I think we sometimes forget how fortunate we are in the USA for things like fabric. I was on a long awaited trip with a friend to Italy about 6 years back and we found some beautiful fabric but very few cottons and those were both made in France and exorbitant in price. That was a shame as I really like going to a new place and visiting the local markets and fabric stores and meeting the people that live there as well as seeing the sights.