I used to be a Michaels Crafts follower but over the last few months have come to love Joanne's. The staff is SO much more friendly and helpful. Everyone there is knowledgeable in at least some area or another and not just a cashier who doesn't know anything about the store or its products.
I recently took a sewing class with Melissa Roos and she is amazing. I definitely recommend her for intro to sewing as well as her intermediate or advanced classes. She's a great teacher.
There are always sales of some sort going on so rarely do you have to pay full price for anything.
Truly appreciate the friendliness of Joanne's staff. A huge difference between Michaels and Joanne's aside from the fact they have a huge and incredible sewing and fabric department.