FART Success

Robin and I went on a Fabric Acquisition Road Trip (FART) yesterday. I picked her up at 8:00 am and we headed to Missoula. Our first stop was the store A Clean Stitch, the Missoula Bernina/Janome dealer. They carry the entire line of Amanda Murphy rulers. The last time I was there, I bought the large hexagon set but the smaller hexagon set was out of stock. I picked up the small hexagon set yesterday as well as a Bernina set of border rulers:

I really wanted that loop-to-loop ruler and the cable ruler as I don’t have anything like them.

We stopped at Walmart to peruse the mystery remnant rack. I bought an intriguing chunk of fabric—it’s a white background with black circles that get progressively bigger from top to bottom, making it basically a border print. The fabric is a medium weight and I think it will make a lovely tunic top.

Our next stop was the reason for the trip in the first place. Robin is assembling a quilt that will be donated to the homestead foundation for a fundraising raffle. She could not find a border for it in Kalispell. We went to Vicki’s Quilts Down Under to see if we could find one there. The two of us spent over an hour combing through the fabrics. We had narrowed it down to two possibilities when Robin asked Vicki what she thought. Vicki looked at the top, walked over to the shelf, took down a bolt of a batik, and laid it down next to the top.

The batik was nothing like either of the fabrics we had chosen but it was perfect. Perfect. Vicki is a genius and I know why her store is so popular. Robin bought a few additional fabrics and I got a backing for one of the baby quilts.

We left Vicki’s and stopped at Kohls. I was so disappointed—I found a lovely blouse in a bright print, on sale. I tried it on even though I knew what would happen. It fit beautifully except that it was 3” too short. I considered buying it anyway and deconstructing and reverse engineering it, but I really don’t have time.

By then, it was past noon and we were starving. I drove downtown to one of our favorite restaurants, Notorious P.I.G. Their pulled pork sandwiches are excellent. The restaurant also happens to be two blocks from The Confident Stitch, so we headed there after we ate.

I try to shop for fabric with a list so I don’t get distracted by all the pretties. The Confident Stitch carries some quilting cottons, but their selection of garment fabrics is why I visit. I scoped out possible raincoat fabrics, looked at some Essex Linen, and bought two yards of a screaming bright pink tencel print from Kaleidoscope Studios:

I also bought a Christine Jonson pattern—the store has an entire wall of drawers full of indie patterns—and a remnant of Essex Linen.

Over at Joann Fabrics, Burda patterns were on sale. I bought two and picked up the Simplicity 9713 raincoat pattern that was just released. Our store still didn’t have it last time I checked. I also bought fabric for the lining of my Ravenwood bag.

We needed to head back toward Kalispell as it was already 2:30 pm and I knew a stop at the Amish store was on the itinerary. On the way to Missoula, I had pointed out a new little fabric store in Ronan to Robin and suggested we stop there, too, on our way back. The store has expanded their inventory since I was there last. I found backings for the other three baby quilts.

All in all, it was a productive shopping day. Getting the perfect border fabric for the raffle quilt was great. Robin will put the border on today, and once it has been quilted and bound, I’ll get some good photos for us to use for advertising.