Long ago, I sewed all my daughters' clothes,
and pretty much all of my own.
My Mom had sewn ours, and her own, so I followed her example.
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| Image: Karen, of The Graphics Fairy |
And then I discovered that if you give merchants foldy green paper,
they give you fabric that is already sewn into garments.
Son of a gun. Who knew?
But a few years ago, I bought a killer sewing machine.
A Babylock Symphony.
And my daughter Anne has used it more than I have.
Bad Cass. Bad, bad Cass.
After romping through the fabric shops of New York's
Garment District with Anne, weekend-before-last, I was inspired.
Time to fire up the needles and threads, and go all creative again.
But since I'm too lazy to romp back into NYC again,
I hit up Fabric Warehouse in Rahway, New Jersey.
Holy monkeys, what a lotta stuff.
Most of the offerings are home dec fabrics, but there is
a goodly section of fashion remnants -- suitings, challis, knits ....
The suitings called my name, plus they are crazy cheap inexpensive.
Here, in my car, a quick (and bad) phone shot of my treasures.
L to R, a black and cream speckly tweed, a multi-color loose weave,
and a brown and black tweedy fabric (my favorite among them).
I'm feeling the cold weather looming.
I'll have to test the fabrics to determine fiber content.
Could be just about anything ... but I bought stuff for 3 jackets
for 27 bucks.
Sweet.
As long as the faric doesn't melt in the rain.
As long as the faric doesn't melt in the rain.
Now, let's see if I get these sewn. I'm still promising to finish up
some simple draperies for That Old House ... so what I need to do is
get over my lingering fear of my fancy sewing machine,
get over my lingering fear of my fancy sewing machine,
and put my foot to the pedal and go.
The sun just came out. Good omen! -- Cass
I am afraid of the modern sewng machines preferring to use a more simple one! But after 20 some years of sewing almost absolutely NOTHING, I am making grand girl Lucy a Halloween costume. And I find that sewing, like riding a bike is a skill that you never forget . . . but perhaps unlike riding a bike, you tend to make a lot of mistakes -- I've ripped out almost as many seams as I've sewn! LOL! Quite a haul for $27 -- My next chore -- to hem MY drapes!
ReplyDeleteLet's make a deal, Martha ... last one to finish her drapes is a rotten egg!
DeleteI'm planning simple clothes to begin ... I remember all the Halloween costumes I made. OY. Always such big plans!
I'm considering getting out my old Kenmore and giving it a good cleaning and oiling. It is such an old friend!
Can't wait to see Lucy in her costume. You are a good grandma!
Cass
I have been sewing too! Earlier this summer I actually made two garments -- caftans -- so I would have something loose and presentable to wear over my swollen new knee for a little while. You really have some great resources for fabrics near you. Your choices should make some really nice jackets. That is quite a sewing machine. I will look it up. My Elna is 15 years old and still doing well, so I suppose we will grow old together.
ReplyDeleteNice deal on the fabric. I have not sewn in many years. Daughter borrowed my old, reliable, kenmore and have not seen it since. LOL
ReplyDeleteHoly cow, Cass, that Fabric Warehouse is enough to make one's head spin ... SO many choices. What a wonderful place.
ReplyDeletePlease fill us in on how you like your Babylock machine. I have a Janome that I love which does embroidery also, but I hear lots of good things about the Babylock and might be interested in one for general sewing.
ReplyDelete