A Car Full-Take Two

Good morning! Good afternoon! Good evening!

 Wow, this weekend was definitely one for the record books. Friday we ran over to Batesville, Arkansas in the ice and snow to visit Marshall Dry Goods Co.’s warehouse. Our eyes were opened to an entire new way of buying fabric (three flat carts full) that I shared in the last blog. 

Saturday was a workday at the Quilter’s Hideaway. We unpacked fabric, input what we could into inventory, replaced light bulbs, worked on odds and ends projects and even had a few fights with the heater. Apparently part of the shop isn’t getting heat, but I promise it will be fixed before we open. It is just a little bump in the road.

Sunday we loaded the car with as little as possible and drove to Kentucky. My sisters live there so it was a great place to stay the night, work on inventory, share what has been going on, and most importantly-rest. Monday morning we woke up bright and early (again) to drive to Tennessee and visit Choice Fabrics’ warehouse.

This time we had a small idea of what to expect after visiting our first fabric warehouse, but we still tried to enter the doors with as few expectations as possible. It is easy to get overwhelmed and completely freak out-in a good way- when there are thousands of fabric bolts surrounding you. I mean, when is the last time you could fill cart after cart after cart FULL with fabric. Last time I went to a fabric shop I only thought I was leaving with a car load. We have sense redefined what it means to have a car full of fabric.

Jody is our representative at Choice Fabrics and boy is she awesome! We giggled, hollered, and asked a million questions. It was such a fun environment to spend our time in and, I believe, we came away with fabric that you will all love (At least I hope so!).

We took Fran, one of my sisters, so we could have another set of eyes picking fabric. We want to fill our shop with many different styles. I’m finding that each warehouse has their “thing” to set them apart. Whether it is flat folds, bundle packs, or pre-cuts, finding this information out has been extremely helpful. We have also enjoyed meeting our representatives face-to-face and establishing a relationship with each of them. Call us old fashioned, but I would much rather talk with someone than only send emails. At least now we know who is responding to our emails and that it is an actual person.

Choice has their fabric displayed on tables, so we walked row after row filling four laundry mat style carts. We even got to take a peek at how they take rolls of fabric and put them on the bolt which I shared on Quilter’s Hideaway’s Facebook and Instagram pages. I’m having a hard time getting videos to display correctly on our blog.

 The two guys who ran these machines were too fun. They also helped us load the truck. I wish I could have taken a picture of their face when they realized we didn’t just have the one cart in front of them but three others plus a smaller shopping cart full. They were troopers though and it was loaded in no time.

We managed to fit all of the fabric and batting into Fran’s truck bed and back seat then drove back to Kentucky. Once we arrived back at her house, we moved the fabric into mom’s Honda Pilot and we took off. We drove late into the night Monday, making our way back to WINDY Oklahoma. I was back at work Tuesday dreaming of all the fabric we purchased. I cannot wait to open so you can see it, too.

 

The MODA trip is happening today, though I’m stuck at work. I sent detailed instructions for tons of pictures and updates along the way. I also might have sent a shopping list. Along with Moda, another IKEA trip is taking place because we are out of shelf space. That means we are expanding out of the main shopping space and into another couple rooms. Exciting!

I have faith in my mom and mother-in-law to find awesome things, and I am heading to the shop tonight to see what all they found. I will try to post a few sneak peeks in the coming days.  

Is anyone else getting excited?! 23 days…

 
See you at the machine,

•Care