I Heart NY

Actually, I don't NY at all, but it is growing on me.

First, a little history. I was born and raised in a small city in Central NY State. (How small is it?) This city is so small, the entire population can fit into any big city's NFL stadium and we could each bring a friend from out of town. Then, I went to college on Long Island, NY. Because of it's proximity to New York City, I envisioned myself taking advantage of all of NY's cosmopolitan and cultural opportunities. That didn't happen. At 18, I didn't know myself very well and I discovered small-town me really wasn't comfortable with NYC's "big city-ness". I avoided NY for the next 30 years while I worked in another big city and lived in a first generation suburb. Now that I'm 30+ years older and live about 95 miles from New York, I'm more comfortable going there. I've come to actually enjoy shopping in NY's Fashion district. My most recent trip is a perfect example.

Photo credit: Lindsay T
Karen did a fantastic job of organizing a Shopping Weekend. She and Elizabeth from NJ, Cidell from MD, Trena from DC and Connie from Canada gathered in Philadelphia to shop for fabric. I joined the group for dinner Friday evening. Then on Saturday, Karen, Connie, Kisha and I traveled to NY for more fabric shopping. Lindsay T met us there. It was very cold and very fun.

Karen applied some pressure arranged a two hour visit to Kashi's Metro Textiles for the morning when he is usually not open for business. The four of us had no trouble making it financially worth his while (in our estimation, at least). Then we met Lindsay T for a hot lunch and then made our way to Pacific Trimmings, Paron and Mood Fabrics. I got to do my bad Tim Gunn impersonation and said, "Thanks, Mooood!" as we left. (Luckily, no one was paying attention.) Connie was the only one of us truly on a mission (sewing for TWO weddings) and we finished up at M&J Trimmings for wedding stuff.

If Connie was on a mission, then I was on a budget. But I was able to accomplish my very loose shopping goal, which was, "I need some dresses." Here is my stuff:

1. Lightweight Italian wool for a tailored dress.
2. Sweater knit that happens to match the Italian wool. This was serendipitious and I'll make a skirt from the wool if I have enough left over. Kisha's goal was sweater knits and I shamelessly took advantage of her search.
3. Cotton for a simple, button-down blouse.
4. Wool for pants to match the cotton.

I forgot my camera both Friday and Saturday so I have no other pictures to show. I lifted the group photo above from Lindsay T. But, I had a great time shopping and it was fun to meet and shop with Online Sewing Buddies. I may come to NY after all.