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01 October 2009

A delightful rediscovery

Last spring, I mentioned how Ms Inez of Inez' Creative Stitchery died. I hadn't been in the shop for a long time, and had kinda pushed it aside. Well, I rediscovered it.

The bridal salon Mom and I went to on Saturday was right around the corner from Ms. Inez's in the antique district of the county. I haven't been in an antique store in, a year at least, so of course we looked around. I drooled over the jewelry in one shop, looked at some samplers in another shop, but decided that, with all the reproductions out there, $245 is too much to pay for a sampler that is not authenticated, and finally bought a piece of stitching in another store for $10 and considered that a treasure.

And then we decided to go visit Ms. Inez's store. Just to see if it was still open.

It is! Not a lot of new stock for stitching, but the lady who helped us said they'll get in new stock as they can. Woo hoo! But there was still plenty of stuff, including OLDER things to look at. And fabric. Oh, she has fabric. I bought placemats. Mom wanted to know what I'd put on them. Probably lighthouses . . . or Christmas stuff? And I bought a big piece of Christmas fabric. It had been $40, marked down to $25, too much of a bargain to leave there, right?

It's been a while since I've been in an LNS on a consistent basis. Salty Yarns was a quick trip, and I never looked at the fabric. Plus, that shop is a delightful sensory overload, and I was still in a haze that day, so really, that doesn't count. I haven't shopped at Stitching Post in several months, and really have been trying to limit S.E.X. trips to what I need. I haven't really bought new fabric in months, and that's been mostly neutrals from Michaels or AC Moore. So, it was a real delight to see colored fabric in large quantities, probably far more of a delight than it should have been.

And then it struck me! I only work 2 exits up the highway from this shop, and not really that far if I cut through a nearby parkway It certainly couldn't take that much longer to go from my office to there than it takes to go out on the highway and merge over to get to Michaels. Or to sit in traffic getting back from AC Moore. So, why the heck would I spend my money to get neutral stuff, when I can get good fabric in pretty colors from Ms. Inez? And braid, she had braid! No more ordering it or driving to Catonsville for it Woo hoo.

So it was a pleasant rediscovery for me. If I had an LNS within close distance to the house, less than 30 miles, this wouldn't probably be such a good thing, but I don't, and so it is! And, this way, at least I'll be buying fabric to do charts I have, and not more charts. Always a good thing!

6 comments:

Annie said...

I live 10 minutes from Inez's. I didn't think it was still open either. I'll have to take quick trip to see what's what.

I used to buy a lot of little frames there. She stocked ready mades in lots of sizes besides the standard sizes you usually see.

And the shop was always my main source for interesting fabric before I could get it in so many online stores.

Julie M said...

I'm glad you rediscovered the joy of a needlework shop. If we aren't careful, all of them will disappear and what will be left is online which is fine but I'm a touchy feely kinda gal and much prefer that over online shopping any day!

CindyMae said...

Oh you are just so lucky to have a LNS!!! So glad that he shop was still open too, that is great!

tkdquintmom said...

My LNS closed several years ago now and was only about a 30 minute drive for me. I miss being able to hop in the car, go out there, and have some 'me' time. Stitching Bits and Bobs is probably the nearest one for me now and that is about an hour away. I love the store and Bobbie is just great. That's a great price on that fabric, I would have snatched it too!

Meari said...

Sounds like a great day!

Pumpkin said...

That's awesome! I'm so jealous. I wish I had a shop that close.

I do my thing and you do yours. I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you are not in this world to live up to mine. You are you and I am I, and if by chance we find each other, then it is beautiful. If not, it can’t be helped--Frederick Perls