eye candy-- or, I almost wish I could sew (but not really)

When I was in line at the Bazzill warehouse sale, I was chatting with a couple other ladies in line (you gotta pass the time somehow when you're waiting 1 1/2 hours, right?). One of the ladies mentioned that there was a SAS Fabrics store very near my work, so a couple weeks ago, I headed there after work to check it out. (check out their website by clicking here.) The tagline on their website is "fabrics by the yard and by the pound" and they are not kidding: this is the chaos you see when you walk into the store-- shelves of ribbon and trims, piles and piles of fabric, and boxes upon boxes of charms, sequins, buttons, and doo-dads. My first thought was, "oh my gosh!" (On the other hand, I was also thinking "oh, boy!! there's gotta be some good stuff here!") I didn't buy anything that day (I only had about an hour to look around before they closed), but took some photos and got some creative inspiration from the riot of colors and textures. (I will definitely go back again-- probably on a Saturday, when I can spend lots more time digging through the boxes and shelves for those hidden treasures.) Till then, enjoy the photos!!

Row after row of rick-rack, pom-pom trim, and fancy braided trims. these colors remind me of fruit-flavored sherbet.

I don't know where they get the huge rolls of trims they sell; lots of the labels look vintage, to me.

this huge table is just piled high with bolts and end-cuts of fabric.

At the end of the ailes, there are shelves just chock-full of narrow boxes; each box holds a different kind of charm, button, or trim.

more rolls of woven trims- I love, love, love that tan trim with the fruit; it reminds me of my Grandma's house, for some reason. I would have bought it, but I couldn't really think of what I would do with it. (I don't really think this is one of those stores; it's more like "buy it and figure it out later."

a look inside a box of embroidered patches for 25 cents each. The box was about as tall as my waist, and about 2/3 full. (oh, and by the way, there were two of these boxes.) I could have spent hours here, just digging to see what I could find.

Another view of the fabric table, with some other shoppers next to it, so you can get a sense of scale. Creative chaos for sure, right?!? :D Like I said, I almost wish I could sew!