site and checked the latest pleading count – over 1,000 documents have been filed in this case. (The last time I looked it was at 600). A large part of the business wind-down process involves rejecting, affirming or assigning store leases and other agreements.

The pleadings show that several of the Joann’s retail store location leases have been assumed by or assigned to Burlington Coat Factory. CreativeBug appears to be one of the Joann affiliated companies that will survive the bankruptcy proceedings. The majority of subscription and other agreements with various customers and vendors related to CreativeBug were affirmed in late April. My inbox has received several CreativeBug subscription offers of late. FWIW, the CreativeBug site is operational and still offering discounts for new subscribers. No thanks.

Given the amount of customer response to the bankruptcy, I’m not surprised something is being stitched together behind the scenes. Hopefully, some creatives are on the team creating the next version of Joann – not merely investment bankers.

Where to find supplies in person now that Joann’s is gone?

May 27, 2025

For the past two days, I’ve been restitching straps and reinforcing stress points on some of the protective gear used by hubs and other TR members out in the field. A big operation closed down recently and all the equipment has come back to the Atlanta warehouse. Hubs sent 120 pounds of chaps out to the laundry and he’s been inspecting each pair to see what repairs need to be made. Last night, I noticed I needed to pick up another small spool of orange Coats & Clark thread. Normally, I would head to Joann.

Where to buy it locally now that Joann’s is gone? Good question. I started thinking about the items I routinely picked up at Joann’s and wondered if I could find them at Hobby Lobby, Michael’s or Wal-Mart? Here’s a quick run-down of what I can find at which store:

Hobby Lobby – Kona cotton + other quilting cotton fabrics, Pellon interfacing, Warm & Natural batting, Fiskars mats & cutting tools, Schmetz needles, and my favorite budget-friendly SewOlogy 50/2 cotton piecing thread on the cross-wound spool (good alternative to Aurifil). Their ribbon & trim selection is pretty good, as well.

Michaels – Coats & Clark thread, Singer sewing machines

Wal-Mart – Waverly precut fabrics, Pellon interfacing & Nature’s Touch quilt batting, some Fiskarts mats & cutting tools, Schmetz needles, Brother and Singer sewing machines, best everyday prices I’ve found on pillow inserts and PolyFil stuffing.

Worth noting: Michaels and Wal-Mart stores near me are redoing their sewing & quilting product assortments. Some Michael’s stores now offer fabric by the yard and feature a sewing machine sales/education center in-store. Wal-Mart may still carry some Coats & Clark thread, but it’s been shifting over to a store brand. Not impressed with it or Hobby Lobby’s store-brand polyester thread. Actually, my favorite polyester sewing thread is Mettler’s Metrosene, but it’s only available at an area sewing machine dealer.

FWIW, Sadie & I made our last visit to the Kennesaw Joann’s store yesterday. It was surreal seeing a practically empty store. We did our usual lap and said our final good-bye.