A love/hate relationship

[girlyswot]

With Walmart (aka Asda, though yes, I know, not quite the same thing).  Too many people shouting at their children; too many things sold out; too many things of really poor quality.

But...

Okay, I've known for a while that Walmart craft department existed.  I even made a brief foray into it a couple of weeks ago looking for knitting needles (they didn't have the size I wanted).  But today, I got a little carried away...

I bought fabric to line my Noni bag (which is now knitted, felted and awaiting finishing).  It's a perfect pink with green dots that was less than $4/yard.  I also bought some green piping at $1.24 and handles for less than $5.  I'd already picked up a magnetic clasp so now it's all ready to go.

I also found the perfect materials to make my Pay it Forward gift for amamama.  Actually I'd found part of what I needed when I was sorting through my stash in preparation for packing and moving, and Walmart have everything else.  And I went with an idea of what I might get to make for ladywhizbee but was completely bowled over by a product I'd never seen before that's going to make something SO much better than I'd first thought of.

And yet... I'd got my pink fabric cut without any problem but when I picked up another roll a few minutes later, the guy was nowhere to be seen.  I waited for a few minutes then gave up.  I'll go back another time, I guess, but it did feel a bit frustrating.  Though that's how I always expect to feel when I shop in Walmart.

Comments

Also love/hate

[stripydinosaur.livejournal.com]

This reminds me of my experience with a fabric store over here, where the material is cheap and plentiful, but is cut so wildly and inaccurately by the staff that you get a trapezium of fabric that is either less or more than you asked - and paid - for.

Although further to your comments about people shouting at their kids, I once heard a child in Asda being told angrily:
"No you can't have a banana, why do you want one of those? You've got some sweets!"

Re: Also love/hate

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

LOL. That perfectly sums up the reason why I always hated shopping in Asda.

[amamama.livejournal.com]

You'll post a pic of your Noni bag, won't you? And you found materials for the thing you're making for me? Wheeee! I feel so giddy it's unreal.

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

I will. Though I don't think it'll be done before I move and I'm not sure I'll have a chance to do it while I'm in my temporary accommodation, so it may be several weeks.

[tdu000.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've yelled at Little Tyke in a supermarket but I can understand the sentiment! They have kiddie temptations at eye level. I remember Tescos banning them in the UK (it might have been temporary) and whilst I didn't appreciate it at the time, in retrospect, I do!

Bad servise is a different matter and is very annoying! Even cheap service needs to allow you to actually buy!

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

I'm not saying that it's always bad parenting to shout at your kids in the supermarket. It's more the attitude exemplified in stripydinosaur's example above that you find much more in Asda/Walmart than in other shops.

And the service is always bad too.

[ladywhizbee.livejournal.com]

I used to be enamored with Walmart, particularly when I was a poor college student working my way through...but now I avoid it like the plague. I always come away feeling harassed and frustrated. Oddly enough, I think it has more to do with the piles of products in the center of the aisles making it difficult to navigate through crowds and parked carts.

I will say that there is a newer/neighborhood sized Walmart in my area that isn't all too bad. It's clean and well organized, and because its a bit off the beaten path it isn't over crowded. It is a smaller though, and because of this it doesn't have everything that a larger Walmart might. However, I will dare to cross the threshold--which is saying a lot since I will freely admit I've become a Target snob! :-) And the really nice thing about this neighborhood Walmart is that despite its overall size, it still has a large craft department! :-)

I can not tell you how excited that I am that my little gift will be made of something 'new to you'. Very, very cool!

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

Exactly. I always came away from Asda in a bad mood, no matter how I felt when I went in. My local was a 24-hour store which they seemed to feel entitled them to have large crates of stock blocking the aisles at all hours of the day.

I like Target too. But Walmart is so cheap...

Now I have a question which may or may not be related to your gift. *grins* How old are your daughters?

[ladywhizbee.livejournal.com]

*grins back*

Sophie is three.

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

And adorable with it.

[ladywhizbee.livejournal.com]

Grace is 18 months

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

Love that cheeky smile.

[stmargarets.livejournal.com]

When are you moving? I've been out of the loop! I hope it all goes well.

Yes, Wallmart does have inexpensive fabric, but you're right about the help. One time the hapless manager of the automotive department had to come over and cut fabric because no one else was around. I have a friend who buys all of her fabric on e-bay - but I like to feel what I'm getting.

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

Saturday. It's all happened quite quickly though I've been working on it for months! I'm moving initially just to stay with friends for a couple of weeks, then into the new place when it's ready. I'm going to have the 3rd floor of an enormous house (reminds me of the White House) that belongs to friends of mine from church and they're doing it up specially for me. I'm very excited.

I can't imagine buying fabric on the internet - I definitely need to feel it and see the colours in real life too.

[stmargarets.livejournal.com]

It sounds wonderful! I'm glad you've got a nice place. But moving is a pain. Hope it goes smoothly.