Pattern-al Instincts

Just before noon, I met up with some ladies for some fabric browsing at our local Yardage Town in San Diego.  It is situated at a corner of  a little L-shaped shopping strip mall consisting of specialty shops, a karate school, and small restaurants, just off a freeway exit.   Some drizzle did not preclude six of us from meeting at the front of the fabric store.  Michelle (aka "michelle74" from Pattern Review) first arrived and as always, she can brighten anybody's day with her beautiful smile.  I have not seen Michelle in 3 years since fabric shopping at the Yardage Town closest to my home. It was nice to chat about our experiences with patterns such as Burda WOF (tracing can be a challenge), fitting, sewing for family, and more.

Allison ("AllisonSews"), Atasha, Susan ("KnittersDelight") and Susan's adorable mom visiting from Vermont, also joined us at the front of the store.   There was something familiar about Michelle's cute knit top and Allison's breezy top, but I could not exactly pinpoint where I have originally seen them.  Their tops looked really stylish, even more stylish than RTW or off the rack. 

I told Susan that it was a pleasant surprise to find out through her blog that she is expecting a little girl. It is interesting how news travels to people nowadays. Also she looked snazzy in her pink cowl top. There was something uniquely special about the top, and again I was not able to pinpoint why.

From left to right:  Atasha, Michelle, Allison, Susan, and her mom.

Before Atasha, Allison, and Susan arrived to meet us at the front of the store, Michelle mentioned that her top was from Butterick (5522).  It really looked lovely in person, even better than what I see in many stores. She was not satisfied with it as a dress and transformed it into a top.  I  told her that because her top looked really nice, I would not think that it came from a sewing pattern.



Allison's top came from Simplicity 3535.  There were many nice tops made with this pattern that I saw in PR. 

However, the top I made three years ago made me look frumpy.  I recently donated it to charity.

Although this Yardage Town (about a half an hour drive from my home) is not as large as the two stores closer to my home, its selection is still impressive.  To the left, not far from the entrace, were the discontinued patterns ($1.98 each).  I quickly looked at the tables of patterns and had to turn my head the other way and wandered around the bolts of fabric.  By the store's entrace were Halloween specialty fabric, slinky knits with animal print, and knits with abstract print.  I also saw some linen, quilting cottons, stretch velour, bottom-weight fabrics, fleece, charmeuse, and a decent selection of trim.  When I turned my head to eye the clearance patterns table, I saw Susan and her mom poring through envelopes, and I thought Susan would resist the temptation of purchasing more patterns.  Hmmmmm.

Michelle and I were still empty handed.   Just thinking about the stacks of fabric that I have not yet sewn up, helped me resist the temptation to buy.   Allison was holding some fake fur for a vest and I already saw Atasha with some fabric.  Before heading to the cutting table, we congregated at the table that had pattern catalogues (adjacent to the clearance patterns) and had a very pleasant time randomly chatting about our sewing experiences, especially where fitting is concerned, fashion inspirations, and future projects.  Susan's baby will be due mid-December and she still looks gorgeous.   I told her that she will have so much fun sewing for her little girl.  She and her mom were happily going through the pages of patterns, admiring the styles for little girls. 

Susan mentioned that she had made her top and had purchased the fabric from this store.  Now it's all coming back to me now.  She sewed and reviewed  Vogue 8597 last year.

I did not leave empty handed.  I purchased 2 1/4 yards of what I call "Zebraffe" fabric, 2 zippers, and a Simplicity pattern on clearance all for $22.79.  The fabric regularly sold for $8.98 a yard and with its advertised discount of  30%, it came to $6.28 a yard.  It seems to be a soft, yet stable knit.  I have not yet decided what to do with this "wild" fabric.  This jacket of this pattern is suited for sheer fabrics, and both the top and skirt are suited for knits.   If I sew the jacket, I will use a drapy knit and one size smaller. 

On a positive note, I have noticed that my sewing purchases have been gradually decreasing.  Last week, for under $35, at JoAnn's,  I purchased some stretch velour, sheer chiffon, and gold trim (I was surprised that this was from Simplicity) for Heather's genie costume and two Butterick patterns.  I was not able to fight off some PA (pattern addiction).  This what happens after reading about the successes with certain patterns on  PR. 

I am still on the hunt for Simplicity 3626, the genie costume for girls and misses, which was not in stock when I checked during the most recent Simplicity sale.

Maybe it will be more sensible to follow Atasha's lead and draft my own pattern.  Atasha  prefers her self-drafted patterns over commercial ones.   If you ever see the precious outfits she sews for her little girls, you would not believe that she has been sewing for only a few years.

Michelle was good. She left empty-handed, but still smiling!

It was very nice to meet Michelle again, and Allison, Atasha, and Susan for the first time.  This is the second time that I got together with people who enjoy sewing and wish that there were more opportunities.  Sewing is a foreign activity with almost everybody I know, and it seems that as populous as the county of San Diego is there should be a fairly visible sewing community.  I have been discovering that scrapbooking, beer-drinking, baseball, and football, and other non-creative activities seem to be the norm.  At least there is a wonderful portion of the PR community that also exists in my neighborhood.