Fashion Forecast

What’s New FALL BUYING TRIP 2008

Hi Everybody:

Larry and I have just returned from our buying trip for Fall 2008. It was an extremely successful and quick 72 hours in Vegas. We have lots of great things coming in right now as well as an exciting fall coming up. As you know, we do not buy from local salesmen but travel to the national buying trip so that I can see what is available from the West Coast as well as the East Coast. It gives us a chance to coordinate what we buy and see what is happening in the market.

This Spring we were delighted with the "new" jersey prints that we have seen seen in the department stores. The look is even greater this fall ! Right up our alley. Easy to sew on and easy to wear. In observing what is available in the department stores the jersey can have a refreshing young look. Not all of those maternity tops look good on everyone—for some of us it is a memory we don’t want to go back to. Many of these jersey’s are trimmed with solids and we were even able to find the solid jersey. Some of these fabrications are a little sheer but by using the wonderful knit lining that we carry you will have the hand we are looking for. Many of the garments in stores are cut very, very low which is not flattering for the average figure. One of the cute looks that is very easy to make is the peasant dress or top—well worth our time (or lack of) to make. Jersey is not clingy as long as you use a fabric softener in the rinse water. Pre-washing is not necessary because there is no shrinkage. All of these wonderful prints—a sampling is in the store now—look great paired with the soft-colored knit Sophia or the woven crepe. For a more sporty look make shorts from the beautiful Dovedeen—a rayon & cotton twill.

For right away for our Fashion Department we have a beautiful corduroy made of BAMBOO. Natural is the key word for the seasons to come. This is not your grandmother’s corduroy. It has a slight sheen to it and is more of a Spring/Summer fabric—great for shorts, short skirts or Capri’s. We chose white, tulip, sweet cucumber and jet. Gotta see it!

Polar Fleece is always demanding our attention. We do not have as much room as we used to so that means we have to carry a whole new selection every few weeks. Every time we turn around our selection is wiped out. This is the time for babies and polar fleece is fabulous for babies. Years ago we used to use flannel for receiving blankets but have you felt the new micro-fleece. It’s the new age bunting. Light and delicious to feel. New fleeces will be arriving as soon as they can pack and ship it.

We were able to add a few new Chinese brocades to our selection. Would you believe, at better prices? I always thought they were made in China but now that they have lowered the import quotas I was able to find some goodies. They’re great for prom dresses, shawls for weddings or purses to dress up an outfit.

Would you believe that we’re getting ready for Halloween. Faux fur is no longer available from the venders that carried whole lines in every color imaginable. We did find grass green, lime, yellow and fuchsia. Now that we’re one of the few fabric stores around we absolutely must carry all the basics and this is one of them. Getting ready for the fall fashion we ordered some of the most beautiful furs for jackets or even bed throws.—crushed rabbit YUK!, checkered fur in white and beige, beaver etc.

Rayon challis is getting more and more difficult to find. The prints of yesteryear are a thing of the past although we did find a few. Rayon is a natural fiber and therefore VERY comfortable for the summer. We did find some more rayon batiks which are fabulous for any season but especially for New York.

Rayon IS washable but there is some shrinkage. When you buy a garment in the department store it always says to dry clean and this is because of the shrinkage. When you sew your own it is possible to pre-wash but do allow extra for shrinkage —about ½ yard for every 3 yards. I wash on gentle and dry in a cool dryer. There is very little ironing necessary. The rayon batiks are fabulous for pants and tops or dresses. The new coordinates will have reds printed on black, beiges on black and blues on black.

Sherpa has also been very difficult to find but find we did in a beautiful quality. It has many end uses and we cut from it all the time. It is especially good for beds for those furry friends of ours. We have red as well as navy on the way. It’s great to line a dog be in polar fleece and back it with Sherpa.

BUTTONS, BUTTONS. Large is IN. Especially for our knitters as well for our sewers. We have another beautiful collection on the way. For notions, we been asked for additional frogs for all those special occasion outfits.

Gotta tell you a funny story. A vendor ships in thousands of frogs (Chinese buttons). He got a call from the Bureau of Wildlife, Washington, D.C. asking if he had a license to buy frogs. Well, you know the reaction. They were not live frogs but Chinese buttons.

Now on to fall. Isn’t this funny. I feel like a gerbil in a cage. It’s hardly Spring and we’re talking Fall. It makes it fun for me because by the time it comes it’s a new surprise.

Starting in June the new transitional jerseys with the new solids will be arriving, new fleeces too—jungle kids, fancy cats and trains as well as dogs.

Transitional plaids that look like the glen plaids we are accustomed to as well as sheer tartan plaids to help you from summer into early fall. Houndstooth comes in black and white made with soft rayon and lycra for comfort. I know we can’t get enough of this.

Our first shipment from our beloved Logantex arrives with fall colors for the mother of the bride. Crushed, pleated and sparkled.

A large selection of fall jerseys arrives in July and by then you will know what we are talking about. I’m very excited about a some sweater jersey prints arriving at this time also.

We haven’t filled in on wools in a long time. The fine company of Forstman has gone out of business but I was still able to get some wool flannels in beautiful bright colors. The prices have gone up a lot just as everything has. A recent visit to some quality stores had me in shock. More reason to sew even with the price of fabric going up. Always think in the terms of the finished garment relative to what it would cost in the better department stores.

Many more fleeces will arrive in September getting ready for the cooler weather. Double-faced polar fleece will be back again.

Fall will bring lots of new bright Dupioni silks used for trims, handbags and wearable art.

Phew! Is that exciting for fall. (I’ll be offering a fall tailoring class again—what about that gerbil?)

WHAT’S NEW FOR THE QUILT SHOP

Year after year, new season, new fabrics. Where do all the ideas come from? I place the orders 6 months in advance and when they come in it’s Christmas. We can’t wait to open the boxes and see what surprises come from our Quilt suppliers.

April and September are our biggest months for new arrivals but every other month we get a minimum off almost 100 new bolts of quilt fabric. There are so many new ones that we rarely repeat beautiful fabrics. There’s no way we could inventory all the old as well as the new. That’s what makes fabriholics of us. We know we’ll never see them again.

We haven’t quite finished putting away our March arrivals (they’re left at the bottom of the stairs so you know what’s new New). Besides April bringing May showers we have a beautiful new collection of Red, white and blues to get ready for Memorial Day and July 4th. Our kids department needed filling in and Larry had a grand time picking out frogs, secret eyes in the ferns, wizards and horses with horns. Our solids department will have freshening up with the addition of beautiful transitions that go from light to dark as well as a beautiful assortment of 108” hand dyes and all overs and tone on tones so that you can back your quilt with just one piece of fabric.

For May we went back to an old favorite of Andover Fabrics with our first assortment of 1800’s reproduction prints and a Civil War collection . This is a new area for us and after the interest in the Underground Quilt (we’ve added new weekend dates) it was time to expand our quilt shop. They also have a new line from a book call the Hungry Caterpillar which is a favorite with little kids. This is a book about a little worm who ate and ate until he became a butterfly. It’s in lots of vibrant colors and great for that 4 year old and up.

June will bring a beautiful collection in Navy. I haven’t seen such vibrant navies in a long time. Quilting is really home dec. and these are very beautiful colors to absolutely make a room. Be sure to buy enough fabric for dust ruffles and a little curtain. Borders on towels will complete a bedroom ensemble. June will also bring and unusual new assortment of white on whites and fabulous nightscapes. Back to another old fabric supplier of Marcus Brothers with their look-alike of Vera Bradley in turquoise and brown. Can’t wait to make some of those quilted projects. Marcus also brings us a beautiful collection of Surf & Sand in beige pale blue with a coordinated pre-quilted fabric.

July brings us a William Morris collection and the addition of many more baby flannels used for backing. Obviously you like my idea of using flannel prints as well as Minky and even the fine wale corduroy for quilt backings. Michel Miller has his input of beautiful prints for July as well. CARS are still the biggest thing for little boys and the movie made it even stronger. Speedway prints compliment the collection.

Lest we forget our Asian department. We have the largest selection of Asian prints of anywhere around and we work hard to keep that image. The selection gets better and better for home decorating with wall quilts as well as wearable art. The Imperial Collection will be arriving in September.Fabric Quilt brings us new pre-quilted collections with their matching un-quilted fabrics. Beautiful for tote bags as Christmas gifts as well as placemats with matching napkins.

August brings another round of Noah’s Ark—different and better. Keep those babies coming. Many companies have downloadable patterns for their fabrics and Monach is one of them although they will be sending us tearsheets for you to have.

September brings us teacups, blendables, tone on tone ferns and a fabulous panels of beautiful flowers. We’ll be getting ready for Halloween with lots of new prints, a huge new collection of Black & White as well as tigers & pandas and a wonderful new collection of African fabrics.

HOME DEC 2008

Home Decorating is an ongoing business. It’s our job to look at what’s in fashion and choose the right palette. It takes longer for a style to set in but it stays longer and so that gives us a chance to build on what we already have. The premise of our home decorating department is the same that it is in the rest of the store. COORDINATION. It makes it easier to see and to put together a home room. Hopefully by choosing the best colors and fabrications in your mind you can visualize using a print for a sofa, a stripe for the curtains and small texture for side chairs or for carrying the theme into your dining room.

Decorating can start with a small project like making pillows or covering dining chairs on to making drapes, valences or even slipcovers. We offer classes to give you the confidence to attempt these projects. More than any other projects a good sewing machine is a necessity. The better the quality of the machine the stronger the motor is to penetrate the thickness of multiple layers or attach decorative trim.

Sewing needles are important as well. A heavier needle is important but it’s also important to remember not to pull the thickness of your fabric through your machine. Because of the weight of the fabric the needle can bend and break. I recommend at least a size 90 to a 100. The poorer the quality of the machine the more you will have to pull of your fabric.

Thread is also important. You must use a stronger thread such as the upholstery weight thread. The need to adjust the tension is important since the thread is thicker you must loosen your tension. Pressure is also important because of the multiple weights of the fabric. The better quality of your machine the less trouble you will have with the tension and the pressure which is all included in the better machines. The cost of a machine is recouped in just one major sewing project for the home.

This spring we have done a MAJOR infusion of new fabrics. We have extended the colors we already have and added many more outdoor fabrics. We have brought in more tapestries, chenilles and curtain fabrics. We have also revamped all of our books in our Design Room so that every book is up to date and reorganized by types of fabrics so that it’s easy to work the books. All stripes are together as well as silks, chenille's, and all of our Waverly updated. Hopefully, you have realized that when you purchase of our rolls they are very reasonably priced. This is because when we purchase minimums of 25 yards we purchase the fabric at a far more reasonable price that we can pass on to you. If you purchase fabric the price is higher BUT the minimum is just 1 yard so you will have the choice of hundreds of fabrics.

Again, as in Fashion, think of price in terms of a whole project. Even is fabric is $40 a yard. You only need 1 3/4 yard to cover 6 dining room chairs or about $12 per chair.

We are always glad to do the project for you as well. We have wonderful, reliable, workrooms that will make your drapes or valences as well as upholster your furniture.

I can now say that we have a wonderful knowledgeable, patient, staff that can help you to decide whether to do the job yourself with our advice or classes, do part of the job yourself, or have us pick up your furniture, do the measurements, and complete the entire sofa.

We added new cottons, lots of strips and we coordinated new trims to give your home a designer look.

Respectfully offered,

Pat Headen (with Larry’s help)