Solid Stashing

As luck has it, I'm house/catsitting mere blocks away from a fabulous local fabric store: Treadle Yard Goods. I first noticed it on Saturday and knew I'd head over there shortly. And shortly meant yesterday afternoon. And it was awesome.

First, they have an impressive collection of modern quilting fabrics. (They also have a lot of apparel fabrics and are apparently the last local apparel fabric store in the area, but as a not-yet-garment sewer, I sort of ignored those fabrics). Because there were so many other fun fabrics to feel and touch and pet. Tula Pink (Prince Charming is charming), Joel Dewberry (the new Heirloom line in Citrus is calling my name), various lines from Moda, Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner, Japanese imports....all sorts of neat stuff. They also had a lot of substrates: quilting cotton, home decor weight, canvas, voile, sateen, velveteen, laminate, and oilcloth to name a few.

Second, they're really nice there. I mean Minnesotans have, in my week here, lived up to their extraordinarily friendly reputation. But Treadle did exactly what I think every store should: ask if I need help when I walk in, leave me alone to wander, and be helpful when I requested assistance. And then when I mentioned I was a visitor, they started telling me about all sorts of other fabric places to check out. Apparently there's an amazing shop in St. Cloud that I don't think I'm going to get to, but still: they heard I liked fabric and directed me to other places to look at it.

So I bought the solids above to use in the Simply Solids Swap. I have a few ideas rolling around in my head and need to make some decisions over the next week so I can start cutting and sewing when I get back. I also dug into their remnants and picked up two for me.

The gray print on the left is from Nancy Mims and the print on the right is a piece of oilcoth. I don't have immediate plans for the gray, but it's the sort of print that would be great as a bag lining, a binding, or in a quilt. As for the oilcloth, I've been meaning to make myself a lunch bag for years. I'm thinking oilcloth is smart since it will wipe down easily. I don't know how to sew with it, but that's just another thing to learn. I was pretty responsible with purchases yesterday, but I might need to go back and buy some Heirloom voile. It was just so pretty and would make a beautiful fall scarf. One can never have too many scarves. And buying fabric for a distinct purpose for me falls under "being kind to myself," right? Hmm.