San Francisco

Last month I traveled to San Francisco, and had a chance to do some shopping.   Happily, our hotel was quite close to Britex, and it did not disappoint!  It is a big narrow store, spread over four or five stories connected by a narrow staircase, and I was up and down quite a bit as I thought of things I wanted to see.  Cut fabrics are sent to the first floor to await you at the register, so that you don't have to lug them about, which makes it easier to navigate the many narrow spaces in the store.

I have been thinking about dolling up some of my plain cardigans a bit, so I found Britex's trims department a delight.  They had lots of paired beaded appliques, nicely displayed in the sort of moveable frames I've seen used for posters or artwork.   Happily, trims are easy to cart home on a plane, so I scooped up a bunch -- four sets of beaded appliques, plus a simpler pair, and some vintage deadstock lace.  Have I done anything with them yet?  Nope, but I will, I swear.

I had heard that Britex was pricy, and it was -- due to the quality of their merchandise.   I wasn't sure if I'd buy fabric, but I did end up with a two-yard remnant of green cotton with pink and yellow woven through it, and could not resist some divine green floral Italian lawn (think Liberty sort of quality, as well as price!) that I will probably be afraid to ever cut into. But hey, I can pull it out and pet it from time to time.

I don't have much sewing time these days, and that will continue in the coming months.   I have (part of) one day a week at most, so I'm continuing to focus on separates because they're usually shorter projects.  (I will have to make some dresses come summer, though!)  I've made a few more short-sleeve Renfrews that I'm quite happy with, and am working on my third Hollyburn skirt now.  I finally got pictures of my first two Hollyburns and I'll post those soon.