Friday, December 5, 2008

The ALL DAY Fabric Search Adventure

Those who know me well know my slightly....ummm...obsessive mind when it comes to my "projects" ie. sewing, household decorating, shopping...you get the gist.

So today, I don't know what I was thinking...well, I was thinking that I didn't want to sit in the house all day....so I decided to go on a full on fabric search. It usually happens this time of year, I run out of bolts and need to get some new patterns. The fabric issue recently has become a lack of fabrics for the Diaper Bag Wrangler Toddler Apron Sets!



I have been selling a TON of them, and I love making them which makes me so happy. Unfortunately they use a lot of fabric, so even when I buy a full bolt, it doesn't get me too far! So today Lilly and I went on our pilgrimage to prevent an apron crisis.

I'm also starting to work on an awesome custom Diaper Bag Wrangler order for my friend Caitlin who is having a baby girl in April, which so far involves multiple fabrics and a dachshund applique. So I was also shopping for her fabrics today:




We left the house around 9:45am and headed down to my trusty Jo-Ann fabric shop in Wayne, then went to the Super Jo-Ann in Downingtown. I found some things, but not exactly what I needed...the elusive pink cupcake fabric...

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So then we went to my Mecca...my "Fabric Barn"- officially it's called Hayloft Fabrics in Morgantown, PA which is the best kept secret for high-end designer fabrics in the (far-out) Philly Burbs.



I love it, and although it literally is located on the balcony of a country grocery store, they have THE BEST fabrics anywhere outside of the city fabric district (which I boycott because I hate the city, I cannot parallel park, and I refuse to park in a lot and leave my keys with an attendant).

So here's what I picked up today for the Aprons:



I loved the colors and the retro feel of the fabric, it's not to "childish", but not too "grown-up". The Apron fabrics are always hard for me to select because I really want to make them appropriate for girls of all ages...plus I'll be offering a matching mommy apron version soon, so it needs to work for both moms and kids! Anyway- I didn't even look at the fabric's designer, and was quite surprised when I got home. It's actually from Mary Engelbreit, and it's called Recipe for Friendship in Paisley Cherry. Truly fitting since Mary Engelbreit and I both attended Visitation Academy in St. Louis (but not at the same time!). I only stayed there for 2 years (7th and 8th grade), but that is when Renee (the knittie tittie knitter extraordinaire) and I first met and became friends. See how everything comes full circle???

After Hayloft, I decided to take the adventure even further into the far reaches of Berks County...Reading, PA. I heard about a fabric store called Fabric Mart. I have a GPS...so I plugged it in and cruised 20 minutes up 176 to Sinking Spring, PA. Lilly and I ate lunch at McDonald's ...she got a My Little Pony Happy Meal toy which was a huge distraction for the rest of our never-ending outing. So 2 blocks up past the McD's was Fabric Mart...Ummm....never again. It's a great shop if you're Amish. Mostly apparel fabrics, no cotton quilting fabrics...

Around 2pm or so we headed home, but not without stopping first at the Jo-Ann in Pottstown...still no cupcake fabric, but we had a fun day.

2 comments:

Caits said...

Yessssssssssssssssssss!!!

I'm sooooooooo excited!!!

graymama said...

Holy Schnikies! You did A LOT of fabric shopping! You were a woman on a mission!

I have a few yards of Robert Kaufman Sweet Tooth Cupcakes, if you want them. My buddy Terri of Full Moon Baby Gear doesn't do many fabric orders anymore because of the time to cut, but she might be willing to do some bolt orders for you.

Would you be willing to make a boy apron for my boy? Maybe something with a skeleton, pirate, superman, spiderman and/or batman theme?