sarah in nyc

Sunday evening I indulged in a bit of magical thinking. I knew I was going in for surgery early Monday. I bought  fabric to make myself a Rosh Ha Shanah dress. I figured that buying the fabric would ensure that I wouldn’t die on the operating table.     OK, the rational part of me knows that the chances of dying during the operation were in the close to zero range. I get that. But despite mostly being a rational sort of a girl, part of me clearly is not fully 100% rational. I bought the green boucle to make a Rosh Ha Shanah dress. It cost $1/yard. I guess if I had died the waste of the fabric wouldn’t have have been too tragic.   The other two fabrics, the grey rayon knit and the white textured knit will either be t-shirts or nightgowns. Once I was buying fabric, the siren song of mystery bundles was just too difficult to resist.   This is what arrived. I think the green boucle may have made the nice folks at Fabric Mart think that I was a red-h...

This morning as I went to the subway the streets were filled with firemen dressed in their dress uniforms. Every year in the fall the fire department holds a memorial service  at the Fireman’s Memorial on Riverside Drive and 100th street. ( This image comes from NYC Parks ) Some years the local pubs and restaurants are filled with very sad ( and drunk firemen). I’m guessing that this was not the hardest of years in terms of loss. Some years you see the firemen walking away from the memorial with their faces full of pain. This year, not so much. As I walked to the subway I was joined by  groups of firemen making their way back home.  Firemen are big guys.  There were probably thirty of them on my subway car. I realized while looking at them that men who earn their livings through physical labor move differently than men who earn their livings sitting behind a desk. I also realized that you don’t often see men who earn their livings through physical labor in suit...

Today I stopped by Paron . They are moving one block south and are making everything down  so they don’t have to pack up quite as many bolts of fabric.  I wanted to see if they to see if moved anything neat into their $3/yard bins. They had one barrel filled with slinky printed with patterns in silver. So not my thing. Sometimes though, a fabric looks cool for the moment. I gave a bit of thought to purchasing a stretch with a snakeskin print and a sequin overlay. But I came to my senses and left it in the barrel.   I also left the lining fabrics. But for the past few years I have seen a bolt of this fabric, a puckery white knit.   I’m not exactly sure why it appealed to me so much. I can’t tell you how often I have pulled out the bolt and nearly bought some. Finally, at $3 for a yard, I bought the four yards left on the bolt. I’m not quite sure what I will make out of it. It’s slightly sheer and has a beautiful drape. Any ideas?   The other white t...

I had a doctor’s appointment today. on my way back to the subway, I noticed that Paron is having a moving sale. Paron is moving a black south to 39th Street. Fabrics in their regular price store are now 30-60% off.  I’m not quite sure the percentage off in their half price store. I assume that prices are a bit fluid. Fabrics in the back corridor are now all priced at $3/yard. I bought these three fabrics from the bolts in the back room. They are from left to right, a Lurex knit, a rayon knit and a hammered silk. Oddly, each of the bolts had the identical yardage, a yard and a half. I’m especially pleased by the hammered silk. It has a beautiful drape and a great feel. While my fabric was being measured, I noticed a box of ancient vintage velvet ribbon. As the various fabric stores in the district close up shop they tend to sell their stock to the ones still left standing.There are all sorts of treasures to be had here. This is what I bought; grey 1  1/2 inch wide,...

About ten years ago, I made a couple of table cloths out of denim from Paron's half price store. This was long enough ago, that the half price store was an actual stand alone store, and not just an alcove in the regular price store. Those cloths got lots of use. They went from looking spanking brand new, to looking nicely mellowed, to looking so bedraggled that my boys suggested that they needed to be demoted to the rag bag. If adolescent boys notice that a table cloth looks tired then it is clearly way past it's prime. A few weeks ago I found the perfect replacement fabric, delightfully, I found it at Paron's half price store. It was a deep blue, waffle weave cotton. The bolt was nearly done so the cutter threw in what was left on the bolt. I had forgotten about the extra fabric and simply serged the ends. The cloth fit my dining room table perfectly. Not only that, my youngest, not Mr. Domestic by any stretch of the imagination loved the feel of the cushy waffle weav...

My sewing student often uses fabric that I have on hand, in my stash for the garments that she makes for herself. I have also introduced her to the wonders of Internet fabric shopping. I thought that it was time that she was introduced to the wonders of the fabric district. We went to both stores managed by Kabbala Man. My student loved hearing the lecture on the Torah portion of the week that was being broadcast  on the store's PA system. My student found a black sheer knit with a solid stripe. Budding designer that she is, she knew exactly what that fabric needed to be as soon as she set eyes on it ( a sheer over dress to wear over a black slip dress). She wanted two yards but there were three left on the bolt, so my student was introduced to the wonders of bolt end pricing and got three yards for $5. In the end she spent every penny she brought with her. Her other purchases were a turquoise rayon jersey, a black rayon/poly jersey  for the under-slip for the dress she has de...