I was lucky to get in Portland for the machine quilting expo and it was the same time the store had their fabulous sale. 25-35% off everything. The notions department is fantastic. Their buyer goes to many independent suppliers and keeps the latest and greatest on the shelf.
I also liked that I could take the train and walk less than 1/2 mile to get to the store. Did not need to rent a car just for that. Of course I would not have liked to have bought a huge bag of material and then walk back to the train.