I love to buy fabric and yarn in person. While I do my best to support local stores, I also can't resist purchasing fiber
souvenirs whenever I'm on "vacation"...
this includes seasonal pilgrimages to Hart's Fabrics in Santa Cruz and semi-frequent road trips down the coast to visit family in Southern California.Unfortunately, one of the
stores I often stop at on my trips to SoCal is about to close. So sad! Stopping there has been sort of a ritual over the years...I look forward to fabric and yarn and the girls look forward to walking over to
Coffee, Bean and Tea Leaf for an ice-blended drink or hot chocolate, depending on the time of year.
My husband pointed out all the fabric and yarn stores that I buy from online (and how it's easier and sometimes cheaper to do so), but I tried my best to convey to him the importance of seeing and touching fabric in person. Everytime I venture into a store, I find fabric that I otherwise would have passed on if I had only seen it online. Likewise, there are sometimes prints that I'm happy I passed on (the scale or color or feel may not be as appealing in person).
Luckily, on our most recent trip down the coast a few weekends ago, I discovered a new-to-me (brick and mortar) fabric store, but one that I've bought plenty of fabric from online...
Um, anyone heard of
FABRIC WORM?!?!
I guess I never paid much attention to the "Visit Our Store" part of their website.. Paso Robles is directly on our route down the 101! And it's actually a better 1/2 way point for us to stop, stretch, eat...and buy fabric! Awesome.
On my inaugural visit to Birch Fabrics/Fabric Worm, I purchased some of this lovely Japanese fabric that is destined to become a sewing machine cover for the sweet Bernina my mother just passed down to me (she bought herself a new, even fancier embroidery-does-everything machine). See, as I explained to my husband, now when I look at my machine with it's cover on, I'll remember the trip we took to celebrate my Grandmother's 90th birthday. My purchases are sentimental like that :).
Two road trips ago, on my last visit to the aforementioned store that's about to close, I bought a bunch of this
Brown Sheep Burly Spun Yarn; it was on sale and I thought I'd use it for doll hair. But when I tested it out on a doll that I'm making, I not so sure it will work - the doll looks very washed out. Hmm. Maybe once I've finished embroidering her eyes/face, things will look better.
But...
but, see if it does work, I'll think of that fabric store whenever I look at this new doll and her lovely hair. :-P
For now, the yarn is entertaining my youngest. We've never had a ball of yarn around here that comes close to the size of this one. And that's saying something!
