PR Weekend Philly Redux

Still tired, but here are some pictures to sate your curiosity.  Trena, as well as some other bloggers, are writing more substantive play-by-plays of the weekend. 

It was so amazing to meet fellow bloggers and sewists, and to see them wear creations I have seen online and reviewed on Pattern Review live and in person.  I was blown away by the talent and knowledge.  I reunited with Karen, Trena, Cidell, Carolyn and Lindsay T.  Karen was kind enough to host me for the night, or should I say her cats were kind enough to allow me into their home.  I roomed with Connie and we talked until the wee hours. 

The Kenneth King class was amazing.  I was pretty intimidated by the topic but it was surprisingly easy to embellish.  As usual, he was a hoot with tons of funny stories.  Again I have to say that he is an amazing teacher; very patient, not condescending, and great at explaining all the steps involved. 

Kenneth King

 

Kenneth King at work

 

Noile and Trena working away

 

My table, Kyle to the left there

 

The museum was amazing.  My favorite garments were the 1870’s Worth dress and the Fortuny dress.  I couldn’t believe how close we could get to the garments.  It was so cool to see all the hand stitching and construction details. 

Worth Dress Evening Bodice

 

Worth Dress Day Bodice

 

Detail of Worth Dress Skirt

 

Fortuny Dress

 

The dinner was so much fun.  We had an impromptu fashion show where almost everybody got up to talk about their garment or accessory.  There were some amazing dresses and bags.  I believe Connie’s bag won a PR contest last year.  It’s gorgeous! 

The Saturday shopping day was both fun and overwhelming.  I have never shopped that long for anything in my life, much less fabric.  But, boy am I glad that I did.  Here’s my haul.  We spent the morning at Fabric Row in Philly.  The first store I went to was Albert Zoll.  Claudine and I spent at least 20 minutes trolling the button crate.  And I found covered button kits in various sizes as well as buckle kits.  

Albert Zoll

 

The next store I went to was PA Fabric Outlet where I found some great lace and trim as well as this beautiful lilac silk linen (for a Chanel like jacket?).  The lace will be used for lining hems and little girl dresses. 

PA Fabric Outlet trim

 

PS Fabric Outlet silk linen and matching trim

 

Next stop on Fabric Row was Baldwin.  Really beautiful special occasion fabrics can be found at this store.  I practically ran out the door with this silk metallic linen.  I got it for a steal.  I think this might be the fabric for the dress I’ll wear to my cousin’s wedding this Fall. 

Baldwin

 

Carolyn and I then took a break for lunch (delish!) and met people up at the bus for our next stop on the shopping extravaganza bus tour, London Textiles, a fabric wholesaler in New Jersey.  It was like shopping with piranhas.  Ok, maybe not exactly like that, but you should have seen the mad dash for the remnant boxes.  It was every woman for herself.  Here’s what I managed to grab for myself.  From left to right: 2 silk remnants for a bias blouse, a really long remnant of silk/cotton linen with white/royal purple threads for a sheath dress and a small remnant of a striped silk/cotton linen project tbd.  Caroline was my buying advisor for all of these purchases.  Thank you Carolyn! 

London Textiles

 

From NJ we trekked to South Philly to the fabled Jomars.  I was very overwhelmed by the time I arrived here, but Carolyn took me under her wing again.  I bought 9 yards of a navy almost black lining, a cotton linen with woven stripes, a Liberty-esque cotton print, some trim for a belt and a teal t-shirting knit.  No plans yet for any of these items 

Navy Lining from Jomars

 

Jomar Cache

 

I have no specific pattern ideas yet as to how I am going to use these fabrics/notions, but I love each and every one of them.  They’re so beautiful.  

Karen and her volunteers did such a wonderful job organizing the weekend and everything went off swimmingly well.  I enjoyed myself so much and loved meeting all of these wonderful women and sharing our love of fabric.  I can’t wait to attend another PR Weekend.  Thank you Karen!!! 

One more noteworthy item:  Cidell was kind enough to offer to bring her Knip Mode skirt with her to the Weekend so I could compare and see where mine was off from the original pattern.  It turns out my front wrap curve is pretty different, so I will have to adjust mine accordingly and see if that helps with my draping problem.  Cidell even let me take her skirt home with me so I can work with it.  How cool is that???????  However, I’m a little bummed out still about the close call with wadderville, so I need to put it aside for a week I think.  

So what’s next you ask?  Well, I think Mama needs a new skirt, don’t you?  I’m thinking an unlined, red stretch cotton pencil skirt would do nicely.  Why, yes I do. 

Happy sewing!