hope everyone had an awesome turkey day! mine consisted of putting my cat in a purple polka dot bow tie (made from fabric left over from maya's spunky polka dot library dress),

frying one turkey, smoking another, and chopping wood.

today we're exploring this:

and having some of this:

as an american it's my duty to support the economy on black friday (via a means other than drinking). so in this post i'll share some of my favorite small business sewing shops.

why do i love small sewing shops? easy, the people who work and shop at them. a few examples:

the owner of gather here who saw me admiring a washi dress on the dress form and knew exactly the kona cotton it was sewn with and cut me a few yards herself so i could make my own.

the staff and customers that dropped everything one Saturday and formed search parties when a young customer lost her elsa dolly. (we found her a few moments later hidden amongst the tulle.)

the staff at gather here that stayed open a few minutes late to help me pick out the right kona cotton solids for maya's peacock fan.

the awesome stonemountain & daughter employee who always asks to see pictures of my nieces in things i've recently made, then reminds me to use my smart phone to show a coupon and get 20% off.

the elderly woman at britex who recommended i check out the remnant section where I found the perfect wool for maya's paddington coat.

bolt

this place is so portlandia!

image credit: portland modern quilt guild (post here)

i love it's quirky charm and the fact that everything, and i mean absolutely everything, they sell is beautiful and was obviously picked out with great care.

britex fabrics, san francisco california

britex fabrics hits the sweet spot between "everything is so classic i can imagine my grandmother coming to stores like this in a betty draper dress get fabric" and "millennial who spends her days writing code in skinny jeans comes here to pick out a knit for a cardigan".

their selection is just unbeatable, both for fabric:

image credit: britex pinterest page (link here)

and every notion under the sun.

stonemountain & daughter, berkeley california

stonemountain & daughter strikes the perfect balance of having high quality, awesome, and unique fabrics (like these handcrafted batiks from andover):

image credit: stonemountain & daughter instagram (link here)

with having a large selection extremely well. i know they will always have that zipper in the color i need or cotton batting that is the right weight, or a knit that has the exact amount of stretch for a pattern.

a verb for keeping warm, oakland california

this place is like the west elm of fabric stores.

image credit: owlways knitting blog (post here)

seriously if my pinterest boards had a love child it would be this store. look at this:

image credit: a verb for keeping warm instagram (link here)

and this:

much like bolt, it is clear that everything in the store was sourced with great care and thought. you could put on a blindfold and pick out fabric from that store based on weight and feel alone and your project would turn out beautiful.

which, when you think about it, isn't surprising given the atmosphere.

gather here, cambridge massachusetts

there is nothing like your first love, and gather here was my first love. i was inspired each and every time went there.

image credit: boston modern quilt guild blog (post here)

to think my first visit there was random is crazy. it was this store and their amazing selection that really started me sewing. not only is everything in their store just beautiful:

image credit: gather here website (link here)

but it has the best atmosphere and community feel. i don't know if this is their official mission statement but this sentiment was always alive and well whenever i stopped by.