shopping extravaganza part 1: fabric

One of the best things about being together with my mom is going out shopping together! This trip was no exception, and I thought it would be fun to compile our crafty purchases in one place so I can remember when and where we acquired what. Part one, fabric.

I hadn't had much luck of finding a fabric store I really loved out here. I went to an amazing place in Portland that had a lot of modern fabrics that were up my alley, but never found anywhere similar near home. Instead, I've been relying on online purchases (when I make them -- I've been on quite the fabric diet!) which are not nearly as fun. Mom and I went on a quest to sample many of the brick and mortar establishments in the area, and we found a few gems! 

These first fabrics are from a place in Milpitas called The Intrepid Thread. I've purchased quite a few things from them online in the past, and was excited to see that they are making an actual store work. I much prefer to see fabric in person and they have a wonderful selection! Not only are there a great bunch of quilting cotton designers and collections, but it looks like I can go here for some lightweight canvas and knits as well. I would have loved to walk out with one of everything. These are Cotton & Steel; the two feature prints are designs by Sarah Watts. I started out picking up the horses (no surprise there) and picked a few coordinating fabrics with Mom's help. This way I can make a bag or a quilt and look like I planned it all along! Mom got a few yards of fabric, too. 

This next stack of fabrics is slated to be a quilt for my grandfather. I'm hoping to have it done in time to be a Christmas gift. It will happen! These lovely prints were purchased at The Granary in Los Altos. I must admit, I was surprised that I liked this store as much as I did given that their website and front window give the impression of a very traditional shop. But walking in they had one of my favorite quilts - Science Fair by Jaybird Quilts - hanging from the ceiling. How can that be a bad thing?? I found this unusual textured solid that I hope will be a great background fabric, and they have lots of blenders that I will definitely be headed back for in the future, including all the colors of that sketch print fourth from the top in the stack below. I had a hard time finding these because I had a very specific color scheme in mind and was looking for more geometric/masculine prints, but there were many fabrics that I liked that didn't fit my very specific shopping list this time around. On top of that, the women in the shop were very friendly, and it's a short drive to get there. 

And of course, there's my old standby, the Joann's across the Bay. Our local store is somewhat small and doesn't have a great selection of fabrics beyond fleece and flannel, but a jaunt across the Dumbarton gets me to a bigger store with a pretty good selection of quilting cottons. I've gotten Denyse Schmidt prints there before, and this time around I'm pretty sure I saw some Lotta Jansdotter sprinkled on the shelves. I stocked up on my favorite linen and found these two pretty prints. Not sure what I'll use them for but I liked the motifs and colors, especially the gray.

To top it all off, Mom got me a new rotary cutter (after trying to use mine on the hexagon blocks we made), a marking pen (after I used mine up on my Medallion quilt), and a 12.5" square ruler. I'm excited about the ruler especially because I hope this means squaring up blocks won't be as miserable, but the new rotary cutter is going to be amazing, too. Mine doesn't actually keep the blade out anymore unless you keep pressure on the switch. Armed with that and these new fabrics I've got quite a few fun days ahead!