Fabric...in a Pharmacy?

*Please excuse the poor quality of the following pictures. :)

When I really started getting into sewing, which was only earlier this year, my mother-in-law told me about this pharmacy in town that actually sold fabric. But the way I remember her telling me about it was that it wasn't very impressive. Then I talked to someone else from this area, and they said this store made them want to sing the "Hallelujah Chorus," because of the great selection. My sister-in-law also said this store had a lot of fabric. So, I told myself that the next time I was in town, I would check it out.

It's called A&E Pharmacy, and it's in a kind of scuzzy part of Pensacola. This is what the outside looks like. I told myself, "Don't judge the book by its cover. Go inside!"



And here's some pictures of the inside. It was kind of a pharmacy/consignment store/99 cent store.




Need some boas? They have a few...



I'm not going to lie...when I saw the boas, I was skeptical. But then I found the fabric (cue "Hallelujah Chorus")



And this is really only part of the glory of it all - the picture really doesn't do it justice. Simply put - I was in shock! Granted, there was tons and TONS of traditional fabrics, but the selection of modern, designer fabrics was some of the best I've seen under one roof. Amy Butler, Riley Blake, Kaffe Fassett, Michael Miller, Robert Kaufman, Valori Wells, Joel Dewberry, Heather Bailey, Alexander Henry - pretty much just about anything you want. Plus, they had stuff from a few years back, as well as the current trends. They had just aisles and aisles of fabric! Oh did I mention, they were having quite the sale?

Okay, so I went in with a purpose, and I succeeded in getting EXACTLY what I needed, and nothing more. I've really been wanting to do an all-polka dot quilt, and I'll be doing the Birdie Stitches Block of the Month starting in January (button on the sidebar), so I'm joining the two ideas. I picked out all of my fabric at A&E, and decided that all those dots needed something to break them up a little so I found some great solids, too. It was awesome to be able to pick out all my fabrics at once, rather than buying online or getting a little here and a little there. (The colors in this picture don't exactly read quite right)



The dots are a mix of Michael Miller's "Ta Dot," Kaffe Fassett's "Spot." The solids are a mix of Kaffe Fassett's shot cotton, Robert Kaufman kona, and Robert Kaufman quilter's linen. I absolutely loved laying everything out and picking and choosing from the HUGE selection! I was nervous about going with a scheme based on a pattern, and not color, but I feel very confident about all of my selections.

So that was my little adventure. If you're in the Pensacola area, this store is definitely worth a stop. If you live in Pensacola and don't know about this place, go there immediately. If you don't live in Pensacola, don't plan on ever being in Pensacola, then I'm sorry my friend, you just wasted a few minutes reading this. But I hope you liked it anyway.