27 March 2011

Fabric as far as the eye can see...



The never ending fabric shop! Believe it or not this photo was actually taken in the middle of the store, looking in one direction - it was, in fact, double this size. Before British readers get excited, no, this isn't Brixton - this is America. Falls Church, Virginia, to be precise. Casey gave me some great tips on fabric shopping in her former stomping ground while I was in Washington, and textile enthusiast friend Karen was more than up for driving me - hurrah!


G Street Fabrics' range was actually a bit overwhelming. I just walked around in circles for a while, in a total daze and unable to focus. In the end I was very sensible and only came away with this beautifully soft grey fabric to make some trousers with - in the cut offs pile at only $3 per metre!


"I just picked these up at Jo-Ann's." I've always wanted to say that. I can't be the only non-American who is envious of the ease at which things seem to be able to be picked up at Jo-Ann's. The crafting revolution is only just starting to emerge in the UK so we'll have to wait a bit longer before you can find belting solutions and embroidery floss at $4 for a pack of 36 skeins in every town.


Oh the variety! Casey also recommended I visit the exhibition of First Lady dresses at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. Museum + historical dresses = I'm there. Here are my favourites:

Mary Lincoln's dress

Helen Taft's dress

Eleanor Roosevelt's dress

Michelle Obama's dress

Last but not least, I can't write about Washington without sharing these snaps:

 

Vice President Joe Biden! Nooooo, not in Jo-Ann's, in the Capitol building, silly.

[Soundtrack: 'I Walked' by Sufjan Stevens]