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 When I was a child, I can remember gathering during the holidays and throughout the year for various special family affairs here and there. I remember getting big wet kisses from my tissue toting grandmother, and funny tap dancing salutations from my green eyed grandfather. And though I was raised to be seen and not heard in the company of adults, I always had an extended ear, eager to gather tid bits of information that I would store away for the perfect day I would need that little voice of wisdom, or carry it in the forefront of my mind until the moment I could question its source and validity. As time went on and the older generation of my family started to make their transition back home, I found myself foresting for information and relationships that would keep the ties that separated yet binded my peers from that of my grandparents going strong. Once I reached womanhood and had children of my own, the lack of community and the fast pace life demanded us to live, challenged the reconnection of the two generations I strived to forge. Communication in the form of special occasion greeting cards and periodic phone calls were the memories being created, and long gone were the days of wisdom walks in the parks and handed down stories from the Talking Drums.  September 13, 2009 marks this years Grandparents Day and the the 31st anniversary of signing of the proclamation by Ex-President Jimmy Carter that turned West Virginia housewife Marian McQuades vision into a national holiday. With Marians primary motivation set at championing the cause of the lonely elderly in nursing homes, she inspired grandchildren, communities and eventually the nation, to tap into the wisdom and heritage of their grandparents...and pass it on. Marian beleived that to honor grandparents, give grandparents the opportunity to show love for their childrens children, and to help children become more aware of the strength, information and guidance that the older generation have to offer, the youth will feel nurtured and the communities will be strengthened. Through intergenerational interaction, knowledge and wisdom are exchanged, one conversation at a time. The late and great Honorable Bob 'Nesta' Marley shared it best in his song Real Situation where he states, " once a man, twice a child; and everything is just for awhile..." reminding us to honor the preciousness and fragility of time and life itself, not only as our family members grow into seasoned elders, but as we do also.  In honor of all our seasoned elders, the journey they have led, the wisdom they have gained, and the roll they still play in the lives of other, J&O Fabrics offers a selection of nostalgic prints and designs inspired by the days of innocence and generations gone by. Grandparents Day may only come once a year, but its celebrated 365 right here at J&O Fabrics!  Labels: african-fabrics, childrens-novelty-fabric, cotton-fabric, family, grandparents, grandparents-day, novelty-fabrics
 Before George W. Bush left office, the former U.S. President proclaimed June 6th as National Childs Day. Similar to National Childrens Day proclaimed by ex-president Bill Clinton in 2000; this is a day set aside to honor the children of America and show our gratitude to those who work hard support them including, parents, teachers, community and spiritual leaders, surrogate moms and dads, and various youth organizational volunteers. This day serves as a reminder to all of us that our commitment to the children helps make our country and future a better place. There is an old saying that reminds us that all work and no play makes one boring and gray. In case this proves to be true for you, what better time to re-awaken the child inside and celebrate along with the little people not only on June 6th, but 365 days of the year. With a little more laughter, a little more play, and a little more imagination, we can tap into the fountain of youth and stay young at heart forever. Today and in all days, celebrate life. For what better gift to the world than a child! Labels: child-celebration, children-fabric, childrens-flannel-fabric, childrens-fleece-fabric, childrens-novelty-fabric, diva fabric, Fabric, fabrics, national-childrens-day, sport-fabric
 Each week we receive tons of letters and emails from customers who have made beautiful crafts, reupholstered old furnishings, and designed unique garments all from the fabric they have purchases from our online store. From hot pink vinyl and black suede cloth to children's novelty cotton and route 66 tapestry, it never ceases to amaze us how creative our customers really are. Take for instance Ms. Yvonne Perry. Yvonne is a freelance writer, editor, author and owner of 'Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services' by day, but by night she is an artist with a unique sense of color and taste who makes wonderful home crafts for friends, family and a few more folks ready to support this Jackie-of-all-trades. Yvonne sent us an email thanking us for providing her with the perfect sock monkey fabric for her infant bumper pads and crib quilts featured on her flickr photostream below: http://www.flickr.com/photos/randyvonne/page2/ By nurturing her creative imagination and applying the proper training, Yvonne was not only able to turn a fun hobby into a fruitful venture, but save a lot of money at the same time. Why pay for the markup costs of a store bought bumper pad or quilt when you can cut out the middle man and turn those extra dollars into investment dollars for more creative ideas to come. Yvonne, on behalf of J&O fabrics , we'd like to say 'Thank You' for sharing your project with us and all our blog viewers on the world wide web. Keep on nurturing your gifts and encourages others to do so too. We look forward to seeing more!
To see all of J&O Fabric's fabulous textile goods, check us out at http://www.jofabrics.com. To check out J&O's selection of sock monkey fabric click here! To check out J&O's selection of other fun novelty fabric click here! Posts by J&O Fabrics Store Labels: breast-cancer-fabric-crafts, childrens-novelty-fabric, craft-ideas, novelty-cotton, novelty-cotton-fabric, novelty-fabric, novelty-fabric-craft, sock-monkey, sock-monkey-craft, sock-monkey-fabric
 In these economically uncertain times, our survival skills kick in and our natural response is to cut back, cut out and hold our breath while the nightly news reports on yet another mass lay off of jobs. We join the ever growing population of stressed out worker bees and me-myself-and-I clones in the competitive rat race called 'life', who find truth in the encouraged notion that it is survival of the fittest, with no rest for the weary. It is a delusional and vicious spiral of continuous fear based responses that chip away at the 'reality' of what it means to be alive. And while this method works for some, it is not the remedy of choice for everyone. There is another group of people who are ready, willing and able to look at the economic challenge and see an opportunity to create and REcreate their life, and help others along the way as well. They are able to turn their stumbling blocks of lost jobs and income into stepping stones, and their obstacles of financial exhaustion, into opportunities. It is amazing how creative we can be when our backs are against the wall. What better time than now, to nurture all those gifts we carry but have discarded as silly little hobbies from our younger years. What better way to REcreate our circumstances, than to pull out those carpentry books we tucked neatly away for a rainy day read, take a free class in photography at the community college, or unfold those wisely preserved and still stylish designer fabrics and never used Singer machine that you promised yourself one day you would create magnificent fashions with. What better time than now to put down our worries and fears of what tomorrow may bring, and challenge ourselves to creating the future we want for ourselves. It really is a matter of perspective, and at J&O Fabrics, we strive to make it our business to tempt you with enough eye catching fleece, upholstery, decorative, novelty and organic fabrics to bring out the successful survivor in all of us. Because even if your passion isn't crafting, your creative juices will start to flow in one direction or another. The time is now. Labels: childrens-novelty-fabric, conservative, consumer-savvy-carol, fleece-fabric, frugal, novelty fabric, resourcefulness, upholstery-fabric
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