Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Fabric Mecca Beckons



I am leaving August 6th for an on-a-whim trip. Craig and Casey were flying out to pick up our motor home and drive it back up the Al-Can Highway before winter sets in. Kind of a last Father and Son Hurrah before school starts. At the last minute I decided to go with them on the flight down and spend a few days with my MIL and nieces.



Every few years my MIL and I attend the Puyallup Sewing Expo together and have started adding in a trip to Portland, Oregon to fabric shop. There is limited shopping here in Alaska. A JoAnn's and a Wal-Mart. There is a good selection of quilt shops, but nothing that offers quality garment apparel. Since I haven't been able to make the Expo in some time, I'm overdue for a fabric stock-up!



I sew ALOT. This year alone I have sewed up almost 150 yards and it's only July. I do a great deal of service-oriented sewing, make a lot of gifts, as well as some of my own clothes. So I move through my stash at a pretty quick clip.



Portland is becoming a bit of a West Coast Fabric Mecca. My MIL and I like to visit the Pendleton factory, the Mill End Outlet, Josephine's Dry Goods (gorgeous stuff, but the snootiest saleswomen ever!), the Button Emporium and Ribbonry, Fabric Depot (largest fabric store in the nation) and others. We used to drop in at the Daisy Kingdom store in downtown Portland, but sadly it has been closed. We have not yet made it to Rose City Textiles, but perhaps we will this time.

So it's time to make my shopping list. Any suggestions as to what I should buy? Stores that didn't make my list? Where we should eat (HEALTHY FOOD!)? :)

Charity

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

But, Charity...isn't this the year that you were going to sew DOWN your stash??? Just kidding around with you.

Seriously, though, since you have used up 150 yards from your stash already this year, you must have made room for 150 yards more fabric!

Yep, that's what you should do--buy 150 yards more fabric!

(Are all of those fabrics in the photo from your current stash? They are all very pretty together.)

Have a great time on your trip.

Sounds like a lot of fun!

I didn't look at all those websites yet, but I bet I will have a lot of fun just looking at them!

Have Fun!

Charity said...

Shhhhhhh....

*shuffling feet* Yes, I wasn't going to buy any fabric this year. And for the most part, I haven't. I've been really good. I know this will sound insanely silly, but I'm actually having a hard time finding much more of my fabric that's appropriate for The 100 Skirt Project. The fabrics I've stashed for myself are mostly blacks and brown and too serious/old for girls. The children's stuff I've almost used up. Lots of what's left is quilting stash, home decor, knits and my vintage textile collection. I am getting short on stuff appropriate for teens/younger women. I do still have plenty for my wardrobe projects.

And yes, the fabrics in the Wizard of Oz photo are all from my quilting stash.

Anonymous said...

Well, Charity...

Maybe, you didn't really say that you weren't going to buy any new fabric anyway.

Maybe, you just said that you weren't going to buy any more fabric for your current projects.

Maybe, you just said you were just going to use your stash for the projects you were working on.

Maybe, you didn't say anything about FUTURE PROJECTS! LOL

Yep, I just went back and found what you said. You said, "I've made a pledge to try to sew exclusively from my stash this year."

So, you are off the hook, Charity, as long as you don't SEW any of the new fabrics this year and just keep them in your stash. LOL

I am just kidding you, of course. I think it is absolutely amazing that you have used 150 yards already!!!

I have forgotten--how many yards did you said you had??? Something like 700 yards, was it???

Which brings me to my next question (I know, I know...I am very inquisitive...)

How do you inventory your fabrics?

And, now my last question, for tonight at least...

I was asking about the fabrics shown in this post, "Fabric Mecca Beckons." Are those all from your stash?

Okay, so one more question...
Do you have a project in mind for the fabrics in the "Fabric Mecca Beckons" photo?