A Crafty Person's Guide to Shopping In Manhattan

Ever wondered where to shop for fabric, wool, trims and notions on your trip to Manhattan, NYC?

Lots of you contact me asking for advice and I love to help so I've put together a page on my blog just for this - not a huge list, simply my favourites.  You can find it in my header tabs or you can click through to the page here

WHERE TO SHOP IN NYC

I hope you find it useful, let me know and let me know also if there's any other sections you'd like to see added to the page.

If you drop into The City Quilter be sure to ask for me and say "hi"!!!

What Do You Get When You Mix Essex Linen With Cashmere?

Another quilt for Flicky of course!!!

I've talked about it for long enough about it and it's finally complete ... Flicky's University Quilt



It all started way back in July last year when Flicky chose an Essex Linen fabric 'La Femme Deco Vines' by Melissa Crowley for Robert Kaufman on a trip to Purl Soho and it took me until September to find a backing fabric that I loved to put with it - a Betsey Johnson cashmere plaid - and you can read all about the bargain I grabbed at Mood here:

An Unexpected Trip To Mood

There's been mention of the quilt throughout the year but not much action:

Let's Get Acquainted
 What A Girl Wants ... She Usually Gets! 
 Welcome To My Second Home 

  but all that's put to rights now with lots of help from my little furry friend Tatty - she looks pretty fed up herself with how long this quilt's taken to make!

 

Flicky wanted a lofty quilt so instead of my usual batting Quilters Dream Request Cotton I used a double layer of Quilters Dream Puff and I did wonder just how I was going to manage to quilt it through the throat of my Bernina!  I thought it would be a really hard fought battle but actually, it wasn't and it took just 3 hours to finish the quilting.



Here's an Instagram pic of Tatty helping me to sew the binding - boy I look serious!



And here's the finished quilt


 

I quilted diagonal lines following the design lines of the print and just love how it makes the vines appear 3D - they're practically climbing up over the loft of the quilt as you look at it.



 Here's the back of the quilt - that cashmere is so soft and snug and silky.



The binding is Kona Solid - Robin Egg and it really makes the blue line running through the cashmere plaid pop.








The best of it is that, although Flicky and I both love the new quilt, it turns out it's incredibly heavy and thick to package up and send off to St Andrews.  Also it doesn't hold the same memories for Flicky that her original quilt does - you may remember I told you all about Flicky's quilt, the first quilt I ever made, here - so the consensus is that this new quilt will stay here, in Flicky's room, and her original quilt will go off with her to university to remind her of home.


Updated at 9 September 2014
On 3 August 2013 I received an email from Melissa Crowley who designed the La Femme fabric which reads:
"A friend forwarded me a pic of the quilt you made using a fabric I designed for Robert Kaufman. It's such a treat to see the vine illustration come to life in such a beautifully crafted piece! Of everything I've seen my fabrics become, your quilt is my absolute favorite"

To receive recognition from the fabric designer really made my year :D


What a really great start to the week! :)


Disclaimer: 
This post is for informational purposes only, no payment or commission is received on click-throughs and opinions are my own.

What A Girl Wants ... She Usually Gets!

In this instance, the girl in question is my daughter, Flicky, and regular readers can be forgiven for thinking, 'Isn't it always?' and this time, it's pillowcases!!!

Back in February, I shared with you the news that Flicky has been offered an unconditional place to study a Modern History MA at The University of St Andrews in Scotland 

University of St Andrews, Scotland

 and then in March, the two of us did a recce* and loved the place so much that Flicky immediately accepted her offer.

Screen Shot of Flicky's UCAS Offer Page

Anyway, to get back to this post and a bit of sewing content, on a trip to our Manhattan LQS, Flicky had picked out some fabrics and requested a couple of pillowcases for her room at uni. So, with the clock fast ticking now on the countdown to 7 September 2013, I've duly obliged.

Here's my Instagram photo of the fabrics - there are two Avalon JAY-CYN designs for birch fabrics and a piece of Kona Solid 'Red'

I used a straightforward 'burrito method' of making the pillowcases - I'm writing up a tutorial for some eye mask covers I've made recently in the same way, so I'll be sharing that with you soon.

 One happy young lady and another sewing job ticked off a long list.

This weekend, I also started work on a quilt that Flicky requested (see previous post, 'An Unexpected Trip To Mood'). The top and back are done, but I'm waiting for the batting to arrive - she's asked for a puffy quilt, so I will use 2 layers of Quilter's Dream Puff batting.

Instagram photo of my cut selvedge edges for quilt top - Kaufman Essex Linen - La Femme

 I also altered Flicky's prom dress - it needed taking in; she must have lost a few pounds since we bought it. I was terrified I'd ruin it, but it went okay, and Flicky's delighted with the fit now.

Instagram photo of the altered prom dress seam

On a bit of a roll, I decided to bind my first ever fmq sampler that's been in my 'to do' pile for 18 months.

My 'to do' pile is diminishing - I even sewed the handle back on my doorstep last week that the removal men pulled off two years ago when we were packing to emigrate to the States!

I also grabbed myself a great bargain last week - check out all these 40/2 and 50/2 spools of Aurifil thread and packs of sharps - total cost $132.90. Yes, you read that right, $132.90 - Sue at Sue's Sew EZ Designs is having a fantastic closing-down sale; head over and check it out :)

Instagram photo of my sale bargain

I am still deciding what to tackle next today. Maybe I'll look at my Queen Bee Bear's Paw quilt blocks.
What do you have planned for your week?




* old English word: If you recce an area, you visit that place to become familiar with it. People usually recce an area when they are going to return at a later time to do something there - Collins Dictionary 


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Disclaimer: 
This post is for informational purposes only, no payment or commission is received on click-throughs and opinions are my own.

Related Posts:

Anything Wills & Kate Can Do ...

Will Ye No Come Back Again? Absolutely, Next September! 
An Unexpected Trip To Mood
Back To Some Serious Quilting
Need To Nail That Bear's Paw

An Unexpected Trip to Mood

All fired up after the Tula Pink event at The City Quilter (detailed post with lots of piccies to follow), I headed off to Mood, Manhattan with Ivete from Rose Smoke.  Ivete was keen to pick up some fabric for a jacket she's making and I just tagged along because I'll go anywhere if there's fabric involved and sometimes even if there isn't!

So, long before Ivete found even the first item on her list, I'd fallen in love with a woollen plaid.  During the summer on a trip to Purl Soho daughter, F, had spotted Aqua La Femme Deco Vines Essex Linen by Melissa Crowley for Robert Kaufman.  There and then she decided that what a girl really needs to go off to university in England next Autumn is a new quilt - not just any quilt but a quilt made in this fabric and this quilt has to be lofty.  Deep joy!!!  I've never worked with lofty batting before but I picked up some tips from Kati at Kati's Quilting and Sewing as I know she used 2 layers of lofty batting in her log cabin quilt, and my nervousness is now confirmed - watch out shoulders you're in for a rough ride.  I didn't buy the fabric there and then - they didn't have anything that appealed to me for the backing and I wanted to mull it over, but it's been nagging me ever since because I knew she wanted it so much.  I went back to Purl Soho last weekend to buy the fabric regardless and they'd sold out - feel an internet search coming on!

Well when I walked into the wool section in Mood I spotted just the thing - I knew instantly that it was exactly the backing fabric that I needed, a fab pink plaid.  Off to have it cut, there was no price tag attached so I was sure to ask the price up front as, quite rightly, Mood say you have to buy fabric once cut.  As there was no tag the guy asked a colleague who confirmed $18/yard.  I'm busy contemplating how much I need for a whole quilt or whether a bed runner will do the trick ... I'll make a bed runner or throw and maybe a few cushions with the left overs, so I'll go with 3 yards ... "what exactly do you think this fabric is?" I ask, "wool" he replies, well I knew that but it feels pretty amazing for a wool plaid ... he cuts the piece and then he finds the price tag deep down inside the inner tube.  "F**k" he says, which really caught my attention, "this fabric's Betsey Johnson cashmere and it's $25/yard".  I stayed still and calm, pondering over the fact that Betsey Johnson makes fabric and knowing there was 3 yards of the stuff cut on the desk and Mood says once cut you have to buy.  He obviously wasn't best pleased at the dilemma on his hands and then he reluctantly said "I'll have to let you have it at the price I said".  I breathed a sigh of relief and did a quick mental calculation to confirm that I'd just saved $21 on what I thought was a bargain purchase anyway!

I've researched how to pre-shrink the wool before I make the quilt and found this easy method using just wet towels and the tumble dryer by Off The Cuff - (click the link and scroll down to 7 September for instructions).  I'll give it a go and let you know how I go on.

Guess I'd better get myself cracking with my internet search for Aqua La Femme before I end up with just the backing and no quilt top!

Christopher's Dress at Lord & Taylor

 

Daughter, F, loves the new wool plaid but is so much more impressed with my 'Mood' story of my face to face encounter with Fabio from Project Runway - well more of a face to neck tattoo encounter as he's a bit taller than me - it was one of those 'if I step to the left will you step to the right or step to the left as well?' moments.  Love his work but have to admit to rooting for Christopher Palu especially having seen his fab evening dress on display in Lord and Taylor's window on 5th Avenue. 

 And for anyone who might be wondering, given how this post started, Ivete got everything she needed for her jacket too - what a good day :)

PS: I've just watched this week's episode of Project Runway (the mums and babies episode) and daughter, F and I couldn't believe our eyes.  Fabio made the mum's dress from a fabric that I'm using to make a dress for F (should have made it this last summer but got carried away with my quilting!).  Just to prove that we chose it first I've taken a photo and included my Mood receipt - 30 March 2012 still it's good to know that we're 'on trend' but by the time I make the dress it'll be more like 'so last season'!!!

For details of other fabric, yarn, trim and notion stores that I've visited around the world along with the NYC stores I love, exhibitions and events I've attended and wonderful people I've been lucky to meet click the links below or in my sidebar :D

Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only, no payment or commission is received on click-throughs and opinions are my own.