Fabricliciousness

So, though I had decided that my stash was quite full, circumstances dictated that maybe it wasn't quite full enough.  Circumstances being the new need to sew for others (in addition to my original two competition dresses, I now have to add a third for a new event I will be skating - team dance - and a costume for the new partner, plus 3-4 matching practice costumes for us, as well as the skating costume for my client, and now two shirts for a friend of the family), but also seeing (cheap) gorgeous fabrics I couldn't resist.  Firstly I had a few earlier purchases this month that I haven't yet shown off:

Cotton/poly/lycra stretch denim from Joann - so amazingly soft!

Poly charmeuse print from Joann - going to be used as lining.

Cottons from Fashion Fabrics Club - the teal is for my sewing challenge day dress.
The white floral and magenta will be mixed as a dress for my sister.

And then I got to go on a trip to the LA Fashion District!  I was able to snag a ride and act as a carpool dummy, and I had a super productive shopping day.  I was able to get fabric for a lot of my new skating projects, as well as finally making it to the Michael Levine Loft!  Fabric is $2.50/pound!!!  Fabric by the pound peoples!  All in all it was a productive, if somewhat expensive, day.  At least I will recoup a lot of the costs because I am buying stuff for others... which of course means I can go back and buy more non-skating fabric for me!  So, I won't keep you in suspense any longer, here is what I got:

Skating fabrics - velvets, chiffon, metallic foil dot fabrics
Some are for me, but a lot are for my clients, so you might not see all the finished products.
Also, the worst thing about buying fabric to sew for 2 people is you can't buy as many different
fabrics as you could if you were only buying fabric for just one person.

Applique trim for skating costumes (to be adorned with rhinestones and sequins)

Doesn't look like much, but this is 10,000 sequins!  They come on strands, so you can't
see the reflective bits of color very well in this picture, but these are also for the skating costumes.

"Fake" sew on rhinestones - not as good of quality as Swarovski, but at 200 feet you can't really tell.

More fake-a-roos - they look plenty shiny in the bags though.
And, totally 1/2 or 1/3 the price of the real ones - that means 3 times the sparkle!

Studs - 500 for $1.50!  I am totally going to use these for a jacket at some point.

I found belt buckles!  I had such a problem locating them online... here I got 12 for $4.50!

These beads are for one of my sewing challenge projects - won't be used for a while, but I am
super excited I was able to find the shape, size, and color I was looking for at only $1.50/strand.

The first part of the Loft haul - (back) teal slinky, poly print charmeuse, (front) animal print chiffon, teal ribbed knit.

More Loft haul - a bunch of ITY knit prints (well, I think the pink/green might be a rayon or cotton actually)

The loft haul is great - for most of the fabrics I have 3-5 yards, except the ribbed knit, the slinky, and the chiffon.  I think it averaged out to something like $1.25/yard.  And I totally would have got some more, except that I ran out of time, arm space, and cash...  Oh well.  It sounds like I might be heading back up in a few weeks with some other skating peoples who need to get their own fabrics...

Now, lest you be feeling too jealous, let me show you my latest skating dress:

It is a wadder, which is why I am not wearing it.  I wanted to keep the stripes from being broken up, which meant doing a one-piece body construction.  However this fabric doesn't drape so nice.  And, well, let's just say the finished product gives new meaning to the term bubble butt.  But I still love this fabric!  And I have enough left over to maybe re-do it.  But I don't have the time right now to work on it - especially since I now have so much sewing for others in the near future.  So, I am calling it a "wadder for now" with the hope that I can return to it and fix it to wearable status in the future.  In addition, I need to re-cut the bodice of my figure dress, and I have made a last-minute fabric switch for my solo dance dress, so this past week's sewing efforts have all been for naught.  So, you see, it isn't all lolly pops, gummy drops, rainbows, and fabric hauls here at Sew Skate Read.  There has been some sadness and turmoil as well.

So... yeah.  Substantial stash accumulation, but I also will be using a majority of these fabrics and a lot of the beads and trims rather quickly (quickly = before summer is over).  Now I am feeling a bit nervous though - I have so many projects I have to get through in the next few months!  I have about 4 things that need to get done by the end of April, and another two by the end of May.  And probably another 4-8 by the end of June.  Which, all in all, means no regular sewing for me until July at the earliest!  Also, it probably means more time in front of the machines and less on the blog-o-sphere.  So, if the posts thin in the next few months fear not for it means I am actually sewing and not just thinking about it.  I am not going away...  I just probably won't have time to be as verbose.