Saturday, February 20, 2010

Some Shopping, Some Sewing

I'm back home, after a good visit with grandchildren, son and daughter-in-law.  Two year olds have lots to say, and lots of opinions, as we all know!

I made a quick stop at Vogue Fabrics in Evanston.  Such a wonderful place!  It almost makes me wish I were still doing garment sewing.  But I bought only thread, and just gave the fabric a quick walk through.  Interesting shoppers there, always very multi-cultural; this time there was a group of women in full veils, one in what I think was a burkha.  They were admiring the gorgeous silks and taffetas, so someone is going to wear something that isn't black.

Across the street at 10,000 Villages I couldn't resist a bag of tagua nut beads.  Aren't they wonderful?  They're very lightweight, and I thought they'd make great embellishments.  Of course, I usually don't embellish, but who knows...


Now I'm busily quilting my challenge quilt, having some difficulty.  The combination of 12 wt thread, batiks, and a dense batting has been causing skipped stitches and breaking thread, but after some experiment with needles, I think I've got it licked.   I started with a #14 quilting needle, switched to a #14 metallic needle, but it seems to be the #14 topstitching needle that does the trick.  Back to work.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

AH You were in Evanston!Too bad I had to work today, I would have popped in at Vogue and said Hi! 10,000 villages is such a great store. And then there is Goods right there too...oh my, such a dangerous place for my wallet!!

Vicki W said...

I so want to start doing some garment sewing again but I need one less job to have the time! The beads are really cool!

Nellie's Needles said...

Ahhhh, Vogue Fabric Store! I try to stay out of there when I visit my son and his family who live within walking distance. I don't dare even to look at their fabulous selections because there isn't a cranny in my studio to stuff even a fat quarter.

Glad you had a good trip and I'm looking forward to seeing how you interpreted our challenge.

jenclair said...

Glad you had a nice visit with the kids and grandkids!

The beads are beautiful; love the smoothness and the colors.

Vivian said...

Just seeing the word "Vogue" brought back memories of working with those patterns, back when I was a young teacher, sewing all my own clothes. Loved the uniqueness of Vogue, but it took them 10 steps to instruct me in a process that McCall's or Simplicity could cover in 2.

Your beads are gorgeous!

Libby Fife said...

I am willing to bet those beads will make an appearance somewhere soon:)

Good call on the needle. Don't forget our friend "The Universal":):)

Debra Dixon said...

Many moons ago I shopped at Vogue Fabrics! Two years ago I noticed they had a booth at IQF Houston and for the life of me I couldn't remember why the name sounded familiar until I looked at their address.

They were so clever and brought lots of remnant bundles of cottons and other pretty fabrics. It was one of the only booths last year with a line at the register.

McIrish Annie said...

Really loved your Interpret this for March! Creepy but cool! I've only entered a couple of quilt shows and found them to be a big pain in the you know what but I'm glad there are those who do..