Fabric galore!

I'm just back from a whirlwind two-day trip to Portland, Oregon, which is not only one of my favorite places to visit but a magnet for fabric junkies who need to stock up.

My mission was to gather a great selection of embellishment fabrics (the pretty ones I put on the outside of the bags) for fall, and to stock up on lining fabrics, interfacing and some notions.

There is a large wholesale warehouse in Portland which this weekend is holding one of its twice yearly events for customers, with lots of extra offerings and special deals to tempt buyers like me.

Then there is the ultimate in fabric retail stores: Fabric Depot. This huge store has an amazing selection of materials by the yard. It also has a wholesale program and a treasure trove: a section of last-chance fabrics at rock bottom prices.

I already had a few ideas of some yardage I wanted and plans to check out the sale section, which is always fun and mostly responsible for my personal stash of fabrics for which, of course, I have big plans! And as I drove up I saw the sign: 40 percent off all fabric this weekend.

The place was a zoo, but also buzzing with the excitement of happy sewers snapping up bargains. It was fun to be fabric shopping among so many other enthusiasts and the staff kept the lines at the cutting tables moving along smartly.

So the fabric shopping resulted in mission accomplished, and I had time to hang out in Portland enjoying the glorious sunshine. Since when was work such fun?

I'll be updating the Fabric Choices page on my website in the next couple of weeks.