It is December! A happy month for all. Winter smells outside and in, as people get ready for holidays- Christmas, Hanukkah, the winter solstice, and as Krammer said, “Festivas for the rest of us”
One of the things I like to do at the beginning of the month, is to make swags for the doors outside. For us, it is easy to do. On one of the Spot walks we gather a few different kinds of evergreen branches, tie them together, and add a few things that can be picked up on the walk. This year the basis for the swags was juniper with its lovely blue berries, and arborvitae, with its golden yellow buds.
These were augmented with pine, fir, cones, and some lichen found along the path we walk. I had wanted dusty blue ribbon for a bow and ties, to match the juniper, but could not find it. But, wired ribbon, printed with chickadees seemed perfect!
NEWS at BRICK HOUSE FABRICS
The opening of the store has now been pushed back to January 1. There have been delays due to contractors and painters. But, the walls have been painted, and the fabric stands are almost finished. We are waiting on glaze to do the trim work. Then, all of the fabric gets moved.
One of the things we get asked about is, do we know of anyone to do sewing or upholstery work. To that end, we have been trying to find people who will work on the premises. That seems to be in the works! They would take over the space that we work out of presently. Taber would move into the kitchen with me, and Christine would move to his space…. Obviously this is a work in progress.
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Though opening a brick and mortar store,
we will continue to be primarily web based.
That is how we started, and that is our primary focus.
We will continue to provide fabrics world wide.
FABRIC NEWS
One of the things people have asked for over the years is for companion fabrics to the novelty fabrics we carry. Many of the fabrics we carry just don’t have a companion. Many of the companies make the novelty fabrics as stand alone fabrics. Most aren’t part of a collection, or have co-ordinates.
But, we have found a company that has been willing to work with us to provide the basics!
THE BASICS
At the top of the left hand menu is now a category called “The Basics”. It is subdivided into several sub-categories, most of which are empty. This will be changing over the next three weeks. We have received fabrics- checks, stripes, and solids. Some of these lines have as many as thirty colors. Getting these photographed and online is a huge undertaking that we are working on. But, it does take time.
In the check category there will be a gingham that is available in a 3/8″ check or a 1 1/2″ check. These have a co-ordinating mini-stripe, available in the same colors and a ticking stripe.
One of the new checked fabrics.
This is a true gingham,
as it is woven, not printed.
Due to the monochroomatic nature of these fabrics,
a sample is essential.
A line up of the different red checked fabrics,
from red and white through several red/tea stained tones,
to pale pink.
For solids there is one with soft hand perfect for curtains and bedding that has a co-ordinating ticking stripe in lovely clear colors. Other solids include a basket weave, a mid-weight, and one with the look that washed denim has.
There are several other fabrics including a plaid, a hounds tooth, and a paisley that is embroidered.
When these are all up on the net there will be a comprehensive, interactive group of fabrics that will work well alone, together, and with many of the novelty fabrics we carry.
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TUESDAY- December 10, 2013
We got our first real snow yesterday! YES! But, then the temperature rose, and it melted, and then it rained… and then the temperature dropped, and it is a skating rink out there! No walk with Spot when it is icy… he does not understand why that is, as he LOVES winter! He actually goes out and dances in snow!
Yesterday afternoon the green checked fabrics were listed on the website. And hopefully by the end of the day the blue ones will be. The blues colors are far less vintage looking that some of the other colorways. They range from a strong royal to sky and then to powder blue. There are two colors that don’t quite line up with any of the different assortments… a pale lilac and soft yellow. So, we will do a group listing of pastels, which will include the pale pink and pale green.
THE PALE LILAC CHECKED FABRIC
A busy day here!
The blue checked fabrics are in the new
Check Fabric category!
So, there are two left- the pastel yellow and lilac.
Tomorrow I hope to get pictures of the neutrals as a group, and the pastels-
to add to the listings for better comparison.
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WEDNESDAY- December 11, 2013
This morning dawned clear and cold- 10 degrees was showing as I hit the kitchen to let Spot out. There had been a bit more snow in the night, and everything was sparkling as the sun rose.
Spot is a dog who should be out on the moors herding sheep, running around stone walls, and jumping them too… He has been seen jumping a four foot fence, and has jumped down stone walls over six feet high. He loves to run.
With the shorter days there is no time for a good walk after Brick House Fabrics closes up for the night. Not, that things sleep on the net, but one does change hats to make dinner!
So, this morning, I layered up, and headed out at 7:15 for a Spot Walk.
We headed to the meadow, to walk along the river.
In the morning the meadows are still, just a murmur of water, depending on the tide. This morning was windless, and the tide was quiet. It was still coming, and the ducks on the water were moving up river with it. The meadows sparkled as the sun rose.
We stepped carefully, as there was ice in places. The paths get so much traffic the snow gets packed down, making it slippery.
We had a lovely walk, the wind rising as we neared the end of it. I was glad we had gone early, as the wind continued to rise through out the morning.
CHECKED FABRICS
The first of the new checks are listed!
There are twenty nine basic checked fabrics in the new category.
They are 3/8″ in size.
The large size is about 1 1/2″, and pictures have not been taken of them yet.
Tomorrow we hope to get the first of the stripped fabrics up.
These are a ticking stripe, and have a muted look.
Some of them work well with the checks.
We will continue to work on the basics, as fast as we can!