Video: Moving My Epic Stash

 

We are in the process of buying a house, and as such I have had to come face to face with the enormity that is my fabric and yarn stash. If you want to see just how much we are talking about, click through and watch this week's video :)

Sewing Studio Trip July 2023 + Fabric Haul

Last week, my mom and I both were wondering whether we should go to The Sewing Studio for their annual sale. We both have so much stash that it's hard to justify, but we also wanted some kind of specific things that we can't find locally plus the 40% off is hard to turn down. So we drove over 4th of July morning and wound up spending more money than we have on any other trip, lol. Funny how that works.

The Sewing Studio is seriously the best fabric store in Central Florida - so much so that we drive an hour to get there when we go. There just isn't anywhere else that has such a high quality selection of so many types of fabrics and notions. We both wanted embroidery thread, which we hit first, but everything else was just a case of seeing what the universe told us we needed. I always check the clearance sections first because they are an additional 40% the already discounted prices. I had too much fun. Starting with knits, here is what I got:

 

• 2 yards of bright yellow organic cotton jersey (clearance)
• 6 yards of white Laguna cotton jersey (clearance made it $4.45 per yard!)
• 1.5 yards of peacock colored bamboo rayon jersey
• 1.5 yards of plum purple colored rayon lycra jersey
• 2 yards of coral swan print bamboo rayon jersey 

I didn't go shopping that day thinking I would buy a bunch of knits, but when I found the yellow and the white in the clearance section, it sort of started a trend. I've used Laguna jersey before - I made this shirt back in 2016 and it still gets regular wear. This material has held up amazingly well, so I'm excited to have a large quantity to make whatever white shirts pop into my head in the future. And the swan print is one I almost bought back in January. I think it was marked down even further now, so I had to grab some. It's such a lovely and soft fabric.

• 3 yards of black Essex linen cotton
• 5 yards of coral linen rayon
• 2.5 yards tomato red Brussels Washer linen rayon
• 1.125 yards of white 100% linen

One of the reasons I really wanted to go to this sale was to pick up some linen. I wanted to at New Years, but I talked myself out of it because linen is so much more expensive than fabrics I usually use, but I've regretted that all spring so I decided to just bite the bullet and get what I want (within reason). The discount on everything makes it not as painful to buy, so I grabbed several solid colors for skirts and dresses. 

• 3 yards of gray base Happy Hilltop cotton sateen (clearance)
• 3/4 yard of fish print quilting cotton (clearance)
• 3.88 yards of mint base Happy Hilltop cotton sateen (clearance)
• 1.25 yards of navy blue 100% linen

Then we have the floral printed cotton sateen. These were such an amazing deal, I got both colorways. I had picked out the mint green and planned on getting 4 yards thinking it was the usual 44" or 50" wide cottons. At the cutting table, the woman pointed out that these fabrics are 108" wide! I was shocked for the price - they worked out to around $7 per yard. After finding that out, I grabbed the gray colorway too. This fabric is so light and smooth. These will make lovely dresses and skirts and I'm so excited about the possibilities with such a huge piece of fabric (not a luxury I usually have). 

• 1 yard of waterproof white canvas
• various Rifle Paper fat quarters
• puppy and kitty fat quarters (for my kids)

The fat quarters are always my downfall, lol. They are so pretty and inexpensive that I always grab a few even though I don't quilt. I love the Rifle prints though, and lately I've had knitting project bags on the brain. I grabbed a few that I thought would coordinate well for bags with a light colored lining. Then I always grab some for my kids as consolation for me being gone half the day lol. This time I got them 2 each and I will basically be sewing them into reversible doll blankets. The waterproof canvas will eventually be used for pad making and I've been acquiring the supplies to revamp my stash of them sometime soon.

• pedal stay
• knit stay tape (the best stuff)
• Lil Hookey serger thread hook
• embroidery threads (metallic, glow in the dark, holographic, etc)

And now the notions I grabbed (which ironically are what I picked out first). My foot pedals are always sliding across the tile floor and none of my cheaper solutions have worked, so I decided to finally buy one of these guys. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm hoping it keeps the pedal in the same spot as I sew. The serger thread hook thing just seemed too handy to pass up - I always hate pulling my tails through with a darning needle, so this will streamline that process. The rest is fancy embroidery thread. I tried to grab some basic colors but I also grabbed several of the clearance fancy threads. Embroidery thread just adds up so fast, ya'll. My mom bought a big box of rainbow colors that was regularly $200, so I'm allowed to borrow colors i need for a project. This was I have some fun ones on hand but can still get nice solids. One of these is reflective, which I thought would be cool to put the girls names on their backpacks this fall. So yeah - lots of fun even in the thread :)

Now I know this is a lot of stuff for a person who says they have a ridiculous stash, but I'm still pretty proud of what I brought home. My fabric purchases were entirely garment fabrics (the fish cotton was for my aunt) and they were almost entirely solid colors, which I know are work horses in my wardrobe.  I'm thinking of a Closet Case Patterns Fiori skirt for at least one of the cuts of linen and maybe a Charm Patterns Scout dress in the coral. The smaller pieces will be simple tops. We will see. For the knits, I'm contemplating the Gable Top by Jennifer Lauren Handmade and maybe a few Renfrew or Plantains. I never have enough solid colored tops, and these bamboo knits are so dreamy and soft. The colors of the Peacock and plum were just so rich. 

Friends there were so many lovely things I left behind. I was looking at many more linens and rayons and cottons and lots of threads, but the budget doesn't allow me to buy all the things. This will be more than enough to work with until New Years at least! I'm hoping this haul will really get me back in the swing of sewing clothing. I've wanted to for so long but I just never make it happen. Now I've dropped some cash, I'm hoping I will feel more invested and excited. 

The Sewing Studio Trip July 4th, 2018

So as with every year for my birthday, I went to the amazing sale at The Sewing Studio yesterday. This year it was just me and my mom and we spent hours spending a nice chunk of money on fabric. This store just has everything you could want and you can wander aimlessly touching all the lovely fabrics.

This trip was so important that I even took a break from moving to go, lol. We had a great day, and as always I wanted to show the spoils.

This is everything I bought this year. The pile doesn't look as huge as other times, but it's because the fabrics I bought are thinner - certainly not less in quantity.

Let's start off with the cottons. They had several Birch Organics Sea Life cottons in their clearance section, so I grabbed a few for 70% off (I know!). I got 2.25 yards of Sea Snails, 2.5 yards of Eight Legs, and 7/8 yard of Here Be Monsters. The two larger cuts will be shirts and the other was just irresistible so I had to grab it :) The pink with the trees is a lovely Art Gallery poplin called Nightfall Mystical Woods Solar and it's a lovely light weight - this will be a shirt. Bottom left is 2.12 yards of Rifle Paper Co Sun Girls in Sky for an apron for my sister. Bottom right is 1.38 yards of Kujira + Star Sightseeing Sand Dollar by Cotton + Steel - no idea what this will be, but it's super cute.

Next up - deliciously drapey stuff. I got 2 yards of Telio Dali rayon poplin in the Birds on a Wire print. This will be a top. The bottom right us a designer remnant poly chiffon that is a navy background with coral flower clusters. This will be a skirt. And the pièce de résistance - I grabbed 3 yards of this beautiful Art Gallery rayon challis called Flowery Chant Subtle. It's just heavenly feeling. This was my big splurge of the trip and it will be a dress.

I only bought 2 knits this trip - crazy, right? The white is an eyelet knit - so cool! It's polyester, but II loved it too much to care. I grabbed 2.38 yards and it will be a top for my and one for my mom. The lovely floral is another splurge - I got the last 1.25 yards of this Art Gallery jersey called Sprinkle Peonies and it has gold metallic on it :) This will be a lovely shirt.

And some specialty cottons :) The top left is Telio Playtime cotton poplin in navy blue with amazingly bright oranges all over. I grabbed 4 yards and this will be a shirt dress. I can't wait :) Top right is Cote D'Zur cotton seersucker by Robert Kaufman. I grabbed 2 yards to make a shirt. Bottom left is lovely cotton voile called Botany Full Bloom by Windham fabrics. Isn't it awesome? This will be a top and I have some skirt fabric I think will match it wonderfully. The blue and yellow and 2 yards each and they are cotton voile for tops.

I went a little crazy with the fat quarters, but at least this time I didn't just grab willy nilly. I grabbed 6 fat quarters of Cotton + Steel Rotary Club telephone dials print, 6 of Cotton + Steel Trinket Whistles, and 4 of Cotton + Steel Fruit Dots Gum. I figured with that many I could make a really cute bag with each. I grabbed 3 other single fat quarters, 1/3 yard of a floral, and a 1 yard cut of gray with pianos.

And the notions. This time I specifically needed serger supplies (which I will talk more about soon). I grabbed 4 white cones of Maxi Lock thread and 4 gray cones as well as 2 packs of serger needles. Speaking of needles, I really stocked up. I've run out of my go-to size (universal 70/10) and last time someone else took them all, so I grabbed 3 packs as well as a pack of 65/9s. I grabbed a multi size pack of jersery needles and 2 different sizes of microtex needles as well. I got a refill pack of blue chalk powder for the Chalkoner pen since they didn't have an actual blue pen. I also restocked on frixion pens! They may a felt tip variety now and I grabbed one of each color available. I also got some awesome twill tapes. The larger one has acurate inch increments and I grabbed 10 yards there for waistbands and other places that need stabilizing. The thinner white and gold tapes are centimeters and I grabbed 6 yards each of these.

Check out that line - and this was halfway through the day when the line was much shorter. The cash register is up by the front door, lol.

And I took a picture of my favorite section - I spent a lot of time fondling these rayons, voiles, and linens. I was seriously tempted by some $30 per yard watercolor rose printed linen. Gosh that stuff was dreamy...

So that's my trip this time :) Like I said, the stack may not look as large, but it certainly is about my usual quantity of yardage. Also I had a fun day with my mom, which is always great. I'm so excited because now that my house is on the verge of selling (we are counting the days now!) I will have all my time back without any guilt of needing to fix things around my house instead of sewing. I anticipate quite a serge of new items being made very soon, and it's so awesome to finally feel that way. So hopefully I will be able to start making nice dents in my stash and at least sew up the equivalent of what I buy on each Sewing Studio pilgrimage :)

Anyone else do any heavy fabric buying this week?

Fabric Destash Sale on Instagram!

You guys - I did it! I actually went through my fabric stash and I managed to pull out 3 large boxes full of fabric that I am ready to let go of :) I figured that before I send it to the thrift store, I should offer it up to other sewists who would truly appreciate it. Some of this is really neat stuff - I just have no idea what to do with it or it is not my style.

This pile of boxes is 4 feet high and they are full of fabric. Some of this is vintage, some is new and not my style anymore, and some have been inherited so I don't know where they originally came from. There will be everything from apparel fabrics to knits to home decor to quilting cotton, so really something for everyone. Cool as it all is, I cannot take it with me when I move in a few weeks.

So if you are interested in buying some of my stash (at good prices), follow @showandtellmegdestash on Instagram to see things as they are posted. I will start posting on June 7th, and they will be first come, first serve. Just comment Me! on the post if you are interested. All prices will be plus shipping, so be sure to include your paypal email address and your zip code so I can send an invoice and get a shipping price for you. Hopefully some things will go to someone who will love and appreciate it and not have it sit in their stash for years like me. Also don't worry - I still have an entire double closet full of fabric, so I won't be lacking on things to make any time soon.

So head over to @showandtellmegdestash and get ready to claim what your favs!

Sewing Studio Trip - July 4th, 2017

So I made my annual pilgrimage to The Sewing Studio in Maitland on the 4th of July :) For new readers - The Sewing Studio is the absolute BEST fabric store in the Central Florida area (seriously, you should check them out if you're local), and twice a year (New Year's Day and the 4th of July) they put their ENTIRE STORE 40% OFF even if it's already on clearance. Seriously. It's the greatest thing ever. People come from all over for this sale. I talked to ladies who drove from Gainesville and Jacksonville just for this sale. It's amazing. Since I live about an hour away from this fabric heaven, I don't tend to make it over super often, but I always try to go for the big sale. This year I was joined by my mom and sister, and we had a lovely time buying too much fabric. Here's my haul this year:

Admittedly not as much as previous trips (and it's a pretty lack luster photo), but I was on a budget this time and I'm very happy with the pieces I snagged since I feel they will all work in my wardrobe. So let's look at the breakdown.

First up: the knits :) I actually didn't plan on buying lots of knits this time as I have amassed quite the collection, but when you come across cute designs or luxurious fabrics for a steal you need to be ready, amiright? So top left is a Télio Dakota knit in navy blue with yellow dots on it. This is a rayon spandex and it's has a lovely drape. I grabbed 1.5 yards for $11.78. Top right is a completely delicious Bamboo Rayon jersey in a bright plumy purple color. I grabbed 1.5 yards for $14.00. Bottom right is an adorable cotton jersey by Dear Stella with flamingos on it! I grabbed 1.5 yards for $16.00. Bottom left is an Art Gallery cotton spandex jersey called Philosopher's Thoughts (it has deep thinking phrases all over it, lol). I grabbed 1.25 yards for $15.00. All of these are destined to become different t-shirts.

In the cotton section I stayed a bit more frugal (i.e. all of these were clearanced at 50% off plus the additional 40% off). Top left we have Chrysanthemum Blooms by Joel Dewberry in an awesome greeny yellow. I grabbed 2.5 yards for $9.32. Top right is called Faril by Lotta Jansdotter - it's white with greeny yellow butterflies all over. I grabbed 2.5 yards for $9.23. Bottom right is called Quill by Valori Wells - it's Essex Linen which is 55% linen/45% cotton. I grabbed 2 yards for $9.70. Bottom left is called Correspondence by Jim Holtz (it's postal style stripes) and I grabbed 1 yard for $3.73. I plan to make an outfit with the blue and yellow pieces. I bought the linen/cotton to make a skirt (possibly a Peggy skirt by Blue Ginger Doll, but I'm not completely decided), and I plan to use the Faril fabric as a Sailor Top by Fancy Tiger Crafts to wear with it. The Chrysanthemum fabric also matches the linen, but I'm not sure if I will feel bold enough to wear that much floral at once.

In the miscellaneous stuff, I grabbed 1 yard of Bosal In-R-Foam (which is a fusible foam stabilizer for purses and bags) for $12.50. I also got the end of the bolt on this lovely Télio Viscose Batiste in Midnight Blue. This piece is 1.75 yards and I paid $6.34. I got 7 fat quarters that were 50% then 40% off - 3 Cotton & Steel buildings from their Penny Arcade collection, 2 florals on a navy background, a blue Cotton & Steel XOs and a brown floral. All of these were $0.97 each. I snagged an entire tube of gray buttons for $2.00, some khaki thread (because I was all out), and 2 Dritz seam gauges. I've used my old seam gauge so much that I've rubbed all the measurements off, lol. So I decided to grab 2 more to make sure I had them on hand. Also I've wanted to try making a more stable bag for quite a while, and the Bosal interfacing is recommended for a lot of patterns by Sew Sweetness. I have a particular bag planned as a gift that I need to make this week, so this was well timed. It felt pretty expensive at first, but this stuff is 58" wide and I'm sure that I will get quite a few bags out of this 1 yard piece. Normally this stuff is $19.29 per yard.

I seriously contemplated some of the more trendy fabrics in the store as well. They had most of the Cotton & Steel Les Fleurs collection and the new Alice & Wonderland Collection (both designed by Rifle Paper in Orlando), and the rayon just feels dreamy in these fabrics. When it came down to it though I just couldn't help but think of how much fabric I have at home, and even with the 40% off sale it would be quite a chunk of change (for me) to get enough for a dress in the rayon. Maybe I'll make something from these in the future when I'm not on a strict budget. But today is not that day :) It's honestly not a bad thing - I walked away very happy with everything I purchased. Were there other amazing fabrics I loved? Absolutely. But that's not really hard to do, you know? I love fabric, lol. I'm proud of my self control and I still love what I bought. You can't beat that.

So did you grab any fantastic fabric deals this holiday? If you're a Florida sewist, I highly recommend heading to The Sewing Studio next sale!

The Sewing Studio - Let Freedom Ring, 2016!

So, I chose to exerise my liberty this 4th of July by buying amazing fabric for a steal of a price - as I usually do :) I took a break from moving and unpacking to go with just my mom this year and we had a great time. For those of you not from Florida (or new to my blog), The Sewing Studio is a fabric filled treasure trove located in Maitland (just outside Orlando, still sort of Orlando). The store has high quality fabric for everything from quilting to wedding dress making to home decor and everywhere in between. Each 4th of July and New Year's Day, they put their entire store (!!!) on sale for 40% off. This includes the items that are already in clearance for 50% off - you get another 40% off of that price. Craziness. Since these biannual sales coincide with holidays where people sometimes give money (Christmas and my Birthday at the end of June), I like to splurge on all kinds of stuff twice a year :) Generally I spend most of my time in this store looking like this:

Yep - that's "The Sewing Studio Effect", lol. It's so much fun. I do still have to reign myself into a budget, especially since it would be SO EASY to spend way too much with all the lovely silks and laces and other fancy threads. I can let loose a bit, but still within reason. It's a pretty overwhelming experience the first few times you go, but I've gone enough to get something of a game plan each time. If you're in the Central Florida area, this store (and especially this sale) are well worth a trip on your holiday. Anyway, you're all here for the fabric, so let's get to the good stuff :)

This was my haul this year :) I went a little crazier than normal (meaning I purchased a few things that were a bit pricier than my usual), but I have plans for almost every piece of fabric. If only the purchase included guaranteed time to make up everything you want, right?  Here's what I came away with specifically (all fabrics listed clockwise):

•  4 yards of Moda Bandana Bows and Dots print cotton - This will most definitely be a dress :) I'm thinking it would be cute as Butterick 6321 if I can find a matching blue or mint green for the contrasting pieces :) 
• 4 yards of Cotton + Steel Homebody Buttons printed cotton poplin - This will be probably a dress, perhaps a shirt dress? I only wanted 3 yards at first for a Hollyburn skirt, but when there was just 1 more yard left on the bolt I bought the whole thing. 
• 3 yards of  Windham Snippets mint green needle and thread printed cotton - Another dress here :) I may go for the tried and true Simplicity 2444 or 1419 - just depends on how those dotted lines handle darts.
• 1.5 yards of Free Spirit Memory Lane pink floral printed cotton - this is soon going to be on my lampshades in my new bedroom :) Whatever is left will also be used around the room on pillows and whatnot.

•  2 yards of Amy Butler Soul Blossoms Cotton Canvas in Temple Tulips print - This is another I have to decide on. Originally I wanted to make a bag, but it would also make a pretty cool a-line skirt. With how wide the fabric is, I might be able to do both :)
• 2 yards of Free Spirit dark blue twist printed heavy canvas - this will also be a skirt, possibly a Melissa, and the excess will be great for a bag too.
• 2 yards of Cotton + Steel Mochi Folklore Moon Rabbit Autumn Rice printed linen cotton. This is 55% linen, 45% cotton and has a metallic gold border print. I think it will be a great flared skirt.
• 2 yards of Art Gallery floral printed lightweight denim - This stuff was a slight splurge for me. I almost bought this exact fabric a month ago on Fabric.com, but held off and got some Brussels Washer linen instead. So when I saw this for 40% off, I knew I had to get enough for a skirt. I'm still deciding on a pattern, but it will be flared :) It's so pretty and drapey in person! I can't wait to make it up.

• 2.25 yards of crazy 3D squiggle flowers in pink and purple on mesh - This will be an epic skirt. I'm thinking circle skirt on this one :) The flowers are done the same way as one of my favorite trims I've used (on my mom's birthday shirt last year), and it was just so pretty and fun.
• 2 yards of bright pink poly chiffon - this will line the crazy flower skirt :) It's not opaque at all, but the crazy flowers plus this make for just enough to not show off anything.
• 1.5 yards of emerald green rayon jersey - This will be come a plantain tee with 3/4 sleeves. I adore this color, so I had to get some. Now if I can just find a nice mint green ...
• 1 yard of Mickey and Friends printed cotton jersey - Isn't this adorable?! I'm not usually a "wear Disney characters" type person (I blame the oversized t-shirts of my chilhood printed with Winnie the Pooh), but I think in the right pattern this will be really cute (especially if I wear it to the park itself). I'm thinking a Sorrel top with white collar and cuffs, but we shall see.

These were all remnants, so they were really cheap :)

• 1.75 yards of Amy Butler Alchemy Velveteen - this was a wild card purchase because to be honest I have no idea what I will do with it, but it was so cheap. This cut cost me $3.00. It's super soft, especially now that I washed it, and I can't decide if it would be ok to wear or not. It may become a skirt, but then it may end up covering a chair, lol. I'll have to see what inspiration strikes.
• 1.62 yards of black and white polka dot knit mesh - This will be really cute as a shirt, maybe a Parisian top with a white collar? It's a fairly dense knit, so I might not have to line it. 
• 0.9 yards of Ming green 100% silk chiffon - this piece was just one of my favorite colors and it's so beautifully drapey. This will become a top, but because it's only 42" wide I'm not sire if I can get a whole top out of it or if I'll have to use a different fabric for the back or something. I generally stay away from silks since I'm clumsy and tend to get picks in it, but this one seemed fairly robust. 

After the hours of fabric selection, we hit the notions wall and I was pleasantly surprised by some products I love that the store just started carrying (they now stock Sew Keys E knit stay tape!). The threads were grabbed for some of the fabrics I purchased that day (as well as the mint green zipper), plus I got white and navy thread since I go through those colors faster than anything else. The pink zipper is for my crazy flowers skirt, and the plum zipper was just really inexpensive so it will end up in a skirt eventually. I'm running low on Wonder Tape, and they only had this Dritz brand (I usually buy the Collins) but at 40% off I figured it was worth trying out. I gasped aloud when I saw the SimFlex Expanding Gauge! I've toyed around with buying one of these for years, but I just never justified spending $20+ on it. Since it was only $12 I decided to grab one and I can't wait to add buttons or pleats to something so I can try it out. My final decision of the day was the bag of buttons. I brought along my Hetty Cardigan to see about buttons for it since I'm almost finished and I didn't love anything in my stash. I actually laid my sweater out on the floor in the button area and went back and forth auditioning various button styles, and when I came across these round shiny ones I knew it was meant to be. All the others I tried were either too small, too red, too orange, too "old lady"-ish. These were the exact color of my yarn and they were the perfect size AND they were shank buttons (my preferred for hand knits). There was only one catch - I needed 9 and the store only had 8 if I bought the display button too. I tried out more buttons, but none held a candle to these. So, I tried out using a decorative button at the top of the sweater and ended up with a pretty mother of pearl checkerboard inlay button to possibly go with it. I still can't decide if I will use this button or just pull out the buttonhole band and redo the spacing to have only 8 holes. We'll see. I've got til the end of the month to finish, lol.

So, that was my sewing studio trip :) I think we were in the store for about 3 hours, which is pretty normal for us. It was crazy busy when we first arrived, but when we left it was much quieter (thus how I was able to lay out my sweater on the floor). It was a fun day, and I've been washing fabric ever since. I've also already uploaded my fabrics into Trello (thanks to Camille for this post - so great for organizing!), and I love scrolling through my collection online at will :)

I will confess that I started off my fabric buying weekend a little early by going to the local Hancock sale. Hancock is going out of business (which is so sad since I just moved to right around the corner from the nearest store), but they are in the final throws of their going out of business sale and prices are finally low enough to get some good deals. Saturday night I came away with this:

• 4 yards of coral rayon challis - this will be a dress, possibly with some other rayon as a contrast to give more interest.
• 2.38 yards of damask printed stretch cotton twill - this is going to be a skirt (I'm thinking a traditional knee length "jean skirt" style like the Style Arc Sally skirt) and I'm sure I'll have excess which will probably become a bag or chair cover.
• 2.5 yards of charcoal gray stretch denim - I'm really wanting to try sewing Ginger jeans, but I've been too cheap to potentially waste fabric on a muslin. This was cheap enough that I'm not too worried about it, so we'll see how that goes.
• 5 butterick patterns I've had my eye on: 6090, 6260, 6321, 6282, and 6285. The patterns are still not super cheap at $1.99, but I've wanted these for a while so I went ahead and bought them. I'm holding out that they will go a little cheaper soon and then I may get more. 

This was my second trip in to Hancock, and it's seriously so sad that they are closing. This store has been in the same spot my whole life and for a long time it was the only fabric store I knew about, so it's certainly the end of an era. I hope someone buys them out and reopens, but I'm not holding my breath. I'll especially miss them when I need notions on the quick - they were my place to go for thread and buttons all the time (so much so that the night shift ladies nick named me "button girl" because I was always there for buttons). I guess the universe just really doesn't want me to live that close to a fabric store - they are currently building a Hobby Lobby near my house that I'm selling and they are closing the Hancock around the corner from my new place - I can take a hint!) It's probably better for my budget, but it's still a bummer that now my nearest store is the Joann's in Melbourne :/ Anyway, it was a great weekend of retail therapy and fabric shopping :) Now I just have to get to making things with all this so I can justify going again on New Years' Day!

Craftsy Supplies Sale (Great Deals on Cotton + Steel and More!)

I just wanted to quickly let everyone know about the awesome sale this weekend on Craftsy. I like to periodically check their supplies when they announce a big sale, and this weekend did not disappoint. Ironically I was just lamenting last week on Curvy Sewing Collective about how I can never afford Cotton + Steel fabric since I would need more yardage than many other bloggers I follow, and wouldn't you know that Cotton + Steel is one of the brands of fabric that is 40 - 60% off in this sale! I snatched a few 4 yard cuts for myself, and I seriously can't wait!

To get to the Cotton + Steel fabrics on sale, just click this link and choose Sewing Fabric, then off to the left side you can sort the options by brand, or you can just browse through all the beautiful brands (like Robert Kaufman linen, chambray, and London Calling cotton lawn, Riley Blake, Art Gallery and more). I had to show serious restraint and I was incredibly tempted by the Frock rayon (I have a deep love of rayon right now ...), but I was a good girl. More for you to buy, I suppose, lol.

Anyway, if you are like me and just can't afford the $11.00 per yard prices of these brands regardless of how much you like the designs, you should check out this sale. Yarn and other crafting supplies are also included in the sale (other categories are up to 70% off!), so head over here and take a look around. You will not be disappointed!

Sewing Studio Trip

So, in my bi-annual grand tradition, my Independence Day was spent in the best of ways - fabric shopping! The Sewing Studio in Maitland puts their entire store on sale for 40% off on July 4th and New Year's Day every year - and the 40% off extends to items already in their clearance sections. I love this store anyway just because of the quality of products they sell. If you need really high end fabrics to make a wedding dress or a good wool suit or anything like that, this is the best store in Central Florida to get them from. They also have an enormous quilting section that carries Michael Miller and Alexander Henry and Riley Blake and other big names in the quilting cotton world, so this is a destination for those as well. I you live in the vicinity of Orlando, I highly recommend heading to their store - you will not regret it! So, in my grand tradition of bragging documentation, I'm gonna show off what I got. Be warned, it's a lot this time. Don't judge!

Anyway, since this was their big sale, the place was packed with sewists of all kinds. Once again I forgot to take pictures of the mayhem (bad blogger!), but trust me when I say it was cramped in there. This time we went earlier than we have ever gone before in hopes of snagging more goodies before they were gone. I certainly wasn't disappointed :) I started off in the clearance sections, like I always do - how can you resist an additional 40% off their already 50% off prices?!

 These were my first grabs - the folded pieces are quilting cottons. The emerald green with pin dots is from Dear Stella and I grabbed 3.5 yards for a dress for $3.39 per yard. The green with medallions on is a Moda fabric and they only had 1.4 yards left of this so I grabbed the whole piece for $4.75 (this may be a trim on a dress I have planned). The blue with polar bears was just too cute to pass up - it's from Timeless Treasures and I grabbed 1 yard for $3.30. The dark blue with flowers is a satiny polyester material remnant - it's a 1.1 yard piece and it was $3.00. The pink is 1.38 yards of 100% linen and it was $3.00.

My next stop was the "sale annex" room where they have old stock as well as garment industry remnants for really cheap. The fancy printed orange material is actually a Robert Kaufman Laguna Jersey, which I have always heard praised but been too cheap to buy myself. I grabbed 2 yards of this for $8.70 to try out and see if the fabric is really all it's cracked up to be. The teal fabric is a mystery industry remnant piece - it seems like some kind of cotton spandex, though I'm not sure at all of the content. I grabbed 2.5 yards for $7.50. The dark gray is actually silk habotai that has a small dark spot that repeats throughout the bolt. Since I would only use this for lining, I don't mind the little spot, so I grabbed 3 yards for $9.45. The coral pink is just a polyester lining material that I grabbed 3 yards of for $7.20.

This set was the most exciting to me - the coral pink is cotton voile! It's buttery soft and I can't wait to use it. I've always heard everyone say how great it is, but I could only find Amy Butler prints for $17 or $25 per yard, which just wasn't happening. Well this time around, they had solid colors of voile for $6.49 each (regular price) and oh my gosh they are soft like buttah. If the lighter colors weren't so sheer I would've bought more, but wanting to try it out for the first time I just grabbed 4 yards of this awesome coral pink for $3.89 per yard :) The black is 2 yards of cotton batiste since it seems to come in handy a lot for accents and it was $3.48 per yard. The green was really hard to accurately photograph - it looks much too blue in this photo. The green is actually a more pea green color than the emerald shade shown here. It's a Robert Kaufman Classic Cotton (or something like that - I know it said classic something) and it has a chambray looking weave and it's soft and thin, not quite like the voile but close.  I grabbed 3 yards of this for $2.79 per yard.

I'm always a sucker for the clearance fat quarters since they always seem to come in handy when I least expect it. I grabbed all of these for $0.90 each :) I got a few duplicates because I plan to make a bag or something for my sister eventually. The sale annex had quite a bit of upholstery fabric this time, and I grabbed this 3/4 yard remnant for $2.25 and 10 yards of pretty brown satin trim for $6.00 - how can you go wrong there? I'm going to use these for a coffee table turned bench :) And I was thrilled to find so many invisible zippers in the sale annex - I have a rather ridiculous stash of regular zippers that I got thrifting, but I never have invisibles. I grabbed the neutral colors for around $1.50 each just to have in my stash since they always come in handy (white, gray, black and brown), but the other more vibrant colors were all $0.90 or below (the cheapest being $0.45). I even grabbed a few fancy metal separating zippers and that white on in the bag is separating with about 7 pulls on it - those were $1.20 each - can't go wrong there! The trims were just super cheap (the white was only $0.40 for 10 yards, lol), and I've been embracing the idea of tasteful trim usage on my makes ever since my floral plantain (I love that neckline trim!) so I thought these would be a fun way to try things out. The needles were just to stash and that Olfa mini cutter is so cool! It was only $1.50, so I grabbed one.

So, obviously I bought a whole bunch of stuff at The Sewing Studio and had a ton of fun. But of course that wasn't enough :) After a reviving lunch, we went by Joann's to shop more. I have to admit, I've been a pretty big snob against Joann's fabric. It used to be that every time I would go, I was just surrounded by synthetic fibers that I had no interest in working with. This time though, I was quite impressed by the quality I found - Joann's had really stepped up their game! First off I went to the Gertie fabric section ...

I was pretty taken aback with the discount on the designer lines - these were 60% off and then you could use the 20% off your whole purchase coupon on top of that! I grabbed 2.5 yards of the gray with kitties poly chiffon for $4.79 per yard, 2.5 yards of the swiss dot roses for $4.79 per yard (and I am totally going to make Butterick 6217 just like the pattern cover photo!), 1 yard of the teal with cherries rayon (it was all they had) for $4.00, and 2.4 yards of the white with cherries cotton poplin for $4.15 per yard. 

These were all from the red dot clearance section, which was already marked down then 50% off and then the 20% off that. The pink floral is called "Vivie Bloom" by DeLeon Fabrics for Alexander Henry - they only had 1.4 yards and it was $4.12, the blue flowers is a gauzy cotton only had 1.36 yards left and it was $3.80, and the black and white flowers is a nice rayon that only had 1.5 yards left and it was mistakenly put in the 60% off section, so I only just now realize that I was charged full price for it - ugh. Apparently I paid $12.00 for this piece, when I thought I'd be paying $3.20. Thanks a lot, Joann's.

And these are the knits I snagged - so exciting! The first one there is actually a charcoal gray rayon spandex jersey from the red dot section and I paid $7.20 for 2 yards. The fun print there is from the Doodles collection, which I am really pleased with so far (it's designed for kids clothes, but not all of it is super kid-ish), and I grabbed 1.5 yards for $9.00 (which is yet again more than I was supposed to have paid, but only just realized ... maybe I'm not so enchanted with Joann's after all ...), and the teal and gray stripe is a poly rayon knit from the red dot section that I got 2 yards of for $7.20.

This is the piece I am most excited about! Sally from The Quirky Peach posted about finding this awesome knit print at her Joann's a week or so ago, so when I was in the store I searched all over and finally found it - I was elated :) This is from the Doodles collection and it's a 100% cotton jersey (just like the blue and green print above) and I got it for the correct price - $5.19 per yard. I grabbed 3 yards not knowing if I want to make a dress or not, but at least i have enough to do what I want when I decide. Isn't it awesome?!

And I can never pass up the sale patterns and buttons - this time it was McCall's so I grabbed the ones on my list I always have on hand. The buttons were all 40% off and then another 20% off, so I grabbed a few I liked. The black ones are contenders for my Emelie cardigan, and the pink ones have a pretty iridescence to them and are flower shaped - so cute!

So there you have my weekend shopping spree :) I just finished washing everything last night (and there were casualties - I'm trying not to let it get me down!), so hopefully tonight I will at least get to whip out a t-shirt or something. It's been too long since I had a successful make and I'm starting to get antsy, lol. At least now I have plenty of stash to work with so I need to get going on turning these into wearable garments :)

Sewing Studio Haul - A Hopeful New Year :)

(Just a sneak peek of my favorite part - read to the bottom for this pile!) 

This New Year's Day, in spite of all the crap going on in my personal life, I decided to go to The Sewing Studio in Maitland as I had planned all year. Sometimes you just have to do something fun for yourself that you've been looking forward to, you know? I went with just my mom this time, and while it was a bit difficult to really focus due to everything else going on in my mind, I still managed to find some great deals and now I am all prepped for some really great projects this year :) So, what did I come away with? Get ready for some #fabricporn lol.

First off I'll show you the knits. These were all in the bargain annex of the store, which means they were already marked 50% off, then you got an additional 40% off on top of that - total score! The fuchsia is a nice thin jersey - it happens to be the exact same color as my Classy Parisian top, but it was a nice fabric for a great price - 2 yards for $6.00. Maybe it will become my signature color, lol. The blue is a sort of hounds-tooth pattern that has blue and teal with the black and there's a little glitter in there too. This one is a sweater knit and thicker than I've tried before, but I thought it could be fun to try out. This one was 2.4 yards for $7.50. The light blue is another thin jersey like the fuchsia, but it was a remnant piece. This one was 1.15 yards for $4.00. I admit I had hoped to find more fun knits for t-shirts since I've enjoyed making them so much, but I';ll just have to survive off these and my stash until the next sale I can attend.

This next shot is of the potential linings and slippery stuff. All of these are most definitely polyester, but they are slick enough to use as fun linings if I so choose. I make no promises though - they may end up as something on their own - we'll see :) The black and white is a matte fabric that might be a poly crepe - it's nice and drapey, and I think it's slippery enough for a lining as long as I'm not wearing tights (which I have not been known to do) This was 2.5 yards for $7.50. The black/white/teal splotchy one is a shiny poly and it was 1 yard for $3.00. The black with multi-colored honeycomb print is more matte and this one is 1.75 yards for $5.25.

From the notions wall, I was a little more sparing this time - I have so many that I really don't need many more. I just grabbed a new turning tool and seam ripper, along with some universal needles, a jersey double pointed needle (I'd been using a universal one before), some wooly nylon thread for knit hems (they only had gray and colors, so I grabbed gray), some Mettler white thread, and 3 zippers for some of the other fabrics I bought.

I always grab a few cute fat quarters from the sale section if I see them. This time I came away with 8 - two of them are the same fabric. All of these were $0.90 each!

I'm really glad I thought to look at the ribbon wall this time since I usually skip over it. I'd hoped to get real rayon petersham or grosgrain for my hand knit sweaters, but they didn''t have any :( Looks like I'll have to break down and order it online. I did find all these cute cotton tapes though. I'm not sure if they will work to stabilize button bands, but if not I will use them as waist stays and fun hem details :) The only one I remember the brand is the thing one with the bird - it's Riley Blake and it was the most expensive. The others wrapped on the card are all from the same brand (I can't remember it now, but it started with an M) - they are natural colors and one has butterflies, one has music nots, one has flies, and one says "handmade with love". I got 3 yards of all except the handmade ones since there was only 2 on the roll. The measuring tape is thickest and cheapest and I got 6 yards. I didn't pay more than $3.24 for anything shown here.

And now for my favorite part - the cotton fabrics :) It just so happens that all of these fabrics were in the clearance bin, so they were 50% off and then another 40% off. So, let's work around clockwise, shall we? The brown with dashes is called Beach House, Town House, Guest House by Michele D'Amore and I plan to cover some old ottomans with it for my living room. This was 26 yards for $8.40. The gems fabric was the first one I pounced on and I carried it forever while I shopped. It's called Diamonds and Denim by me-O-my for SPX Fabrics and this will absolutely be a dress so I snagged 4 yards and paid $13.50. I had people following me around the store to get the bolt next, lol. The square design one is a Michael Miller fabric called Don't Be A Square - I got 4 yards for $13.00. One the bottom row coming right to left - both the floral and the little dashes are Flori-Logic by Pippa Moon for Studio T. The floral only had 3.3 yards on the bolt and it was $11.00, and I was able to get 4 yards of the dashes for $13.30 The final teal fuzzy dots is called Splotch by Ty Pennington Impressions (I know, I almost gagged when I read who it was from, lol) and this was $3.45. All of these are high quality quilting cottons and they will probably all become dresses :)

So, I came away with quite a few project plans and supplies to make them :) I'm excited to have time to make some of these up - I'm not going to beat myself up about deadlines though. Sewing is meant to be a fun thing for me, so I will just take it as it comes!