We were out this morning for an early breakfast at Bob Evans and our weekly stops at CVS and Walgreens … and of course there are signs all over the place for the big Black Friday events coming at the end of the week. I’ve kind of been thinking about this topic all week … why can’t there be a Black Friday for quilters????
Wouldn’t it be FANTABULOUS to be able to go to a shop and get 75% off a new sewing machine or that new cutting table? Can you imagine fabric for $2.00/yard? What about batting for $5.00? What about needles and rotary blades and thimbles for $1.00 each???
Okay, we better open our eyes, the dream is over … it was nice to think about for a little while, but it’s back to reality now.
When I first got back into quilting, I actually went out on a Black Friday by myself to hit Wal-Mart and JoAnn Fabrics. I started at JoAnn’s … and the line went from the registers all the way to the back of the store (literally – I’m not making that up). And for all of the grumblers out there, let me tell you – it was sort of fun. There were ladies behind me talking about their crafting projects and why they were buying this item or that item. In front of me were two women talking about all of the places they had already been that morning. They were up at the crack of dawn and in line at the door at Sears at 5:00 a.m. that morning to get some sort of gift certificate. I think it was around 9:30 or so by the time I was talking to them, so they were ready for lunch already now that they’d been out shopping for over 4 hours! It was kind of neat to hear about all of the stuff they’d done … and it made the time standing in line go by faster. Oh yes, I was still in that line for quite awhile … but for a relatively new quilter looking to add to her collection of stuff – it was a good deal!
I made it to Wal-Mart about 10:30 or so, and by that time the crowd had died down a little. It was still a busy place though, and the remnants of the tornado of customers having blown through were evident. There was stuff on the floor, a few displays knocked over, some torn advertisements scattered about. I was there to buy a new sewing machine. I needed a new one, but wasn’t ready to commit to one of the expensive ones at the quilt stores yet. (As it turned out, I think I only used that machine from that day in late November to around mid-April when I got my Bernina Aurora 440QEE.) But it was kind of fun to be out in the hustle and bustle … to see the $19 VCR’s and the VHS tapes in bins selling for $1.00 each, the shirts selling for $5 each, and the purses for $10. And with the Christmas music and a different Santa Claus around every corner, it really did put me in the spirit of the season that year.
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