Dag! Antoher real store I have to visit! I shop there online all the time.

Thanks for all the tips. I am really getting excited! Maybe a few of you will be there. My friend and I are seriously thinking of ROAD TRIP the week after I get home. Will let you know, we'll have a meet n greet for QB members for SURE !! Any ideas for an inexpensive place for an overnight stay ?

Update on Fabric Depot experience... first of all - the place is HUGE!!! 2nd-if you can't find it there-you are not finding it!
3rd-the employees are super! 4th-the YARD SALE room was for me lol !!! HOWEVER - I thot their prices were a little higher than my prices in Bellingham but that could be because of no sales tax in OR or whatever- One example- an ITEM (shall remain nameless but it is liquid *wink*) was priced @ $19.99 for the quart bottle. Hancock Fabric in ID reg price is $11.99 for same size. I used a JoAnn 50% off coupon (@ Hancock) and ended up paying abt $8.00. That is quite a big difference. I guess you should know your prices before going. My overall experience was GREAT....... Will go again when traveling thru in April 2012 ... Hope to meet some of you there.......... Thanks again for every-bodies input ! Helped a lot!!!

I used to work for the family that owns Fabric Depot. They are the folks that owned Fabricland (before it was stolen by House of Fabrics). They were wonderful people to work for and it was a fun job. Tony (the owner) really knew what customer service was all about and he never EVER hired someone who did not know how to sew. He wanted his customers to have the best experience possible. The joy of any shift was that we made people's dreams come true. A bride would walk in with a picture of a couture wedding dress that cost a bazillion dollars and walk out with her dream wedding dress in hand (she just had to put in a bit of work). It was so much fun!

I have to second the recommendation for Country Manor, after you hit FD. She DOES have a small section of batiks, and a lot of times she'll purchase every bolt from a line of fabric. She also has a back room of clearance fabrics at $6/yard. Another good place to shop is Craft Warehouse on Mill Plain. It's a quilt shop/craft store similar to Joann's, but the fabrics are waaaaaay nicer. They carry gorgeous lines and top-shelf manufacturers such as Moda. I've often been able to find stuff there that FD didn't have.