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This is beyond humiliating.

(Part of my image was borrowed from the internet.)

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I was really surprised when my neighbor told me that our local JoAnn’s store had closed down. I had been there just a few weeks before to buy supplies for gifts for my niece’s coming twins. When I was there, I noticed updates to the store from the last time I had been there. Even though I couldn’t afford to shop there often, I presumed others were able to.

I got curious and checked online and found out that the entire JoAnn corporation had gone out of business. Ours wasn’t just an isolated closure of a store that wasn’t doing well. What mixed feelings this brought up! While I disagreed with the direction the chain had been taking, I didn’t wish for their failure. I wished they would get better.

Just as this area is a Pet Black Hole, it is also a Retail Back Hole. There used to be several fabric stores in the county, but now there are none. You can buy a few calicoes or a bit of fleece at Michael’s (there is no Hobby Lobby in this area), but you’re up a creek if you want to do any upholstery work or make outerwear. There are some online sources for fabrics, but I hate to buy without being able to touch and see the fabric in person. What is “heavy” to you may not be to me.

On top of this, recent news has featured shipping companies’ use of non-English speaking illegal workers to drive trucks in the country. More were hired during the shutdown because there was a sudden increase in the demand for goods shipped to homes. While these drivers are to be commended for finding work, it turns out their lack of familiarity with the country’s language(s) has led to an inordinate number of accidents. Now authorities are cracking down on drivers without proper qualifications. This means shipping companies will no longer be able to abuse their workers by making them live in their trucks or monkeying with the logs so that they work more hours than they are allowed. To us, it means that shipping costs are going to go up. Hooray, first our B&Ms are pushed out, and now we will have trouble affording shipping costs.

This news comes at a time of my own personal identity crisis. Last year my PT recommended that I go to OT. He said, “Wouldn’t it be nice to do some exercises and be able to go back to doing the things you love?” Yes, that did sound nice. My OT, however, said that I need to avoid activities that put stress on my joints. It turns out that most of the things I do/did put undo stress on my joints. In other words, I have to stop doing them.

Since OT, I’ve been trying to figure out who am I? What do I do? Working with my hands was my way of dealing with legs that don’t function properly. Now no hands? As I go through my One Thing Each Day challenge, I’m trying to figure out how much fabric I should keep. Is sewing even a part of my future? If it isn’t, what is?

Even though I may no longer need JoAnn’s services, I am saddened that the business is gone. Maybe with the country’s focus on making goods in America, we’ll find ourselves in a position to open fabric supply stores that have goods people will actually want to work with (natural fibers!!!) and be able to afford.

The gifts I made from my recent (last) trip to JoAnn’s.

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For beautiful, made in America, tariff-free gifts, come visit my shop at L Bowman Studios!