LA Meet, Shop and Learn

So I went to LA to attend Mimi G's Meet, Shop and Learn event. I had a 6:40 a.m. flight so I wouldn't have to rush around when I got to LA. Great plan, right? Soooooo after I missed my flight and sat in the airport for another 2 hours, I was finally on my way to meet my fabric, I mean Mimi and the rest of the ladies. Things were in full swing when I arrived and introductions were already underway. There was a brief question and answer session followed by a trip to Mimi's friend Catina's (a pattern maker) work/live space in the garment district for an extensive pattern fitting lesson.

After that there was a brief refueling session and then off to shopping! There were so many fabric shops, people and food trucks with bacon wrapped hot dogs, it really was enough to make your head spin. Mimi took us to the spots where she gets her fabrics and it was really cool that she referenced actual items that she has posted on her blog, i.e., "this is where I got the fabric for the ___________". We hit the independents shops first and then finally Michael Levine's. Can you say kid in a candy store and to top it off, Mimi arranged for the group to get a 10% discount SCORE!!!

Here's my haul:

Of course, fabric is always something to be excited about, but the best part of the trip was meeting so many fantastic women who share my love of sewing. I even got to meet the fabulous Karen (thanks again for the ride to the airport) who follows my ramblings here.

I'm happy to hear that this is going to be an annual event so I'm saving my pennies now for next year. Hopefully I'll meet more of you there.