Down By The Shipyards

I live in Seattle, a city that would seem large enough to support a number of good sized fabric stores. That’s not the case. There are some smallish specialty fabric places that have lovely things but not mainstream stuff.  A small town about thirty miles north has a big quilting store and there may be some others. What I long for is a big store with it all. Fabric, patterns, notions. A store that can supply everything for someone who quilts or sews garments. An added bonus would be yarn and knitting supplies. Well, it turns out there is such a place. It’s called Pacific Fabrics and it’s located in a big warehouse in SODO. SODO is the industrial part of the city down by the actual Port of Seattle, where the tanker ships are loaded and unloaded. It’s an amazing store but has a tiny parking lot and though it isn’t in the most savory of locations, it’s  less than half a mile from a light rail station. An easy walk, even carrying some stuff. I asked the guy working at the fabric store if the area is relatively safe for foot traffic. He said it’s not a good place to be late at night but basically yes, it’s safe during the daytime although you might see some occasional drug use. “But you don’t have to buy any drugs,” he assured me very seriously. I’m glad there’s no obligation. What a relief.

Photo courtesy Tho-Ge at Pixabay.com