Fiberific weekend + shopping

No pictures of my sewing, knitting, or spinning to show but plenty of stuff went on in that department...as well as some shopping. I started the weekend on Friday night at Hancock Fabrics where I bought two Simplicity patterns. I can't resist a $1/pattern sale. What sewer can? These were my choices:

Simplicity 3640 - I know I have more than a few patterns for hooded sweatshirts and pants between my Burda WOF collection and Kwik Sew patterns, but I like the princess seam lines of this one.

Simplicity 3678 - I'm thinking I'd make the dress more than the jumper although I could make a jumper this fall to be in with the fashion trends. I could see wearing one with a turtleneck and boots.

After Hancock's I walked across the street to the mall and went shoe-shopping for some comfortable walking shoes for Paris. I fancied these Dansko shoes:

But they're pretty pricey. I've never worn Dansko before so I don't know if they'll really end up being good for walking. They seem to be the shoe of choice for restaurant workers and people in the medical profession who are on their feet all day, but is standing on one's feet the same as walking a lot? I bought some SAS shoes last year before our trip to Iceland and while they're comfortable I found them to be a bit too mushy feeling and they're very utilitarian looking. I am looking for a nice black shoe that will look ok with tights and a skirt but still comfortable to walk in. I might order these Ecco shoes from Zappos.com but I'm afraid the European sizing may not work for me since they only come in full sizes. I'm a half size and won't tolerate a too tight or too loose shoe.

I would like to find a nice casual brown leather shoe as well, something to wear with pants. I ordered a pair of brown Josef Seibel shoes from Sierra Trading for a great price but unfortunately the 40 is a bit too big and I think the 39 will be too small, so they'll have to go back for a refund. I may just go with my 6-year old Clark clogs, but they're looking kinda worn these days. I've been eyeing a new pair of Dansko clogs for awhile. I like clogs because I have a narrow heel so there's no fitting problem with the open back. You just can't run to catch a train in them!

I continued my shopping at Kohls where I bought a new fall handbag. I love their handbag selection - they always seem to be on 40% off sale and at those prices I can buy a new bag every season!

After the handbag shopping I indulged in an In-and-Out burger. Yummy. But I don't even want to think about the calorie and fat content in the burger, fries and chocolate milk shake I indulged in. I haven't had an In-and-Out burger in years and thought I'd treat myself since my husband was out to dinner with his co-workers and former manager. I could have gone but decided I didn't want to listen to the work-talk. Besides, I got to have my shopping time instead.

So now onto the fiber!

Saturday I met up with my spinning friends for a spin-in. I brought my new wheel and spun a whole bobbin of single ply. Tonight I'm co-instructing beginning spinning at my knitting guild meeting. I'm still a newbie at this, so I don't know how it's going to go. The meeting announcement sounds like I'm some pro because it said I'm bringing 2 wheels and 2 spindles to the meeting. The 2 spindles aren't mine (although I do have one and may bring it) and as you know I only just acquired the second wheel. Ah well, knitters are a friendly bunch and I know they'll be kind!

Sunday was a sewing day but not all spent in the sewing room. I started off the day by going up to San Francisco with two friends from my sewing guild to see the Nan Kempner exhibit of couture and designer clothing at the de Young museum. Her clothes are fabulous! I wanted to touch them so badly to feel the fabric and see how they were constructed. Only a few of the pieces were what I'd term "over the top", most were very wearable. She had very good taste.

If you are in the SF area and go to the de Young for this exhibit, note that there's no audio tour. I was surprised since the previous exhibits I went to, Gee's Bend and Vivienne Westwood, both had audio tours and I enjoyed listening to the additional explanations about the quilts/clothing in those exhibits and the stories behind them. We didn't know there wasn't going to be any audio for Nan Kempner and rented the audio headphones expecting there would be. Disappointed, we went back to the kiosk to get our money back but we were told there were no refunds for the equipment. After a lot of waiting for a manger who "just left to get coffee" and then explaining to numerous people that we weren't told there wasn't audio and we were only there for that exhibit, I succeeded in getting our $16 (total) back. It probably also helped that I'm a member of the museum.

After lunch and a visit to the observatory tower at the museum (a must see) we headed over to Fabrix on Clement street. Neither of my friends had been there before and even though I don't need more fabric (!!) we were too close to it not to stop. Fabrix did not disappoint. I picked up some sheer poly or perhaps silk prints (some looked a lot like Anna Sui, so I suspect they may be silk) and a few yards of various raincoat fabrics from which to make reusable shopping bags. My friends were having a good time, I think. At one point I had to ask one friend if coming there was a good idea or was I evil. She said I could never be evil and ended up buying quite a bit. They were already talking about organizing another fabric shopping trip to SF. And we didn't even go to Britex!

Even with my busy weekend I still managed to squeeze in some knitting time (in the car on the way to SF and back) and sewing time. I cut out the fabric for the black twill Burda WOF skirt and have started to sew it. Fortunately this pattern is the highlighted pattern for the issue so there are detailed instructions.