Trip to a Polish fabric wholesaler

One of the secretary's desks. This is the lady's desk who helped us. Probably wasn't entirely fair of Rachael to take her desk when she had fabric draped over it...but...anyway.......

My sis and I went to a Polish fabric wholesaler in the center of Poland about 2 hours from where we live - in a town called Łodz - sounds like "woodge."

I wanted to see this company in person,  in fact,  I had hoped to see the production facilities, but they weren't located at the 'warehouse' where we went. 

We went to a building that looked like a house. In fact, I had looked it up on google maps street view and thought for sure that we were going to be sent somewhere else.

We weren't. I was wrong.

They had samples that you could look at to see what you wanted to buy.

I loved it. They were "using what they had". What they had was a house - and a very big basement/garage area they turned into a fabric storage area.

Let me show you some pictures of what we saw.

We walked upstairs to the "office" where there were a couple of secretaries and their desks (and a simple bathroom!). 

I told one lady what we were looking for and explained what I did and she said, "Fundacja Opoka?"  I was completely shocked that she remembered. These people must go through dozens of orders a week - how would she remember me? I'm still wondering.

Some more samples

Here I am asking her about some tan. I want a whole bolt of tan and brought a sample piece of the color I'm looking for with me. Unfortunately, they don't carry what I want.  I may have to change my "wanter".

Then, after telling her what we were interested in, we went downtairs to the "stacks and stacks" of fabric bolts. Only they weren't wound around cardboard - they look like bolts, but BIG ones - they are more or less just sort of folded and then wrapped so they look circular.

Each one is wrapped individually and they aren't all the same number of meters in each "bolt".

This is definitely looking out the door of the would-be garage.  Our first years in Poland we lived in a place like this - where the garage is basically half underground - in a "daylight basement" type scenario.

They seem to know where everything is.

They sure seem to know where everything is. Here is one of our bolts of Kaszubski that we ordered - apparently they only had one at this office as I wanted one and Rachael got one - it is arriving in the red van from apparently another warehouse.

A nice man is starting to load it in!

Some of it is put in already. We got a total of 11 bolts or partial bolts. 

So what did I get? Good question.

I got several solids because I find that all of my solid charity quilts were taken - all the bold solids - the big block ones and some of the ones with primarily pinks - were taken. I want to make some more with a combination of black and those bright solid colors.  

Let me show you what I mean. I want to make at least 10 more of the ones below but in reds, blues, greens, yellows, orange, etc.  Not pinks. It's a large rail fence. Easy peasy and definitely "nice". And dark -ish. And suitable for man or woman.

I'll be curious to know how many women take them. I'll have to take notes!

This simple rail fence is what I want to make only using greens, reds, blues, browns, yellows, oranges, purples and keep away from the pinks this time.

So, this is what I brought home:

I bought this beautiful gray because I need gray!  And I've needed it for a while now. The gray I bought from them before is barely gray and I needed something that actually looked gray! That hot pink is the exact shade I'd been looking for - but instead before I got what I called bubble gum pink - which is fine, but I really love this shade.

And now you know!

And now I've just got to get sewing!

And my husband needs it quiet here in our bedroom where the computer is, so he can rest.