#so all the joann stores are closing

[florida3exclamationpoints]

[eepybubble]

saw this really cute strawberry fabric at the store but i have no idea what i would do with it :((

[marzipanandminutiae]

me: oh man, Joann Fabrics is closing. That's going to really suck for a lot of people

Sophia, the Victorian ghost who haunts a lamp I bought at Brimfield: not the least among them Joanne. though I suppose her business acumen must have been wanting if she gave the shop her Christian name- it just seems undignified. was that what drove her customers to other establishments?

me: well, nothing- it's a chain, and in most places, there weren't any other fabric stores.

Sophia:

Sophia: there weren't. any other dry goods stores. selling fabric.

me: not usually, no.

Sophia: in a whole town

me: no.

Sophia: and now there will be nowhere to purchase fabric at all in those towns

me: not in person. I guess people can buy it online

Sophia: what if they don't know what different weaves feel like? how will they learn if they never get to handle them?

me: some places have free swatch service on their websites-

Sophia: so they'll wait a week or more for a swatch, decide if they like it, then send away for the full amount of goods they need and wait even longer for that? what if they want something finished sooner?

me: they'll just be frustrated, I guess

Sophia: wait, why did Joanne's shops close? if she had such a monopoly, surely she'd have made quite a profit regardless of the name

me: an even bigger company bought them and couldn't use them to make billions of dollars, so they're forcing them to close

Sophia:

me: wait- PUT MY SNOW SHOVEL DOWN AND STEP AWAY FROM YOUR LAMP

[gingersxng]

Inappropriate Touching

Pairing: f!reader x Seonghwa x Yunho x Mingi x San

Genre: smut 18+

Summary: walking down the hallways on your new exciting job you came across a group of young handsome actors.. but it soon turns out acting and reality isn’t that far away from each other.

Notes: sub!reader, rough doms! Yunho, Mingi, San, Seonghwa, reader is a virgin, the boys are big perverts!!! ,they have no self control, much inappropriate touching!!!(which is not ok irl), adult movies, pet names (sweetheart, doll, darling, love, kitten, honey), groping, kissing, some cursing, fingering, oral (f receiving), licking, spitting, cum cum cum, cum eating, threesome, foursome, mentions of masturbation, dirty comments, unprotected sex (always be safe),rough sex, public sex, big dick yungi, marking (hickeys, bite marks), breeding, double penetration, slight bulge kink, recording. forgot something? maybe

Words: 3.7k

it was your first day at your new job at the movie studio. it’s been a life long dream of yours to get to work with big movie stars and now you were finally standing outside the big doors. as you looked up at the sign of the big building you took a deep breath before finally heading inside to get started.

you felt like a child in a candy store watching all the pictures on the walls of famous actors and actresses. you were soon greeted by a young woman maybe a few years older than you, she was looking so professional with a black jumpsuit, black glasses and red long hair in a big bun.

“hi are you the new assistant?” she asked softly. “yes i am, I’m y/n” you said as you shaked her hand. “I’m Joanne, I’m gonna show you around a bit to make it a little easier for you” a smile formed on your face. she showed you all different sets from both new and old movies, you had also met many movie stars and staff while you walked around the big halls. you were coming to your final part of your little “tour” when Joanne stopped dragging you to the side.

“we have to be quiet cause they’re in the middle of rehearsals”. she whispered, didn’t sound as she cared to much. you didn’t really understand what kind of movie they were making but there were four men dressed roughly in suits, black ties and some of them had smeared lipstick on their mouths. a woman later appeared around the men and you finally got an answer on your early movie question. you felt yourself blush as you observed what they did to that woman, eyes wide. “c’mon let’s go, I’ll show you your room” she grabbed your arm and dragged you with her. it was kinda quiet down the hallways to your room and so were you. Joanne finally broke the ice. “I probably should give you a small warning but you have to keep this to yourself, okay?” she said with a half worried look on her face. “alright I promise” you suddenly got anxious.

you stopped outside the door to your room. “don’t be too sweet towards those guys back there, they can get a little too friendly if you know what I mean” she whispered so no one but you could hear her. your eyes widened not believing what she was saying, they were just acting.. wasn’t they? “I don’t wanna scare you or anything but it’s better to warn you if you would bump into one of them”. you found yourself speechless and your thoughts went all over the place, first day at your new job and now you should watch out for creeps?

“they didn’t look old tho” you suddenly said. “no, as I saw on your CV they’re two and three years older than you” your eyes widened once again. she was about to say something but were interrupted by footsteps coming your way and by the sound of the voices it was them, well two of them. your heart pumped hard in your chest watching as they came closer.

“looking good today Jo” one of them blurted out giving Joanne a wink. the taller guy got very close to her while a smirk appeared on his face “your ass looks great in this suit too” he said as he gave her ass a squeeze. you literally couldn’t believe what you were witnessing and she just let them do this to her. they were soon turning their attention to you, fuck.

“what do we have here huh?” the tall one said looking you up and down. he was so tall but actually very good looking, you started to blush and that’s just what they wanted you to.. “it’s our new assistant y/n and it’s her first day so keep your hands to yourself Yunho!” Joanne snapped. he guided his hand through his hair and let out a deep chuckle, omg! “nice to meet you y/n” both of them greeted you. you gave them a small smile and crossed your arms so your cleavage got more visible and that was a big mistake. their eyes acted like magnets, getting dragged to your breasts. you knew she’d given you a warning but there was something about them giving you all this attention that made you excited.

“damn looks like a juicy one” the other guy laughed as he eyed his tall friend. Yunho let out a quiet laugh as he looked you straight into your eyes, his smile dropping fast. he took a step closer to you and got interrupted by your friend. “alright, she’s not interested in you two” she said trying to get them to leave. actually you were beginning to get a little bit interested in them but maybe it was best to keep that to yourself. Yunho gave your ass a light slap as he passed you with a smirking grin on his face. the other man reached out his hand brushing it against your stomach and up to your breasts, he stuck his tongue out and gave you a wink. “Seonghwa!! you pervert!” Jo slapped him on the shoulder.

they had finally got out of sight and you could finally let out a deep breath trying to take in everything that happened in the last 10 minutes. “I’m so sorry y/n but this is something you should get used to if you’re gonna work here” she told you looking really pissed off by the boy’s behaviour against you. you couldn’t help but smile a little, “it’s alright”. she finally left you alone and you got into your room to get some rest. it didn’t take many minutes before you were interrupted by a knock on your door, you got up and peeped out trough the little window to see another tall guy standing outside. you opened and were greeted with a smile from the big guy. “hey sweetheart, I’m Mingi” his voice were deep and vibrated right through you. you didn’t get a chance to introduce yourself before he grabbed your arms and pushed you further into your room. his actions took you by surprise and you let out a scream. Mingi hurried to put his hand on your mouth to drown your screams, when you finally got quiet he pulled his hand away letting out a chuckle when he saw the scared expression on your face.

“what are you doing!!” you almost cried out looking up at the big boy. he pushed you down onto your desk and grabbed your chin. “my friends told me about the new sexy assistant and I thought I should see if it was true.. and fuck you are gorgeous” he said squeezing your cheeks. you could feel how your thighs began to push together and how your cheeks started to heat up. Mingi brought his head to your neck starting to place sloppy kisses along it up to your ear, his hands working their way to your ass. you really hoped no one would walk in on you making out with one of the “creeps”, even if this was very wrong you didn’t do anything to stop it.

Mingi slipped his hands inside your pants grabbing a handful of your naked ass. small moans left your mouth, your hands went straight to his hair and he let out a deep groan. “you like this huh?” Mingi whispered as he pulled your jeans off you. “yes” you whispered back. he pushed you down onto your back and separated your legs exposing your clothed core to him, your panties were off you in a flash and your hole were stuffed with two of his fingers. Mingi put his mouth on your clit rolling his tongue over the sensitive nub, your back arched at the new pleasure. “you taste so good” he growled against your clit. he added a third finger and fastened his pace on your clit making a moaning mess out of you.

“here you are!!” Seonghwa bursted into your room, his eyes darkened as soon as he saw the position you were in. you couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed having your bare pussy on display in front of the new man. “I see you’ve met the pussy eater” Seonghwa pushed Mingis head down harder on your pussy receiving moans from both of you. Mingi pulled away his slime covered face from your core. “says the guy who puts his hands down women’s tops” Mingi glared at the older man. “I can’t help it” Seonghwa threw a bitter look at him, he walked over to you and slid his hands inside your top and bra grabbing your firm breasts. he looked down at your pleasure filled face, he got closer to your face and attacked your lips kissing you upside down. it was messy and hot and you could feel how you got closer to your release. Seonghwa broke the kiss and squeezed your boobs hard making you squeak. “open your mouth kitten” you did as he said and watched as he gathered some saliva that he spit down into your mouth, you swallowed it and once again he was back kissing you.

Mingi was biting your clit sending electric waves up to your brain. he felt how your pussy clenched around his fingers and he curved them to hit the spongy spot inside you making you see white. your breath hitched in your throat and you moaned into Seonghwas mouth when you came onto Mingis fingers. both of them laughed at you when they saw how fucked out you looked. Mingi licked up all the cum from your hole. “sorry but we have to go back to the set kitten, believe me I’d rather fuck you than that bitch” Seonghwa grunted pushing his face in between your breasts licking a stripe along your cleavage. Mingi stole your panties sneaking them into his pocket and gave your pussy a quick kiss before they left.

- next day -

you had some free time so you were strolling through the building sneaking in to watch some movies in the making. a hand brushed against your ass and you quickly turned around to see yet another new face. the man scanned your body taking you all in, he leaned forward and brushed his thumb over your bottom lip. “enjoying yourself kitten?” you gulped and straightened yourself up feeling how your legs began to weaken. “y-yes I do” you fumbled not knowing were to look. an amusing look painted his face when he saw the affect he had on you. he took your hand and brought you with him to their movie set, the grip he had on your hand were firm to keep you from running away if you wanted to.

they were in the middle of a break so they had some time for you. the three other men sat down in a big round sofa that was down in a dark corner, the handsome muscular man pulled you with him. their eyes lit up as soon as you got in their sight, you blushed hard and began to bite the nail on your thumb, it really made you look innocent.

“look who I found standing all alone in the halls” the man pushed you forward so you stood in front of the other three. you could see how they were undressing you with their eyes and by the tents in their pants, they really liked what they saw. Yunho grabbed your wrist and pulled you down on his lap, you shivered at the feeling of his erection poking at your ass. he tugged at your skirt and caressed your soft thighs watching as goosebumps appeared. he put his mouth to your ear and whispered “I haven’t stopped thinking about you since yesterday, maybe I could get a pic of that sweet ass if yours huh?”. his words went straight to your pussy, feeling how you got wetter by the second. “why would you want that?” you said innocently looking him in the eyes knowing exactly why he wanted it. Yunho raised an eyebrow and dug his fingers into the flesh of your ass “so I have something to watch as I’m playing with my dick” the guy chuckled. the other guys laughed at his comment. you were stuck between these four men and your mind started to run wild the more they showed how much they wanted to use you.

“do you have a boyfriend doll?” Mingi slipped out. you shook your head and the look on his face turned devilish, you pushed your thighs together more. “are you a virgin?” Yunho asked pulling your skirt up slowly waiting for an answer. you stayed quiet for a few seconds looking around at the men. “yeah, I am” your voice dropped and you felt so embarrassed. something in them snapped and suddenly they seemed hornier than ever. Seonghwa stuck his hand down your top to… dang he got interrupted. you got company by a known friend, it was Jo. she was looking for you and couldn’t believe she would find you here of all places. “what are you doing here y/n?” she was surprised to see you sitting in Yunhos lap with Seonghwas hand down your top. “I’m working..” was the first thing you could think of. Seonghwa fought the urge to pull out your breasts from your top, he usually didn’t have much self control but for your sake he made an exception. “you guys are sick” she said before she finally left.

Seonghwa couldn’t hold it in anymore and pulled out your boobs from your bra, his mouth watered at the sight of your hardened red nipples, he brushed his thumb over them and you let out a small whimper. Yunho lifted you up and handed you over to San, the big man squeezed you against his chest. “don’t move doll, my grip will only get tighter” he bucked his hips up against your ass, his clothed hardness poking you right between your cheeks. Yunho unbuckled his belt and pulled down his pants enough for his massive cock to spring free standing up against his stomach. the sight was making your arousal drip down your inner thighs and you crossed your legs standing in Sans embrace. Yunho patted his thigh signaling San to release you. “come sit love” he held a hand out to you. you walked over to the tall man, he turned you around back facing him while pulling up your skirt. the lack of underwear made him groan “no panties huh? what a good girl, all ready for us to abuse” his deep voice almost breaking you.

San slid his fingers through your folds, your arousal was smeared out on your inner thighs and he could slip in two fingers with ease, after feeling how tight you were he pulled them out again turning to the tall guy. “she’s so tight you’re gonna split her in half with your monster cock” Sans words brought a worried look to your face. Yunho slapped your ass “we don’t use condoms btw, hope that’s alright with you love?” you nodded and with that he sunk you down on his big cock, the wetness made it almost too easy for him to bottom out. it was a long moan that left your lips as you felt your pussy being stretched to the max. as Yunho were bouncing you up and down his dick San was attacking your lips and Seonghwa had got dibs on your breasts marking them as his own. it felt like you were in some kind of erotic dream, they dragged out moans and whimpers out of you leaving you a fucking mess.

Mingi had pulled out his cock too, he spat in his hand and pumped his length a few times. he got up from the sofa and pushed the other two out of the way, he pushed your back against Yunhos chest and positioned himself onto you bringing his cock to your already stuffed hole. “it won’t fit idiot” San mocked the man. “I’ll make it fit” Mingi pushed the tip into your pussy making you scream, tears falling down your cheeks. Yunho pulled out a bit for Mingi to fit better, he then dried your tears with his thumb. Yunho and Mingi occupied each side of your neck while they pumped their massive dicks into your gushy hole. “fuck I swear it feels a thousand times better when she’s a virgin” Mingi groaned into your ear. a familiar feeling appeared in your stomach and it got worse with each of their thrusts. Mingi pushed your knees up to your chest getting better and deeper access, the bulge on your stomach drove him crazy. “I’m gonna cum” Yunho warned. “are you gonna let us breed you honey? let us knock you up” he growled as his thrusts got faster. being all over the place you couldn’t get a single word out but you nodded and moaned in response, your mouth hung open.

“knock her up already we’re getting impatient here” Seonghwa whined as he palmed his cock through his pants. a couple more thrusts and both men released their big loads deep inside you, their hair had gotten more messy and they had beads of sweat dripping down their foreheads. the cum were seeping out between their cocks, they pulled out and laid you down onto your back. Yunho pushed the cum back inside your abused pussy, a proud smirk forming on his face. “in a few months we want to see this pretty belly of yours grow darling” Mingi teased you, he took a handful of your little belly fat and squeezed it.

San was quick to swap places with Yunho, impatiently he pulled out his leaking cock and towered over your half naked form. he slid the tip in slowly until he was fully seated pushing both Mingis and Yunhos cum further inside you, his pace quickened fast and his hold onto your sides grew harder. “fuuck, this little pussy of yours is driving me insane” San growled, his feline eyes pierced holes through you. his mouth assaulted your sore nipples while he slammed his hips against yours with all the strength he had. you began to cry and your whole body started to hurt. Seonghwa kissed you harshly and wiped your tears away, he moved down to your neck sucking on the flesh leaving purple marks. “don’t cry honey we’ll take care of you” he purred.

you could feel Sans cock twitch, he buried his dick deep inside you letting his release paint your walls white, he stayed like that for a while not wanting any cum to go to waste. the thought of knocking you up made his brain malfunction. San pushed down his hand on your lower stomach to feel how deep he was, with a groan he finally pulled out.

Seonghwa helped you up and sunk you down on his dick. you swung your arms around his neck and buried your face in it, he helped moving your hips up and down his length since your body started to give out. each time his cock brushed against your cervix you were one step closer to your awaited orgasm. “mmh it feels so good” you whispered softly in his pierced ear. Seonghwa took his time with you and wasn’t as rough as the others, not yet anyway. he stilled his movements, you looked him in the eyes with a questioning look wondering why he stopped. a smirk appeared on his face and he turned his gaze to someone else. a pair of strong arms lifted you up on your wobbly legs and Seonghwa followed. “ready to get double stuffed again kitten?” you heard Sans voice behind you, his breath tingled against your ear and it almost made you cum on the spot. you were now sandwiched between the two men, uplifted in their arms. they both placed their tips to your entrance, it was no problem to slide in their hard cocks from all the cum and your insane amount of arousal, plus you got stretched out good a couple minutes ago by two monster cocks. they synced their thrusts as they slammed up into your sensitive core, your high pitched moans was music to their ears. the knot was building up in your stomach and you were so close now, Sans hand toyed with your swollen clit whilst Seonghwa had his fun with your nipples making your eyes turn white.

Seonghwa kissed your collarbone and cooed “cum for us now love”. San bucked up his hips and groped your ass hard, he left a bite mark on your shoulder making you cry out quietly. a few seconds later your orgasm hit you and your whole body turned to jelly, not long after you felt a hot big wave of cum entering you. deep groans left their filthy mouths as they emptied themselves deep inside you. “good girl” San said huskily as he pulled out.

after they’d both pulled out Mingi gave you your panties back that he stole from you yesterday on his little visit. you gave him a tired smile and put them on you. “I should probably go and get some rest” you said as you put your boobs inside your top again. “need some company?” Mingi asked with a nasty smirk on his face. Yunho slapped the big man on his arm “as tempting as it sounds I actually think we should let her rest for a while, she’ll need it” he smiled at you. they gave you small kisses on your face before you headed back to your room.

“she’s a keeper” Mingi said watching as your ass bounced with every step you took. Yunho groaned and placed himself on the sofa again, he took out his phone and let out a light chuckle. “did you get it all?” San asked. “oh yeah I did”

[makereadgrow]

Why we don't shop at Hobby Lobby

At the end of my post on places to go when Joann finally closes its not so hallowed doors I mentioned "don't go to Hobby Lobby" and it has evoked some questions.

Hobby Lobby is a craft store beloved by many, with a cult like following. I have personally had a member of my extended family call me to tell me that they hoped my house was looted by protestors when I made a joke about Hobby Lobby on facebook (this was May 2020 so you can guess why they didn't like the protestors).

Hobby Lobby was founded by Steve Green and it has a long and sordid history.

Beyond the Bastards did a whole episode on Mr. Green and his Christian supremacy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeYaQQZTBPs&pp=ygUOI2J0Yl9rbm93bGVkZ2U%3D

The Mary Sue also has a write up of all the goods. https://www.themarysue.com/the-hobby-lobby-controversy-explained/

In 2009 Hobby Lobby and the Green's got caught smuggling antiquities to stock The Museum of the Bible

https://www.npr.org/2018/06/28/623537440/hobby-lobbys-illegal-antiquities-shed-light-on-a-lost-looted-ancient-city-in-ira

and in 2014 we have Burwell v. Hobby Lobby - which is when Hobby Lobby sued the government over providing birth control to employees. Setting a precedent that companies can have religious convictions.

https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/issues/birth-control/burwell-v-hobby-lobby

And to top it all off they think bar codes are the mark of the beast and forced their employees to continue to work without sick leave through the worst of the early Covid-19 pandemic.

[nautilimps]

Joann Fabric Stores will be closing all US locations. In so many towns and smaller cities, this is the only affordable shop or only shop period offering art and crafting supplies. It serves as a place of community and education, as well as access to higher quality sewing machines for many people.

We can hope the loss of Joann will bolster the local fabric, yarn, framing, art, and craft supply shops. I really do hope people will look to their libraries and local arts & crafts groups for advice, socialization, and tool access. My local library system offers a tool library and a repair shop program that welcomes textile projects.

If you know of such programs and shops in your area, make sure to spread the word. Don't let your friends and neighbors immediately fill that hole with e-commerce. Especially as AI is polluting more sewing, arts, and craft spaces online. And if you don't know what's available in your town, ask around. Check in with the library. If they don't have a program running, make the suggestion and volunteer if you can.

[creations-by-chaosfay]

Are your scissors dull? Would you like tips regarding sewing needles?

If you're having a difficult time cutting through material, your scissors likely need sharpening. There are two ways I've used for this, and they're both very effective.

The semi-free version:

Take aluminum foil, a long sheet of it, and fold this into about four layers.

Cut through all four layers, in thin strips, with your scissor. I make the strips less than half an inch apart, and cut the long way. You will need to be careful because the edges of the foil will be sharp.

After you get through all four layers at least six to eight times, fold what's left of the sheet in half. This will create eight layers, cut through these until the sheet is gone.

Test your scissors by cutting through scraps. I've made children's scissors sharp enough to cut through four layers of fabric when I use this method.

The inexpensive version.

Purchase this. You can find it in fabric stores, craft stores, and even a department store (like Walmart) in their crafting supply section. I bought mine at Joann Fabrics, when they had a sale, for less than $8.

Scissor sharpeners are super easy to use. Just follow the instructions they come with. Basically, you slide them in, and pull them out like you're cutting.

You won't need to do many passes for most scissors, but you will make children's scissors very dangerous.

For very small scissors, like applique or embroidery types.

Use the semi-free section.

You will only need two layers for the first pass, not nearly as much as you would for larger blades. So make the sheet smaller.

After five or six passes, fold the layers in half for four layers. Make several more passes.

Test your scissors to see how sharp they are. If unsatisfied, make more passes through the foil layers.

I hope this was helpful!

For hand-sewing sharpening needles, the little strawberry attached to the tomato pincushions serves that purpose. Stab your needle through that a few times. I find it works only so many times before I simply need to switch to a new one.

As for machine sewing needles, sharpening them borders on pointless. I suggest using Organ Needles if price is a big issue for you. My experience with Organ Needles has been phenomenal. The low price and high count, and the fact they last just as long as the name brand stuff you find in supply shops is just a bonus.

I have a pack of 100 sewing needles for less than $30. Compare that to the $10-$20 a package of five or ten name brand needle packs cost. Even if half the needles in my 100 pack start dull, it's still less than what I would otherwise pay. Thus far, this hasn't happened.

My needles go dull swiftly when I do any foundation paper piecing, stitching through fabric and paper, and paper dulls scissors* real quick. Imagine how fast that is with a needles, making hundreds of stitch through all those layers. If I notice the stitches look messy, I switch out my needle. I still have over half left, and have been using the same pack for around a year now.

If you're wondering how to dispose of the used sewing needles, may I suggest a plastic bubblegum container? I used to chew gum all the time, but had to stop after my doctor explained it's very bad due to my TMD/TMJ (and having hEDS also explains why large pieces of gum would dislocate my jaw). Because of my habit of keeping perfectly acceptable containers, I had two empty ones. One is used for my handsewing, like a little trash container. Opening and closing the floor models is irritating, and the fact I have a cat means all trashcans in this house must have a lid. Anyway...I use my second to hold used needles, broken or bent pins, and after four years of using this, the thing isn't even a quarter of the way filled. It'll likely be decades before emptying it will be necessary. The hard plastic edges make it impossible for any of the pointy ends from puncturing, thus making it safe for all and no trash bags will suffer.

[wellpresseddaisy]

Fabric, fabric, where to buy your fabric

With the likely closure of JoAnn Fabrics by March (they've filed for Chapter 11 again and so far the bidder looks to be the group that bought Big Lots), a lot of people are wondering where to get their apparel fabric and supplies.

Before I go any further, if you're feeling really sad about the likely closure of a place you always shopped, that's perfectly fine. I'm recommending what I do only because I haven't had even a JoAnn's close enough to make the drive worth it in years.

All of the fabric stores I'm recommending sell swatches, which are the secret to sewing when you don't have a local fabric store.

Don't shop at stores that won't send you swatches if you can manage it. Personally, I've had too many disappointments to go through it again. The discount may have been amazing, but the color was wrong or the fabric wasn't the right weight.

What I do:

1. Go through a store's catalog and mark favorites. Yes, you need to make an account to do it, but that usually nets you a coupon off your first order. Stonemountain let me use that coupon on swatches.

1a. Make a note of their free shipping threshold, if they have one.

2. Put together a cart of swatches. Consider what you might like to make for the coming year and in what type of fabric while selecting things.

3. Look at the total, factor in shipping, and save half of them for later. :) (this step is optional, but recommended).

4. Buy your swatches and spend the next few days like the pakidge? meme. Receive them and rejoice.

5. Consider the colors you ordered. Do you like how that fabric feels on your skin? How does it drape after washing it? Will it need special care? Do any of the colors make you look like you're sickening for something?

6. Make final selections for the coming season. Place a bulk order, meeting the fabric store's free shipping threshold (if applicable and workable in your budget). This works a lot better than ordering only enough fabric for one project at a time, if your budget allows.

6a. Complain bitterly that there are no local fabric stores where you can just go and play with the fabrics. Consider chucking your career and opening one.

7. Spend several days like the pakidge? meme again. Receive your fabric, rejoice, and then spend hours washing, drying, and ironing it before you put it away, ready to be sewn.

Notions and supplies

Wawak is honestly one of the best places for sewing notions and supplies. Their prices are good and their shipping is reasonably fast.

Apparel fabric

Stonemountain and Daughter

Has a good selection and they're pretty generous with the coupons and sales. They aren't the least expensive, but they sell good quality apparel fabric.

Minerva

Yes, they're in the UK, but even with the currency conversion most of their core range fabrics are a decent price. Their shipping is also really reasonable.

Vogue Fabric

They have an excellent selection at reasonable prices. If you need mockup fabric, their muslin is well-priced.

Dharma Trading Company

If you're at all interested in dyeing your own fabric, Dharma is the place. They have a wide array of dyeable fabric in so many different fibers and weaves. Their shipping is, admittedly, a bit pricey if you're on the east coast, but the quality is good.

I do not recommend Missouri Star Quilt Company or Robert Kaufman Fabrics any longer. MSQ bought a large stake of RKF a few months ago as the company was failing. The owners of MSQ are devout Mormons who tithe to the church and go on missions. While I absolutely support religious freedom, I don't want my money, even indirectly, going to support any religious organization that works against the interests of the LGBTQ community. This is also why I will never shop at Hobby Lobby.

[rederiswrites]

could you tell me what Private Equity is and why it's a bad thing?

Oh man okay first of all I'm pretty sure that only MBAs truly understand private equity, and I'm so far from being an MBA that I don't even file my own taxes, but I'll try to give a really rough explanation.

At the most basic level, a private equity firm is just a business that buys up stock in companies that are not public (not on the stock exchange for people to buy public shares). In practice, these firms are massive, and in 2021 they managed close to 20% of corporate equity in the US. Importantly, that's a MUCH bigger share than it was ten years earlier, and private equity is a fast-growing part of the world market.

Why it's bad is that this sector of investing falls at the juncture of just a lot of loopholes and blind spots in government regulation, allowing these private equity firms to manage the companies they own in very predatory ways.

For example, private equity firm Golden Gate Capital killed Red Lobster. Basically, they bought the company and started stripping it for parts, because their only interest in the companies they buy is investment profit. They don't have any incentive to care about the company's long-term health. The biggest thing they did to Red Lobster was what's called a sale/leaseback. Basically, insofar as I understand it, they sold the real estate the company owned--i.e. the actual restaurants, took the profit from that, and then made Red Lobster pay them to lease the restaurants. Ultimately this proved crippling for Red Lobster, but through evil finance magic and careful corporate structuring, Golden Gate Capital gets the profit, while Red Lobster got all the debt.

Private equity firm KKR is what killed Toys R Us, again with sale/leaseback and other management methods that favor short term profit over long-term viability, like firing people until there isn't enough staff, pushing store credit cards, assorted other bullshit I barely understand.

Basically, private equity is companies that buy up businesses using leveraged funds (borrowed money) and then "strip and flip" them, squeezing as much profit out of them as possible and then dipping out to leave the company to deal with the fallout. A lot of recent major company bankruptcies besides the ones I mention above came on the heels of the company being managed by a private equity firm. JoAnn Fabrics is one of the most recent.

Yeah. That's the best I can do. Basically, it's a very fast-growing sector of vulture capitalism and it's making a small number of people very rich off killing otherwise viable companies that the rest of us plebes liked and wanted to keep.

[ragnarokhound]

hello my sweet. quick question: are you doing the kids easter baskets or shall i (easter in this sense is the nondenominational candy eating, egg hunt holiday). I will be saving extra cadbury eggs for us.

okay. I think we all deserve a crack fic concept this march. Imagine this: jaytim, but it’s an ides of march AU. Jason is Caesar, Tim is Mark Antony, etc. Very dramatic, right? Jason gets to die tragically, betrayed and abandoned by those he trusted (👀) Tim gets to monologue about how caesar(jason) was a just and honorable man. He takes up his mantle and cause. cinematic tragic parallels.

Except. EXCEPT. This is ACTUALLY a jaytim theater troupe AU, and the play they’re doing is none other that Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Jason and Tim are acting rivals in the troupe (like not enemies, but neck and neck) andJason is sooooo mad that Tim got the role of Mark Antony, because now Tim gets to deliver the Monologue™️, and Jason gets to have SO FEW lines and get stabbed. Anyways, as is tradition for theater troupes, they end up banging at the afterparty or something. (next summer the troupe does hamlet and jason and tim get cast as hamlet and horatio. the homoerotic subtext is thru the stage roof on this one.)

Hello darling, way ahead of you [pulls out the heinous carrot Easter baskets I found at Joanns' store-closing clearance sale. The walls appear to be assembled from uncannily realistic carrots. They will haunt the dreams of all who see them.]

AKKDNSA ILL ADMIT, YOU HAD ME IN THE FIRST HALF

I love this concept. I can see the opening of it perfectly, written as though the events of the play are actually happening... slapping my response under a cut because [deep sigh] it got long:

Full-on descriptions of Jason's Roman funeral and his bloodless lips that Tim sorrowfully gazes down at before he turns to the assembled people gathered around Jason's tomb. Then he opens his mouth and starts giving a speech that sounds exceedingly familiar and Shakespearean. The poetically described funeral then follows the rest of the scene line by line from the play and we start to go 'now wait a second'-- and then the audience claps as the curtains close on the scene. It was a play all alonggg

Cut to the after party. I'm making pretend that the after party is like, at the theater and not a secondary location because it's fun. Jason takes his congratulations with a charming smile, but he is definitely seething inside as he watches Tim be showered in accolades. His friends on the set see right through him (I'm thinking a mix up from the usual suspects - maybe Kon or Cassie who are also friends with Tim but became friends with Jason during production lolol and possibly Jaime or Kyle Rayner in addition) and tease and roll their eyes at him, and get him another beer.

Tim and Jason have a banter-filled conversation later in the night, at that sweet spot when the party is still going strong, the music is loud, and folks are starting to show off (stage fighting and improv'd dances abound) loose with alcohol and the triumph of a successfully wrapped production. They snipe at each other with backhanded compliments, and things are getting heated-- until the guys doing four-man floor-jousting (who the hell busted into the props room--) crash into them.

Tim gets doused in what remains of Jason's drink, Jason gets slathered in nacho cheese (neither of them were eating nachos) and their argument fizzles spectacularly as they help each other up, snickering at each other and at themselves. They walk together to their dressing room to clean up-- they both still have a change of clothes in there.

(OF COURSE THEY SHARED A DRESSING ROOM. THE BELLIGERENT SEXUAL TENSION WAS BOTH UNACKNOWLEDGED AND OFF THE CHARTS.)

As they walk, their banter smooths out-- less defensive, more genuine:

Tim: I thought I was gonna throw up on opening night, I was so nervous Jason: are you fucking for real, I thought you were trying to psych me out T: no! Watching-- uh. J: yeah? Come on. Don't leave me hanging T, sheepish: ...watching you run drills calms me down J, sputtering a laugh: flattering as that is, Drake, respectfully? That's the gayest shit I've ever heard. And we did Kinky Boots last year T, laughing as he shoves him: shut up, just forget I said it, okay? J: absolutely not, I'm gonna remember this forever.

They get to the dressing room still laughing at each other, and get changed. Only, this time, there isn't the rush of scene changes or hair and makeup, or anyone else who wants them out in ten (thank you, ten). There's nothing to distract them from each other's proximity, and everything that's been slowly boiling all season, ramping up all night, comes to a peak. One second, Tim's peeling himself out of his wet dress shirt, the next, Jason's right there, and he's looking at Tim's mouth.

"You've got," Jason says, cutting himself off to swipe a thumb over the corner of Tim's mouth, like he's just fixing his makeup, like he's done for any number of his stage partners before. Tim thinks Jason did it for him just last week. "There." Tim's mouth falls open anyway, his tongue catching against Jason's thumb. He tastes cheese dip, and the salty drag of Jason's skin. Jason pauses with Tim's face in his hands, holding Tim in place. Tim fights the urge to swallow as saliva gathers at the site of intrusion; as back and forth, Jason slowly smears his bottom lip wet. "...there," Jason says again, low and wanting. Tim leans in and kisses him.

...aaaand then they bang in the dressing room like they've low-key been wanting to do all season, glory hallelujah amen 🙏🙏🙏

(Next year as Hamlet and Horatio they keep ad libbing a Lot of touchy feely stage direction and the director does Nothing to stop them lmfao their chemistry is bonkers and it's getting butts in seats 😌)

[goingknowherewastaken]

In light of Joann's closing I just want to give a reminder to many to check in on and see how you can help out those who can't access any online fabric stores online of they can't shop in store

An example is my grandma. She's in the group of elderly who only somewhat adapted to tech. She can send emails and play solitaire, but online shopping isn't in her wheelhouse.

But her passion is sewing. So much to the point where she almost pesters us for new projects for her to make because usually she's churning out pot holders, placemats, and wall hangings by the dozen. Like, I have enough from her to fill a storage container and I know the next time I see her I'll be getting some more.

For her, Joann's was her favorite store. I knew that every Tuesday morning she'd be puttering through the aisles looking at fabric and chatting with the workers (she knew ALL of their names).

For her, joann's was the only fabric store in town. Yes, there's a Walmart and it has some fabric (and craft/art supply), but it's not the same. That Joann's was the only fabric store for many people within 1-2+ hours (depending on which direction you travel). These other locations are in bigger cities and not only is she not a distance driver, but she's not really a city driver anymore either.

I'll wrap this up by just getting to my point. Check in with them and see what you can do to help. Take some day trips with them to go out to different fabric shops. Take an afternoon to sit with them and order some fabric. Spend some time with them and help them out ❤️

[aristotlencheese]

tldr: stop being fucking assholes to Joann’s employees. If you’re sale shopping refrain from making that super funny (it’s not funny) joke about how loosing my job is convenient for you. And know that I hate rich people. Someday when we’re hungry I have the last name of the first people I will want on my plate.

As a Joann’s employee I am pleading with the public. STOP TRASHING MY GODDAMN STORE AND THEN GETTING MAD THAT ITS MESSY. WE KNOW. We have 3 people working at any given time, MAYBE 4 on a special occasion. STOP grabbing overstock bins and using them as your carts. 9/10 times you empty them into random parts of our store and then when we go to find them for a customer or to put them out if we have any time WE CANT FIND IT. It’s not cute, quirky or funny. I fucking hate you so much will call my poor assistant manager to back me up when I tell you to not do it ever again, and I’m not going to be nice about it.

My queue is a mess, you think you’re cute for putting your tag on my shelf but in reality it’s just something I will be written up for. My aisles are a mess, it’s not funny when you take the appliqués and hang them up to make an inappropriate word because I will be yelled at by some grown woman for letting it happen. My cut counter is a mess because you invade my coworkers space to take a look in our carts of go backs and just throw things wherever you want. My bathroom is a mess because you throw toilet paper everywhere and plug our sinks with it and leave the faucet running.

Even working at 100 percent running through the store I can’t get everything done. And to top it all off I have to stay even later because people don’t understand that closing time means people need to be out of the store, not it’s the last minute to shove yourself in the door and promise you’ll only be a minute (it’s never a minute).

So please I’m on my hands and knees groveling and begging for everyone to just shut up for 10 fucking seconds while I’m helping you so that I can tell you you are swiping your gift card wrong and that my computer is slow instead of running your mouth complaining about how “this is why you’re losing your job” (actual quote)

It’s not. I’m loosing my job because Rich people got together and decided playing poker with thousands of Americans jobs was fun enough the first time to do it again. It’s because there’s an entire company (looking at you Gordon brothers) who just buys and liquidates stores to turn a profit. It’s because Rich people who don’t have REAL jobs can’t be bothered or trusted with what the public want for the life of them. It was never about your money, only their money. It was never about people not wanting to work only cutting corners to give the people at the top bonuses.

So if you do any of these things or get upset when I let a couple of the thousands of homeless people in our city sleep under the old now unused cart return under the awning I will get upset I will tell you to mind your business I will put you in time out and make you wait for my manager to ring you out.

You’re Adults and you need to start acting like it.

Cosplayers, Furries and other crafters and artists of Tumblr, I love you so much. I will miss you and so will most at our store (except for our judgey old lady clique but tbh they only work mornings so it’s okay)

[misscrochetnerdy]

I love buying yarn from Joann because they had so much variety, but now that they are officially closing, it breaks my heart. I'm going to miss seeing all different fabrics, the people, and yarn. I never expected my favorite store to close permanently.

[mrvelocipede]

I have been trying not to buy any new yarn until the house construction is finished, partly for reasons of budget and partly for lack of storage space. Instead, I've been trying to use old stashed skeins, or else unraveling existing knitting and reusing the materials.

BUT

One of the local yarn stores is closing, and they've been sending e-mails about EVERYTHING MUST GO, so of course my mom and I had to stop in one last time to say goodbye, and tell the nice lady who ran the place how sad we are that she's closing.

This unsurprisingly led to me buying all their last remaining stock of foggy-forest-green mohair, on the grounds that I've been thinking I want to knit a sweater using mohair held together with some other yarn, and the stuff is lightweight and squashable and therefore easy to store in a small space.

AND THEN

It turned out that the nearby JoAnn Fabrics is also about to close, and they had a sweater's worth of merino/alpaca blend in a truly unpleasant shade of sickly purple. Aha! It's soft, and very cheap, and I can overdye it! And then use it with the mohair.

Before I started playing with dye, I made a small test swatch of the original purple with the mohair. As expected, it was Bad.

The color looks almost pink in the picture, but in real life it's more purple, and more flat and murky-looking. Like the color of a plastic easter egg. The purple/green combination isn't at all harmonious, but also isn't bright or startling enough to be exciting.

[bevanne46]

How to Build a Fabric Stash without Breaking the Bank

Fabric can be expensive but it doesn’t have to be.  If you are not stuck on Name Brands or Specialty Fabric Store Exclusives here are some ways to build your fabric stash without costing an arm and a leg. I have made many beautiful quilts using various fabrics from various supplies. And I believe that the quality is not just in the fabric you use but also in your stitch work and seams sizes. If your seams are less than a ¼” they will not hold (personally I prefer to use a ½” seam allowance). If you are not securing your thread ends, your stitch work is going to come undone. So be sure to watch these things too.

Look for fabric at your local Thrift Store (Goodwill, Value Village, etc.)

I have found some wonderful fabrics in various sizes, notions, storage items and more at my local Thrift Stores. I have even found unfinished quilt tops that I have brought home and added a backing to then quilted. Remember that almost any size fabric remnant can be added to other remnants to make some wonderful scrappy quilts so save your own remnants after making a quilt, you may be able to use it later in another quilt.

Look for local Fabric Sales held by Quilting Guilds in Your Area.

We have 2 near me every summer.One charges $2 per pound for any fabric. The second one charges $2 per yard for any fabric. Both also sell batting, notions, books, machines, tools, and more.

Look for fabric on Facebook Marketplace, Nextdoor and other sites.

I sell extra fabric on Marketplace and Nextdoor. I have also found several ladies near me selling fabric that I have purchased. And some I have purchased with shipping to me.

Look for older 100% Cotton Sheets at your local Thrift Stores.

Back in the 1800’s and early 1900’s, Quilts were not show pieces. They were real functional blankets that were made from any and all fabrics they could get, usually used clothing. I think there is no reason why we cannot still do that instead of buying expensive fabrics. I have often used clothing, sheets, curtains, and other linens to make some wonderful, usable quilts. And there are some wonderful patterns you can use for quilts in bedsheets from the 1980’s and 1990’s. Note: I always wash anything from a Thrift Store before I use it.

Watch for Fabric Sales and Coupons for Joanns, Hobby Lobby and other Fabric & Craft Stores.

I know some quilters believe that the fabric from Joanns & Hobby Lobby is poor quality but I have not found any bad fabric from these stores.  We do not have a “Quilting” store close to me and because I’m handicapped, I will not drive an hour or more just to buy expensive fabric.  If I did that, I wouldn’t be able to afford to quilt.  I will also buy fabric from Walmart but I am more careful with my selection there as most fabric at Walmart is good but I have had one or two pieces that I felt were poorer quality.

Watch for Fabric Sales and Coupons for your Local Quilt Shop.

Quilt shops will also have occasional sales and/or coupons so if you prefer to shop at these locations take notice of when they have sales. Also ask if they ever give discounts to seniors or military.

Use New or Older Clothing.

I have made a lot of beautiful Memorial Quilts from a loved one’s clothing and T-Shirt quilts. I will use jeans, work shirts, uniforms, flannel, cotton, polyester and even some knits.  These can be a little trickier to work with because they are often stretchy fabrics but they will add a wonderful texture and visual variance to your quilts.  I recently found a pair of cotton pants with Mickey Mouse on them. I fell in love with them because they were so colorful, and I love bold colors. I found several other cotton fabrics that matched the colors in the Mickey pants and made a bold colorful quilt!

Rethink Your Backing Fabric

No one ever said your quilt backing had to be all New Cotton. You can use Fleece, Flannel or Bed Sheets as well. On many occasions I have found some wonderful fleece blankets on clearance and used these for my quilt backing.  Joanns right now has a great clearance sale on Flannel fabric. The best part about using some of these is that you can get then in a wider width so you may be able to make your backing in all one piece instead of 2 or more like when using regular cotton (unless you want your backing to be in various colors/patterns).  You can also use new or older cotton bed sheets for a quilt backing. Again, you can make your quilt backing in one solid piece with a sheet!

Check the Clearance Section for Your Favorite On-Line Stores

I have several on-lines stores that I love to shop from (e-Quilter, Missouri Star, etc.) but sometimes they can be expensive so I always check the clearance section of these stores. There are times I will find some beautiful fabrics on clearance so will purchase it then look for matching piece everywhere else so I can get the best deals. Also check for on-line sales from Joanns, Hobby Lobby and other on-lines stores that sell fabric and/or sheets.

Check Out Your Local Garage, Moving and Estate Sales

I have found some of the best deals at moving and estate sales because often the seller is willing to bargain with you. I once found an estate sale where a family was selling off all their mother’s quilting and sewing items because she had passed away and none of then sewed. There was more fabric and notions than I would have used in a year so I found lots of thread and items I purchased at a great price.

Note on Batting

I know that many quilters believe that the only batting you should use is expensive cotton batting. I disagree.  There are many forms of batting. Cotton/Poly blends, Polyester, and Fleece. I love cotton batting but cotton will break down quicker than polyester and I want my quilts to last a lifetime so for most of my quilts I actually use Polyester more often than not. I have taken the backing off many older quilts to do repair work and the cotton batting inside was all balled up and a real mess.

Now when I am doing the Quilt-as-you-Go method I use a Fleece batting. The fleece can be cut into smaller pieces, fabric added to the top and then sewn back together to make wonderful quilts. And the batting doesn’t get stuck in my machine.

Shop Around for your batting to find the best deals. Sometimes Joanns has a sale on batting but the best price I have found so far has been Walmart on-line.  I can buy a 96” x 9 yard Bolt of Poly Batting for just $30 on Walmart on-line. This bolt will make 4+ quilts depending on the size of the quilt and I will have lots of left overs for smaller projects like pillows, etc.  For me the best part is that because it’s 96” wide, I don’t have to piece together my batting before I can sandwich my quilt!

[actual-sleeping-beauty]

WIP Wednesday

thanks for the tags @paperstorm and @alrightbuckaroo! today for wip wednesday i present to you: nothing! just kidding, i would never do that, i will show you the temperature blanket at the end of this post, but first i have to tell you about my next project that i have been trying to start for 87 years since september. (if you are just here for the blanket, skip to the bottom of the read more.)

so, back in the summer @carlos-in-glasses posted her version of the step by step sweater by florence, and i thought, hey, this would be lovely to make for my grandfather! but the pattern uses wool yarn, and the man will not hand wash a garment. everything he owns has to be able to go in the washer and preferably the dryer, although i could probably convince him to air dry a sweater. maybe.

so anyway, i'm on the hunt for either a cotton or acrylic yarn that is soft enough to be comfortable as a sweater and the right thickness. i have gauge swatched two different yarns at this point. the michael's stores have very limited selections within these parameters, there isn't a joann's close to my college town, and i won't shop at hobby lobby because of the rampant homophobia and smuggling of human remains. so i've been stuck for a while, just endlessly gauge swatching and getting frustrated. (for the non-knitters, a gauge swatch is where you knit a small-ish section to make sure your yarn is the right thickness and you're using the right size needles.)

so then randomly my cousin sends me a youtube short of someone saying they made this sweater with pound of love from lion's brand, which is an acrylic yarn! my yarn woes may be over! of course, the colors i need are not available at the michael's, but that's okay, we're going out on tuesday night and we can check to joann's then. so we go to joann's at like, 7:45. the sign out front clearly says it is open from 9-9. all the light are on inside. the doors, however, are locked. my mom and i stood there for like five minutes knocking on the door and waiting for someone to show up, but it was just locked and seemingly abandoned by whoever had been working there? so anyway i STILL don't have the yarn i need and i am starting to think the universe doesn't want me to make this sweater. luckily i am more stubborn than the universe and i will persevere.

and now, the 2022 temperature blanket! i have been working on this blanket for so long that two of the yarn colors i originally picked have changed formulas lmao. but if i had bought all the yarn i needed originally i wouldn't have any space in my closet for clothes, so oh well.

as a reminder, this is the first temperature blanket, which is january to june 2022. mug for scale. it's very stretched out because it is so heavy. i rarely get to use it now that i'm home because my family loves it and always steals it.

THIS is the current wip. it is currently july through most of october 2022. again, mug for scale. i am finally free from the purgatory of purple and red and now i get to enter endless yellow territory. yippee!

tagging: @whatisamildopinion @strandnreyes @thisbuildinghasfeelings @herefortarlos @welcometololaland @rmd-writes and whoever else wants to share!