Circle Skirt Sew-Along: Supplies and My Almost-Demise

Supply shopping will be the death of me. This I know. I made my first outing to Jo-Ann Fabrics the other afternoon and was just about ready to take a butter knife to my eyes. I'm convinced it would have been a more pleasant experience than what I went through.

First there was the fabric selection. I won't go into the gory details but it involved five different phone calls to Mary before I finally made it out with this flannel black and grey houndstooth. You might recall I had great hopes of a green plaid but in the end, common sense won. This is my first* sewing project, after all. Can you imagine the horror of mucking up a skirt that used $25/yd. fabric? My $6 options were limited, so grey/black houndstooth it is. This will actually look quite nice with my black suede pumps with the floral applique and I can still see it paired with a really fetching hat.

Don't think my shopping nightmares ended there. After the fabric selection it was on to the notions and my gawd, the indecision. It took me almost three hours to buy all my basics ranging from a cutting board to hem tape. The process might've been easier had I been able to find anything but I'm convinced the overlords of Hobby Lobby are also running J0-Ann Fabrics. Nothing was in a logical place, everything was picked over (thank you, Labor Day sale), and there wasn't a single employee available to assist with questions. The cutting table line was 10 people deep and when I finally managed to check out I missed one tiny little package and had to cut back in line so I could pay for it with cash and get the hell out of there. Yes, I was that person.

The good news is when I made it home I wasn't so exhausted that I didn't want to whip out my sewing machine and try a few things. I managed to thread a bobbin on the first go, thread my machine, and I even sewed a straight line on a shirt I plan to throw away. It's the little things that count and better to get them out of the way before we jump into the actual sewing bit of the CSSA.

Do any of you dread supply shopping? Is it recommended that I stick to online purchases from now on?

*If you've read my bio, you'll know this isn't my first sewing endeavor. I actually had a daycare lady who was a phenomenal seamstress. I watched her every step from quilting to bed-skirt-making to dressmaking. Under her tutelage I made an apron, a two-piece pajama set in a funky sunglasses print, a drawstring tote, pillows (I liked to make bolsters for my daybed), and many other crafty items. It's just been, you know, years since I did those so for all intents and purposes we're calling this my first sewing project.

-Stephanie