Seamstress's dream

So, yesterday after work, I met up with a friend to go to Bits of Thread and boy did we have entirely too much fun!  It's a small sewing studio that does classes and workshops for different levels, and it also has a great stash of reclaimed, vintage, donated, and random fabric. Most of the pieces I found were less than 3 yards, which is perfect for what I need.  There were a few fabrics that came in larger sizes, but not many.  Lots of great scraps, vintage notions, fantastic buttons, it was like going through the attic of the coolest grandma on the planet and finding some of her amazing and soft and hideous old fabrics, pattens, and random bits and things.  It's pretty much available only by appointment, so call ahead to make sure someone will be there.  When we arrived, there was a new instructor leading a class who didn't know how to ring up purchases, so I swung by today after I got out of work early.  Go check it out for yourself if you are in the DC area!

My friend is also an enabler and kept encouraging me to feel and look at different selections, and is directly responsible for the Persian-rug patten print, the blue houndstooth, and the shiny brown lining fabric.  He also kept trying to get me to look at some very very high-fem fabrics and I had to keep reminding him that I was simply not that kind of girl. He was very disappointed, but he had his fun with the sparkly gold tulle. There were many deliriously joyful and catty comments over the amazingly ridiculous collection of buttons and whatnot.

So, I have some projects for the weekend (primarily new work skirts).  I'm really looking forward to using some of these.  The creamy camel color is a super-soft wool that's destined for a plain wool skirt and the most of another skirt that will have some of the great plaid toward the bottom.  The rusty orange that goes very well with the velour couch (rummage sale find a few weeks back) is a fantastically drapey rayon knit that has fantastic weight to it. That's going to be a relaxed jersey dress.  I still have some other fabric from the same rummage sale as the couch, and a couple skirts that just need fixing.

Here comes my trusty Huskystar sewing machine and the old tomato pin cushion!