Well if the title did not get you here I don’t know what would! Welcome to the last week of the Cutter Quilt Countdown! We have covered a lot of projects and a lot of ways to make gifts for the coming holiday seasons with little money and not a lot of time.
As always, remember the cardinal rule, Don’t give handmade gifts to people who don’t appreciate them, that is why the Goddess created gift cards to corner coffee shops!
This week we are reaching WAY back in the time machine for a project that is budget friendly (use that craft store coupon!) and an easy project and way to use up any number of fabric scraps, test quilt blocks that did not make the cut for a quilt or cutter quilt tops as I have done.
But first a story!
Gather round my BAQS children as I tell you the story of my trip to Joann’s in search of foam balls and finding some nipples, or lack there of instead.
Today’s project uses the ubiquitous foam craft balls that have been used to make this type of project from the start of time and I know I own some but given that my sewing room is still in boxes I knew that a run to the craft store was in order. I have not been into a Joann’s in maybe 3 years so after asking the nice man at the counter where he hid his big (foam) balls <grin>, I (well masked of course!) took a quilt spin around the store.
I was sadly dismayed to find that not only had the quality NOT improved in the passing years it had gotten worse. Sure there were like one zillion adorable novelty prints but if you looked close the colors were not as clear and bright as they could have been and often a sharp eye could pick up minor and some major registration issues to the print.
My hands and my nose were quickly able to tell me that the fabrics were highly finished (not a good thing) to give them more body and to feel heavier then they really were. And while I did not have my loop with me so that I could count threads I am willing to bet a Keto cookie that the quality of greige goods used was much less than quilt-shop quality fabric. There IS a difference. Lower quality fabrics are one way big box stores like Joann’s can afford to release 40% off coupons each week.. their normal price is way more than much of the fabric is worth in the first place. So if you must shop there you sure as hell should be using that coupon but please remember you are not really getting a “deal”, they just want you to think that.
Of Shells and Nipples
There is even a difference when it comes to print that a single company provides to both big box and independent retailers. This has been a topic for a long time so I am not digging up anything new but for ages it was said that these offerings were the exact same fabrics but I am once again having my serious doubts after tripping on a particular favorite Alexander Henry fabric and noticing a “cover up” of sorts. Please be WARNED, if nipples on imaginary mermaids make you clutch your pearls, then it is best to turn back now.. save yourself!
Notice anything different? Why yes, the Joann’s mermaid has been given a set of modesty shells to cover what are not even actually nipples but hearts on her chest. The saucy version of this fabric was one of my all time favorites so I pulled it off the shelf and ran my hand over it.. first off, it did not even feel like quilt shop quality AH fabric and the print colors were not as bold but I thought the print was the same until I spotted the use of the modesty shells.
It seems that Joann’s customers are unable to see nipples, Ahem hearts, without bursting into lustful?, shameful? indigent” flames so the fabric and possibly others that AH provides for Joann’s are reworked to eliminate the saucy and substitute the banal. What a shame. The world really could use more heart nipples.
But even more important the overall quality of the product feels lower with no lower price tag. Sure you can use that ever-present Joann’s coupon, but you are still paying good money for a lesser quality product. {insert Mic drop}
This is a seriously tough time for independent quilt shops who day after day sell top quality fabric for you to use to make quilts you can be proud of and I cannot encourage you more to make sure that you are supporting these shops with not only your dollars but your Facebook “Likes” to help them gain more social media reach.
I know that with some quilt shops closing the choices are getting leaner so might I suggest adopting a BadAss Quilters Society approved quilt shop in your mail box? Next week I will be back with the beginnings of our list of approved shops and what that means and I look forward to taking you on digital shopping trips through many of them over the coming weeks!
Oh Balls!
So we have covered the nipples, let’s talk balls! Cutter Quilted balls that is! If you are old enough to have watched the Brady Bunch the first time I bet you made some version of these in Girl Scouts, or 4-H and they are just as easy and fun as they always were. I used my cutter quilt flimsy for these but think about using vintage linens, or maybe you have small scraps left from the best quilt you ever made. It is all fair game when it comes to these and making them big and small and loading them up in a basket makes are great looking holiday display! Click the image for a printable version!
BadAss Quilters Society – Support and social connection for politically and socially progressive quilters with attitude!
