What I did in Phoenix...

I had a wonderful time in Phoenix at retreat again this year, although my knee was less than cooperative.  I usually don't get a whole lot of sewing done, preferring to socialize more than sew.  I also did some swimming and soaking in the hot tub.  

I did finish my sweatshirt jacket, and Dale was good enough to put it on after I got home so I could get pictures of it.  I put a band of black fabric across the bottom to give it some additional length.  

 

My first shopping spree was Savers which is conveniently located to the hotel.  I did find a great king size 100% cotton sheet, along with some black fabric that will make a good backing.  It was priced $1.99, and I also found five yards of black flannel which had no price tag, and the cashier rung it up for $1.99 as well.  Woo-hoo!  

My next shopping was at IKEA!  They had this canvas sturdy fabric with graphic apples--99 cents/yard.  I bought five yards.  I thought I'd make a picnic quilt, but then decided it would also be great to cover my ironing board as well.  I also couldn't resist this wonderful graphic batik with circles and koi...five and a half yards for $20!  Maybe I can talk daughter Jackie into it for the grandsons' bed quilts.  If not I like it well enough for a quilt for me!

Then I hit the jackpot.  Tove who is my birthday twin--same day and same year--took me shopping to SAS.  I did pretty well last year at the SAS store near Pat's place.  Tove took me to the store in Tempe, since she knew they had gotten a new shipment. 

 I now have a Kaffe Fassett stash along with some more batiks to add to my collection.  I enjoyed getting it all washed and ironing it all, fondling each piece as I went along!  I got it all for $3.99/yd.  A couple of the batiks are extra wide--backings!! 

 I'm getting my sewing room back in order so I can get back to quilting.  I came home with an abundance of tops for Dr. Kaufman thanks to all my generous friends at retreat.  They'll keep me out of trouble for a long while.  Dale replaced the original recessed fixture in my sewing room with this fixture.  Why I didn't think to have him do this a long time ago, I don't know, but we now have some great LED bulbs in it as well.  I like good lighting.
  

Good thing I don't live closer...

I always think of Phoenix as a Goodwill shopping mecca!  There are lots of stores, and every other Saturday everything is 50% off in order to deal with their unending supply!

Well, I have now found THE store for fabric shopping...SAS Fabrics Superstore.  Between the store in Tucson, which was not as nice as the one I went to Phoenix, and the Phoenix store, I came home with a lot of fabric, nearly 40 yards for an average of $3.98/yd.  A few yards of fabric from the Tucson store were priced at $9.99/yd., which raised the average.  Most of what I bought at the Phoenix store was $2.99/yd.  It really is a super store!

I cannot pass up a bargain.  My stash needs rearranging to accommodate the new acquisitions.  Lots of yummy fabric.

I found this awesome, hand-dyed rayon ribbon at the Goodwill store.  I just have no idea what to use it for besides embellishments.      

I have three skeins, so surely enough to make something with it.