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.