Replies

1. 
   FitnessNut | Mar 10, 2006 02:21am | #1

   That sounds fabulous! You'll have to give us all a blow-by-blow report so we can enjoy it vicariously through you!

   The only bit of advice I can give you is to take an empty suitcase for your newly-found treasures. And your credit card, of course!

1. 
   user-116532 | Mar 10, 2006 06:50pm | #2

   Thanks for the good wishes and for the suggestions.I'm going to try to control myself and buy fabric I really need---for a travel wardrobe with the tailored look I prefer (even though I'm retired).Yeah, right, we'll see if that happens.

1. 
   KarenW | Mar 10, 2006 07:49pm | #3

    I went on the one in December with a friend, and though I've fabric shopped many times in NYC, it was very fun going with a bus full of people who share your passion!  The leather store is outstanding.  I have a good local leather source I'd just discovered so I didn't buy skins there (found some half off at another nearby store) but did buy some other leather trims.  If she's going to the warehouse in NJ, it's great - very good prices on really nice fabrics.  Many of us found ourselves in line go get cuts over and over because you'd get your fabric cut, say "ok, I'm done!" then walk by someone else with something you HAD to have!   There's another huge store we went to that was well appointed with finer fabrics and you may find more of teh tailored goods there you want (not sure if she's going to the same places) though I did get jacket fabrics in NJ as well.  I met some friends from a sewing email list in person and from another sewing site, stayed over another day with the friend I went with and we did some serious damage at Spandex House (wonderful knits) and Paron's/Paron's half price store.  We wandered in a few others and there were several others I'd have liked to go to but just didn't have the time.  Missed all the museums and other things I love to do in NYC, but it was a fine fabric affair!

   Karen

1. 
   user-116532 | Mar 10, 2006 08:12pm | #4

   Thank you thank you for relating your experiences. Your description sounds almost exactly like the on-line brochure. I'm really encouraged!Question: was the hotel in New Jersey or in Manhattan?Did you find it difficult or expensive on the third day to find transportation to the garment district, Spandex House, and other fabric stores? I'm going to stay the third day, and I hope some of my fellow fabric addicts will stay, too.Thanks!

1. 
   KarenW | Mar 12, 2006 08:55pm | #5

   It wasn't hard to get in/out. The hotel was in NJ, much cheaper than NYC.  We took the hotel shuttle to the Newark Airport and there you could buy NJTransit train tickets into the city, we got off/on at Penn station.  It's a bit of a walk to the garment district, not too far, you could take a cab, but I don't mind walking all over town.  The only drawback was the shuttle for the hotel from airport to hotel gets pretty packed, i.e. standing room only because it was serving 3 hotels (not sure if she's staying at the same one, I think it was a Marriott Courtyard).  Hopefully they've added more service.  Most fabric places will ship at a reasonable cost.  The garment district is primarily between 38th & 40th, between 6th and 8th.  I don't remember exactly what streets each store was on, but I think Spandex house was across the street and upstairs from the very large store (Super Silks or Super Textiles or something like that0 we went to in Manhattan, Paron's may be another block over and next to Paron's is a half price annex.  M&J trims is like an upscale dept. store of trims, but Daytona Trims, a much older less glitzy store is so full of stuff you can hardly move - we just didn't have enough time in there before they closed!  B&J is a great resource but pricey, but on another trip there a friend made me go in because she said it's the best place to get to touch every kind of fabric you'd ever heard of but rarely see in person in a fabric store - good tip. I had gotten a couple of remnants there at great prices, but it was in their old location, not sure if they still have the remnant area.  Mood fabrics is one I sadly missed, if you've been watching Project Runway that's where they usually go for fabrics.    We had three hours at one location - the Super xxxx place.  While it was a wonderful store, my friend and I zeroed in on a couple really unique pieces, some bargains (nice selection of ultrasuede at good prices and they cut very generously), then left to check out some surrounding hole in the wall stores and find knishes, we just made sure we were back in time for bus time.

   Darnit, you're making me want to go again. I haven't sewn up what I got there last time!!!! 

    

   Edited 3/12/2006 2:02 pm ET by KarenW

   Edited 3/12/2006 2:16 pm ET by KarenW

2. 
   user-116532 | Mar 13, 2006 01:55am | #6

   Hey, come go with us!Many thanks for the very useful information. I want to go to Mood Fabrics just to be able to say I've been there. Peggy says that she will take us to places from which Mood purchases their fabric (well, she may have said "probably" purchases their fabric), where we can buy for less. The last time I was fabric shopping in Manhattan (the Dutch still owned it), I recall being able to walk nicely everywhere I wanted to go. Hmmmm, maybe I should buy at least a souvenir at Mood Fabrics, now that I think more deeply into the subject.

3. 
   KarenW | Mar 13, 2006 03:58am | #7

   :-)

   Thanks for the invitation!  I have an all day commitment that Saturday for the high school, would otherwise be checking out a semilocal sewing show that'll have to be pushed to Sunday now, but I have thought about taking a redeye in (I'm on the west coast) just for Friday shopping... have lots of frequent flyer miles and I could get there and back and shop for a day and still make my weekend commitments... used to have to do that occasionally on business.... hmmm......

    

   Karen

4. 
   user-116532 | Mar 13, 2006 03:16pm | #8

   Ambitious project! Sounds like an adventure, though. If you have enough frequent flyer miles to go first-class, you might even get some sleep.Would you be joing Peggy's group or going it on your own? ---Krista