March 5, 2015

A Frozen Month Goes By + Perplexing Pattern Pricing

A whole wintry month has gone by since my last post. I vowed to keep this blog up weekly when I began but like many other bloggers the pace slows over time.
Eventually you have little more to say and the world outside doesn't help.
Bad iPhone pic

This backyard snowman is hard as a rock but he has seen several small thaws and refreezes since the grandkids and Grampa built him. He once had plastic pot headgear as well as a face and a second mitten.



















The front yard guy is faring a bit better, but his hat and face departed and this morning he only has one mitten on. It is nearby on the ground.

That yellow one from the backyard may have been dragged off to become a sleeping bag for a mouse.

I really hope these blue ones survive. They are hand knit, but no one ever wears them.



















Sewing is supposed to be the focus of this blog so I will try to get back on topic even though the only thing I have to say right now is incidental.
I mentioned in my month old post that I decided to use my beautiful Italian wool knit to make  Marcy Tilton Vogue #8982. 
On one of my trips to Joann Fabrics I was going to pick it up but changed my mind when I saw the price was $27.50!! And no coupons allowed.

Now I respect Marcy's skill and the fact that Vogue has always been pricey, but no way is nearly $30.00 for a jacket I will make once sensible at my income level. And I am not poor or even uncomfortable, but just SENSIBLE.

When I spoke to the woman at the cutting counter about it
she got out her little handheld computer thing and looked into it and told me if I would come back the NEXT day ALL the patterns would be on sale for $4.00!!!!!

Well, it is a 20 minute drive but hubby was giving blood that day so I drove him to the blood-letting place and scooted on over to Joann's again.

Yup, they were all on sale, however slightly different. The big 3 were, I think, 3 for $4.00 or something like that and the Vogue was $5.00. Now, I was happy, but I still find it strange, perplexing and weird that a pattern price can be cut more than 80%. Does anyone ever pay the full price and if they do are they subsidizing the penny-pinchers like me?
Just asking.

3 comments:

  1. Seems to me the entire pricing structure at Joann's defies logic. They force you into playing this game. Because everything is on sale at one time or another, if you pay full price for anything you feel like you've been ripped off because tomorrow or next week it will be 50% off. I assume the marketing geniuses at Joann are trying to entice you to come back as often as possible, but it just alienates me. The only reason I ever go in Joann's is because there are so few other options.

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    1. You're right, Janet. I know the coupon/sale game but not how to fight it. I am trying to buy what I can from Etsy where I have a shop. I have a great source for zippers there.

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  2. It's the same at Hancock with pattern prices. I too wonder who takes the hit - Joann/Hancock or the pattern companies. If Joann/Hancock I wonder if they use patterns as a loss-leader because they make it up on the fabric & notions sold? Does Joann/Hancock buy the patterns from the pattern companies or are they on consignment as I *think* I read somewhere? Also - there are signs in the stores (here in the US anyway) of "40% off patterns everyday".

    Oh sorry - didn't mean to ask so many more questions! In answer to yours - I only buy patterns at Joann/Hancock when on sale. And each line seems to be on sale about every 4 weeks. If they ever stop going on sale, I might start giving Jalie, Hot Patterns, and Style Arc a more serious look.

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