Goodbye Sallys (but thanks for a whole load of sewing projects for 2012)

One of my favouritist fabric shops is closing on December 5th.

 

Sallys Fabrics has been open serving the public for 40 years. You might remember when I first discovered it last September and even told you I was going to buy this material:

 

Well, being the Queen of Procrastination, I never got round to buying it. Doh! And now they're closing.

Luckily, I've been on their email list for a while now and on Friday night I got an email saying that from 5th November EVERYTHING in the store was 40% off. And all their patterns (Simplicity, McCalls, Butterick, Kwik-Sew) would be $1.99 each (that's £1.24 each).....for brand new patterns that usually sell for about $15-$17.

So though I'm seriously upset that Sallys is going (they're going to leave a big hole in my fabric sourcing and more importantly haberdashery/notions sourcing in years to come), I had to pop along to make the most of the bargains to be had.......and get stuff for my 2012 sewing projects.

(By the way Dear Family.....if you're reading this......pretty please can I have money for Christmas, because I've just been and bought my Christmas presents from you ;))

I've got some nice stuff this morning and am wondering whether I should have invested in more.....yes, seriously wondering if I should have been bolder and bought more.....ah, well.

This is what I got:

 

Do you see that in the middle? Yep, I got the end of the roll, 2 yards of the flamingo fabric I've been thinking about buying since last September. Every time I've been to Sallys (which is a LOT of times) I've popped to the appropriate shelf at the back to see if it was still there. And I've watched the roll getting thinner and thinner. If I'd bought it last year there would have been enough for a whole dress....now 2 yards, it's going to be a full circle skirt I think. I think I might have to knit a coral or pink mohair cardigan to go with it.....possibly.

I also got 5 yards of something that might well become a day dress for a future Burlesque Hall of Fame in Vegas (I haven't decided whether I'm going next summer or not yet):

 

And 4.5 yards of interesting zip print fabric:

 

I have the urge to do something special with this, possibly sewing in some real white zips as well.....or zip pullers as fringing haha.

Speaking of zips, I bought a few for projects I've got planned and some extra thread in colours I'm short in.

But then, and here's where I'm beginning to feel I should have been bolder and invested more, I bought some patterns. They were only $1.99 each and the ones I wanted were Simplicity ones that are usually $15.95 each.

I got Goth Child a Neo-Victorian (I'm not allowed to say Steampunk according to Goth Child as it's not clockwork or steam-powered) costume pattern:

 

Remind me to show you the last-minute Neo-Victorian (sssssh steampunk) costume I made her for Halloween.....I'll show you what we made and how. But she's planning to go to some Cons next year and wants more to her costuming, so we can definitely adapt this.

Then I thought ahead for my needs, and bought myself some 60s like patterns:

 

I know the Simplicity 4014 isn't marketed as a 60s style suit set, but one of my favourite vintage outfits when I was a size 12 teenager was a 60s tweed shift dress and jacket not dissimilar to this design, a little straighter at the hem but I quite like the flare.

And I got a Katherine Hepburn-esque (please don't shout at me vintage purists) pattern, Simplicity 4044:

 

So if BurlyCon 2012 has a Vintage wear night you might see something of the above :) Probably the 60s stuff.

And then I decided to get some standard dress patterns that I can adapt, an evening one and a day dress:

 

And to be honest, I've got various other patterns I've bought in previous sales and quite a lot of fabric sitting waiting to be converted into something fab-u-lous (as Melchett would say, whilst snapping her fingers, she watches too much Teen Nick) that I think I'm well set up for keeping my sewing machine busy in 2012.

But I might have to pop back for a few more patterns before Sallys finally closes it's doors on Dec 5th....

Thank you Sallys, I sincerely hope all your staff find new jobs (sad to losing your job whenever, but some of the ladies have worked there for so long....and just before Christmas.....I can't begin to imagine what this be like).