Back from vacation – fabric review and roundup.

During the three weeks we spent down at my parents’ house, I sewed a baby ensemble, a sexy maxi dress, and a simple spring skirt for myself. And in the car, I did, in fact, do plenty of knitting! The red sweater is waiting for arms and I finished most of the body of the gray one. Plus, thanks to my mom, I had a break from housework and had mostly just one baby to take care of, which is about as much of a break as possible with a nursling. I also found time to do some shopping. Mom and I took the baby down to Atlanta to visit Whipstitch and have lunch. That was a fun girls’ day and this is the loot I scored:

I also went twice to the Alpharetta Joann because on my first trip for supplies, I inquired about the new Lisette fabrics and learned they had more on the truck to be unloaded soon. Soooo, I had to go back a second time to see them and this is what I came home with:

The cotton sateen is wonderfully soft and drapes beautifully, yet is quite substantial. The twill is lightweight and reasonably soft. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the poplin or lawn, which is really what I wanted. The green is just a basic poplin for some play clothes to match the gray sweater.

Most exciting of all was when the very long on-the-edge-of-my-seat awaited Children at Play line by Sarah Jane Studios finally made it into some stores. I spent a LOT of time tracking down the prints I wanted for baby girl’s first birthday. I literally battled other shoppers! Just as I was trying to complete a transaction, the fabric sold out right from underneath me. If that was you last Saturday night at Hawthorne Threads, I hope you’re enjoying it. I was really quite upset. However, after much more online searching, I found more and it’s hopefully on its way. One shipper sent the wrong print by accident, and though I may keep it anyway, I had to search again for the right one. All in all, I had to buy yardage from four different stores to get what I wanted! I don’t think even Heather Ross prints are in quite such demand. Has anyone else ever experienced such craziness?

I did have two packages of Children at Play waiting for me, though, when we got home. It was exciting to finally have it in my hands. It is indeed as lovely and unique as it appeared online. The hand is soft, though not as buttery soft and drap-y as Moda.  It’s not at all stiff and rough as some quilting cottons can be. In other words, I think it will work nicely for the birthday dress, which is a relief because I pretty much took it on faith that it would be OK. I have three months until her birthday, but I plan to get cracking on the dress soon to make sure I can take my time and don’t get stressed out being down to the wire.

And if that wasn’t enough, the first thing I did on our return was to hit Spool’s summer sale and come home with several yards of the new Joel Dewberry collection and some shot cotton and promptly became distracted with sewing that up, a project I will share with you in a few days.

I have pictures coming soon of projects I haven’t yet reviewed here, including the Lisette Passport Jacket and a maxi dress in Anna Maria Horner voile, so stay tuned. Also, follow me on Twitter now!