Day # 5.......MaryJo's fabric store!!!

Day # 5 dawned bright and RAINY......see??? Below is a photo of us driving in the rain a little over 80 miles (each way) from Boone to Gastonia so I could get to MaryJo's fabric store. (Actually we only had rain on the way down...was sunny by the time we headed back.) Mary of the Quilt Hollow blog had hoped to meet up with me and Tonya at MaryJo's but she had a conflict with kitchen countertops that were being delivered, but I hope to meet her another time.

Actually, Tonya ended up with a migraine that didn't respond to the prescription meds she takes so she had to stay home. I felt very bad for her and she was very sad about not getting to go that day......and also about the fact that she and I didn't get to see each other one more time to say goodbye. (TJ has promised to take her to MaryJo's, though...and when she is there, she will pick up a fabric I meant to get and forgot! And they might come here for a visit....so that will make up for not getting to say a proper goodbye in NC.) So.....now more about MaryJo's Cloth Store, which carries all kinds of fabrics...not just quilting fabrics.
It is big.......no....let's say HUGE......and quite overwhelming as you go inside. There are no shopping carts...just hand baskets, so that immediately threw me for a loop. I mean...how can you wander such a huge store with 1,597,283 bolts of fabric (or at least it seemed that many) and NOT have a cart at your disposal?? And how can you carry bolts of fabric if you are also trying to carry one of those little hand baskets, too (the kind you see in the grocery store)??? Well....I looked around and saw this......and this.....and this......fabric and batting and threads and sewing tools and notions and patterns of all kinds as far as the eye could see and beyond......(but no GO! cutters, I'm sad to say).After the intial shock of the place wore off, I forced myself to stop staring and start shopping.....yup..this is me!I'm sorry that there aren't more (and better) photos of the store but I couldn't carry my camera AND that basket AND the bolts of fabric, so I left hubby to do the photography and I suspect he was in a hurry to get OUT of there and go read and play his electronic handheld game in the car! He did take a video, though, and one time I'll link you to that. Anyway....... I figured out my plan of attack....I'd find a bolt or two of fabric and take it to one of the MANY cutting tables so that one of the MANY employees could cut it and then placed each cut piece in my basket. (I quickly discovered I was supposed to have picked up a blank ticket on my way into the store on which they write what they cut for you as soon as they cut it....so I had to go back to the front and get one before my first fabric was cut.) The cutting set-up was good and quick on the day I was there. They then immediately reshelve the bolts so nothing stays long at the cutting tables. (I'm sure that gets a little trickier on days it's super-crowded...which it wasn't that day.) I did this back and forth shuttle to the cutting tables a number of times. I found out at the end that on non-crowded days, you can pile your bolts on the cutting table and ask them to put a "HOLD" sign on top of your pile until you are done and ready to have them all cut. Not knowing that, though, I just went back and forth a lot! Truthfully...and you will think this is nutty because I'll probably never get there again......I used a lot of self-discipline and did NOT buy a lot. I have my quilt retreat for a week in November and want to shop at the Amish quilt shops, too. SO.....while others around me in the check-out line were spending hundreds of dollars, my purchases went just a tiny bit over $100...I just had to squirrel away some of my fabric money for November!! Be assured that I could also have easily spent hundreds of dollars there as the selection of quilting fabrics was beyond belief. I've never seen such a store and doubt I ever will again. If you have the chance, go visit this store....just try not to stand there with your mouth wide open as you look around!!! And...take $$$ with you....lots of $$$!!!! Below is a photo of the fabric I bought that day. I did buy some notions, too....but didn't take a picture of them and now they are put away and I don't even remember what they were!
I was in the store for about 90 minutes and when hubby saw the bag (which wasn't big), he said, "You were in there that long and only got that one little bag of stuff?" He doesn't undertstand fabric shopping....but he was good about taking me there and waiting while I enjoyed my time in the store, so that is all that matters. The selection there is amazing...that's for sure! We went to a Golden Corral buffet for lunch as hubby LOVES places like that and then we stopped at a small winery in the town of Lincolnton and bought some bottles of wine. There are lots of vineyards and wineries in NC. I suppose one could make a vacation out of visiting just them! Then we headed back to the hotel. Sadly, it was time to get our bags packed in preparation to start the drive home the next morning. Tomorrow I'll post some miscellaneous scenery photos (of which I have MANY) so you can enjoy more of the beautiful fall foliage we saw on this trip.
NOTE: Meant to mention the cost of fabric at MaryJo's and forgot...thanks for the reminder, Jackie. Most quilting fabrics were $6.99 a yard....even wide backing fabrics (not much selection of those, though). Some fabrics were $5.39 a yard and there was a sale section in which prices were lower than that.