Tie a Ribbon on It

I recently visited the Berwick Offray Ribbon Outlet.  It was nirvana for this ribbon and bow lover.  The lovely Bethany of Maryland Pink and Green posted about her visit last year and based on her pictures I knew I'd walk away with something.

The store is a true factory outlet- it's located right next to the factory that produces the ribbon.  While browsing I heard the ubiquitous factory whistle several times.

So much ribbon, so little time.  The most expensive spool of ribbon I saw was $10.  I thought this was a bargain until I did a little exploring.

Some displays were a little haphazard but I loved these bins of double-faced satin ribbon organized by color.

In the back of the store were about 15 boxes full of grocery store bags.  Each bag was filled with ribbon.  The bags were sealed tight but you could see what color ribbon it contained.  I asked two veteran ribbon outlet shoppers I met what the bags were all about.  They told me the ribbon was second quality but you could cut out the offending part and would still end up with a large piece of ribbon.  The bags were priced five for $1.  Yup, 20 cents per bag.  I knew if I ended up with just a few feet it would definitely be worth the $2 I spent for ten bags.

This heap is the contents of one of the grocery bags.  I didn't measure but let's just say it took me many, many nights to roll the ribbon from all ten bags.

JDD took pity on me one night and helped me roll while we watched a movie.  On the other hand, Devin, my ribbon addict, was content to just leave the ribbon in piles.  I think he had more fun with the ribbon than I did.

My trunk was filled to the brim with bags from the outlet.  Next time I go I'll definitely drive our Volvo wagon so I have more room for my haul.  But honestly, I think I probably have more ribbon than I can use in two lifetimes.

This is just the ribbon JDD and I rolled from the ten grocery bags.  I threw away a lot (funky dye patterns, big tangles, etc.) but still have all this.

And this is everything.  In addition to my grocery bags, I bought about 20 spools, the most expensive of which was only $5. 

If you know of any fun and easy crafts for ribbon, please let me know.  I have no earthly idea what I'll do with all this. :-)