I met up with Elizabeth (Ladybirdlove on Patternreview) yesterday morning in Trenton and we took the NJ Transit train to NY for a little bit of shopping. I had an agenda and a shopping list; she didn't. It worked out just fine.
First stop: a little store called Hollywood Fabrics on 35th Street. We were just browsing on our way to another store, but I saw this orange/brown/tan/white lightweight floral poly and thought it looked wonderfully vintage. It also said it wants to be a BWOF blouse. Or maybe a Patrones blouse.
Leather, Suede, Skins, also on 35th, came up with the Florida-orange lambskin for my new Hotpatterns tote bag. I pulled two shades of orange from the shelf - this, and a darker, burnt orange - but when looked at them togeher the burnt orange looked muddy. I decided that if I was going to make an orange bag, it should be ORANGE. And it is. It certainly is.
By then it was time to walk back to visit Kashi and meet up with Carolyn. We got a little shopping done before Carolyn arrived. When she came in I recognized her first by her great dress, which I liked on her blog and which was even prettier in person - as was Carolyn.
What was really funny was that some customers came in while we were talking and one of them recognized Carolyn from her blog and jumped right in and started talking. It's so strange (in a good way), immediately feeling that you know people because you either read their blog or their PR reviews. It was great finally talking to Carolyn in person, and we ended up taking home two of the same fabrics.
Kashi also provided me with 2 yards of animal print (with green) stretch, 2 yards of pink/tan geometric that he says is poly but felt like silk, almost 4 yards of olive-green eyelet (the same square eyelet that I resisted in Baltimore because they only had it in white), a yard of black/white/gray flame-stitch stretch that gave me childhood hippie clothes flashbacks, and 4 yards of a multi-colored, fabulously happy printed cotton from France. He bought 300 yards of this stuff and it will go FAST. As in "call him now and let him ship you some - it's only $6 per yard." It feels like heaven and it makes me smile just to look at it.
So much for coming home and pre-treating all my fabrics, taking their pictures and then catching Project Runway. I had the energy to snarf up a big bowl of pasta and then sleep through Runway. On the other hand, I had a nice nap and caught the 11:00 p.m. rerun. All in all, still a good day.
10 comments:
You got some gorgeous pieces!!
Ohhhh, Karen! I really wish I had been able to go with you! You made some great buys!
Fun!!! I love your east coast fabric shopping reports! Maybe someday I will make it to New York to go fabric shopping. Wonder if I can sell that vacation to my sportsman husband! Mary
What a great haul, Karen! I wish I could have met up with you guys. Do let me know when you'll be in town again, okay?
I agree with you completely about the Happy Fabric- I'm kicking myself now for not getting some :) Maybe I'll have to give Kashi a call....
Karen - I can still feel the leather...it was like buttah! Can't wait to see the bag made from that!!!
It was a great hour and a half that went wayyyy to quickly! I'm glad that I got to meet you and Elizabeth in person...and remember JoMars, soon!!!
Gosh! What an enjoyable trip you had. It's always great to meet PR buddies too. Lucky you :) !
What great finds! My favorite is the blue border print, and second favorite is the orange paisley. Can't wait to see your bag, too! i am having quite an orange lust at the moment.
Fabric shopping in NY is definitely in my future.
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