As a Christmas gift/bonus, my boss gave each of us a gift certificate to Cool Cottons, one of my favorite local fabric shops. One of the things I really love about it is how they organize the fabrics by color and not collection like the enormously overwhelming, but fantastic to have locally Fabric Depot. I tend to shop by coordinating prints and colors, and I don’t shop by collection or designer or manufacturer. So I get frustrated shopping for quilting fabrics at Fabric Depot, but love it for fashion fabrics.
A couple of co-workers and I trekked down from Vancouver to visit the shop together. Having them alongside made it all the more enjoyable as we sifted through one adorable cotton after another. In our work, we see a lot of digital swatches of these fabrics, but getting to see and handle them in person was pretty thrilling. In the end, though, I bought fabrics I had never seen before. 🙂
Starting at the top of the pile, I ended up with:
Jolis Copains! by Kokka, a muted tone zoo animal print that i think will be adorable for some fussy-cut applique and quilt blocks.
Minny Muu collection by Lecien, a lightweight cotton that has the teeny tiniest little letters and blonde elves/children scattered over a creme background. So delicate. I think I need to buy a little more so I can make a top out of it.
Teeny Tiny Zoo by Alexander Henry, a white background to the brim with elephants, giraffes, rhinos, hippos, zebras and more. I’m seeing an emerging theme here–tiny, with or without animals.
Pistachio Cozy Cotton flannel by Robert Kaufman, a super soft flannel I want to use for the backing of a quilt I’ll make with the Teeny Tiny Zoo fabric. Someday.
Far Far Away III by Heather Ross for Kokka, by far the most expensive cotton fabric I’ve ever bought, but the print with its (of course) tiny toy horses won me over. I’m going to use it to make a version of the Margaret Bag by Oh Fransson!. I don’t like the pointy corners, so I’ll change that, but I think it’ll be a good over-the-body carry-all bag for my daughter.
Trefle by Kokka, a home-dec weight cotton with sewing machines and notions all over a grey background. Not sure quite what I want to do with it, but it’s delightful.
Snow Kona cotton, more for sashing and such. I do love a good pop of white.
Then I picked up some notions that I’ve been wanting, but can never justify: a new marking pen, more glass-head pins, a half-inch bias tape maker, wide elastic to make boxers and a wooden point turner (so maybe I can retire the chopsticks?).
I’m excited to have some new fabric to play with, but I think I’m gonna have to take my little baby in for some rehab soon. She likes to spin instead of sew lately. My biggest issue with taking her in to get fixed is not having an extra machine at home. I used to have one, but in all the moves, it has somehow disappeared. Frustrating, especially now when I could really use it.
