A new best friend

My sister & I made our annual ( soon-to-be semi-annual) trip to the L.A. textile dristrict today with a couple of her friends. We have had this trip planned since Christmas, and to say we were excited was an understatement. We've traded hundred's of e-mails over the past couple months with list after list of things we wanted to buy to make inventory for our Etsy shop.

Fast forward to Wednesday night. Forcasted weather for this weekend.....

Rain, Freezing temps, snow....yes, snow...in Southern California.

Determined not to let today's weather forcast dampen the spirit, we vowed to hit the mart come rain, sleet or snow. I went out and bought myself some wellies. I had plans to wear my wellies, and was actually excited about the outfit that I had put together to match them..For those of you that have never experienced the textile district, it's in the heart of downtown L.A. right next to SkidRow. Not exactly a clean neighborhood...last time I wore flip flops, and came home with the filthiest feet, ever.

[My wellies..prepared for the artic blast forcasted in Southern California]

So, imagine my surprise when I woke up to sunshine this morning. My wellies still made the trip, but they ended up sitting in my sister's truck just in case..you know, a sudden snow storm hit LA or something...

We had a fantastic day. The four of us did a little pre-shopping breakfast at The Colony on Pico and then headed up the 10 towards downtown. Let me just tell you, everything in the textile district can be bargained. If one person tells you one thing, and you don't like their answer, just move ahead and ask someone else..You might just get your way..Lesson learned with parking.

We saw an advertised lot for $5 all day parking. Steph goes to pull in and the lot attendant told her no trucks or vans. We drove around the block and found another lot that advertised the same deal. Asked if we could park there, and were told yes. Drove in, parked, paid our money and then realized, we just parked in the VERY SAME lot we were told we weren't allowed into. We just entered from a second enterance..We all thought this was very funny. And hence, our first lesson that all things can be negotiated in the district was complete.

We went in a bunch of shops specializing in fleece ( for those adorably easy no-sew blankets that everyone seems to have) for an average of $2-$4 per yard..Just for comparison, our local fabric store, Joanns, sells printed fleece for at least $9-$12 per yard. Same stuff as the mart, just wayyy higher priced. The other ladies stocked up on fleece, but I had my eye out for cotton fabric, in yes, you guessed it, sweet girlie prints.

Our shopping trip eventually brought us to the mecca of all fabric stores in the area, Michael Levine's.

[Inside Michael Levines]

[photo from picasa web]

I'd venture to say that Michael Levine's is one of the only, if not the only shops in the district that is non-negotiable on prices. All prices are marked, and don't be fooled..These designer fabrics are full-price, just as they would be at your local Joanns. The difference that makes Levine's so great? Their bins.

They had $5 bins, and 40% off bins today. I found 3 prints that I've been drooling over online, and one of them was 40% off while the other two sold for $5/yd. Most of the fabric in Levine's, however, is at least $9/yd....but it is so stinkin cute, and so well organized, it's hard not to drool all over yourself in there.

If you live in LA, and you like to sew, you should seriously go there.

No really, seriously.

It's that awesome.

[my purchases]

I also love a store called Islands Fabric which carries a lot of polynesian themed fabric. Not all of it is cheap, but they do have $5/yd on many cute prints, and some are sold on a roll, rather than a bolt, so you end up getting a little more bang for your buck. I think I scored three prints there for under $20.

After a few hours shopping, we saw all we needed to see, so we hit the road home. When I got home, I saw the shiniest, most beautiful, sparkly...

...wait for it...
(a reference for all you How I Met Your Mother fans)
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Carpenter's Square!!!!!

My ol man surprised me with a shiny new carpenter's square today. He has watched me struggle with a quilter's ruler and grid mat.. trying to cut perfect 90 degree angles for projects, only to have failure of epic proportions.

So, today my saga of uneven sides has ended. My carpenter's square is the best tool ever, and I have already put it to practice with my first "new fabric" project.

Today was a good day.

A very good day.

I hung out with good friends, and made a new best friend in my carpenter square.
Thank you, sunshine!

p.s. It never even rained on us. ( See, I told you it was a good day)