Crafty Ladies

About a month ago I was alerted to a very tempting fundraiser at the Textile Center - $25 entry, and first dibs on their huge fabric sale. Initially I was in, and then my subconscious must have tried to intervene - because I absolutely spaced it. (That's happening a lot lately. Say hello to 40, say goodbye to your memory retrieval capabilities.) So when my friend asked me if I was going, I said - uncharacteristically - no. I did not in fact need fabric, and knew setting foot in the hallowed halls of fabric and yarn would be way too much for my elusive self-control.

I love how my friends are supportive of me and encouraging me to set limits, etc. but just not with them....

At the call later on in the day, I was easily swayed - we'll call it Girls Nite Out, with an auxiliary crafting fix. I asked Bob what his plans were for the evening and he replied unhesitatingly "Watching the kids so you can go do something." That's always a good answer. 20 points awarded. When he did ask where we were headed I said a FUNDRAISER at the Textile Center. No mention of my fabric compulsion.

We arrive at the Textile Center to see a block-long line of women (a few token men, representing bored husbands everywhere) and I haven't felt such excitement since scoring good tickets to see REM in 1989... which is admittedly sad, on many levels. The doors open and the line moves quickly as we stumble over each other to hand in our admission fees and get to the fabric.

I don't even look at the silent auction items, or the food/drink - we're hyperfocused. Audible gasps are heard as we enter the room - 8 long rows of tables, plus the perimeter, with head-high stacks of fabric. I get sucked into the vintage fabric vortex but am quickly overwhelmed so I retire to the cotton corner. I'm so focused on the piles, I don't even notice I'm standing next to one of our preschool teachers, Mary, wearing a super fun skirt she just "whipped up" this afternoon, in celebration of the sale. I freely admit I am outclassed, outwitted and outplayed - but still I'm stuffing rolls and rolls in my bag. There's a feeling of "grab now, sort later" so I'm not answering the "yeah, but what will you do with it?" question. The prices are pretty awesome: 4 yards of upholstery fabric to redo the dining room chairs - $5, gallon-sized Ziplocs full of vintage scrap, $1. If you don't mind getting trampled, checking the boxes underneath the tables is even more fun. At some point I hear a collective groan and look across to see one of the piles toppled - imagine a game of Jenga but with fabric. I narrowly miss causing an avalanche myself. Folks are laden with grocery bags, bolts, etc. and there is much jostling.

Some stuff I can't even process - boxes upon boxes of sewing patterns, notions, trim. Imagine all the colors and patterns of an art museum - shoved into a much smaller space - and you get the idea of how visually overwhelming it was. Not that I was complaining, mind... My best find was the UFO section, which stands for "unfinished objects" and projects that time forgot. Heaps of mostly intact kits, quilt tops, dresses that need trim - it was the crafty version of the Island of Misfit Toys.

At some point we retreated to the corner and started to paw through our finds, ooh and aah, and even put some things back. The bunch of us are flying high with ambitions and acquisitions. There's a ten minute warning before we mosey towards the check out. The damage: $61.oo, plus $25 admission.


Janel, Mary, Jakki, and Sonji with our spoils. Note the jubilant smiles and celebratory beer.

When I got home and wandered through my purchases, I had a few happy surprises. Best deal ever - all the cut out pieces of an entire quilt (full? queen?), half-assembled, and in great patterns and colors. For a buck. Amazing. It might even force me to make friends with my sewing machine...

But my friends who sew are even more fun. Thanks, gang.