Back from a recent trip to my favorite fabric store with a friend.  Yes, I actually left the house.  And I’m leaving it again today, tomorrow, Monday… impressive, no?  You all realize that I’m a hermit at heart, right?  Just in the winter time though.  I think I’m part bear or something.  If only everyone would let me hibernate.  Come spring time, it will be a different story entirely.  In winter there are too many people to bundle up before getting in and out or cars and buildings, and really, why on earth would I want to leave the warmth of the fireside???  Sometimes it is worth it.  Kid free trips to the fabric store with a friend?  Worth it.

I was there to help my friend  pick out fabric for a project I’m assisting her with and to pick up 6 yards of ribbon for myself.  You can imagine my surprise when I found myself writing a check for $48.68 (my favorite fabric store does not take plastic of any sort.  it’s charming.  really.).  I don’t understand how these things happen any better then you do.  My husband understands it less.

How was I to know that we were going to stumble upon there once yearly sale??  I didn’t even know they had a yearly sale!  Honestly, I only make it in a couple of times a year.  To quote one of the lovely ladies working there, because of course they all know me by now,  “you don’t come in often, but when you do, you sure stock up!”

Comparatively speaking, this was actually a light trip, but still significantly more substantial then a bit of ribbon.  Oh, but sweet baby blue gingham, that would equal an entire sundress for Little Rosebud and possibly a bonnet too, for a sum total of $4.  Really now, how could I pass that up?  Two other purchases were things that I’ve been meaning to get all along, but I was being good and trying to finish up other projects first.  Well, it was clear that I was cutting it awfully close on supply.  I nearly finished off the bolt on one and came home with literally the very last fat quarter of another (thankfully, that’s all I need!).

I had a planned to stock up on holiday fabrics, now that they would be on clearance, to use for making some new gift bags for next year.  Most of our old ones are still around, but others have been gifted to friends or family outside our home and there always seems to be a need for more.  You see, it was just that I forgot my plan, until I walked in and saw all the holiday fabric on clearance that is…

~Heap of fabric, fresh out of the dryer~

~I got a couple that I thought the kids would enjoy too~

I really love wrapping with fabric bags, for so many reasons, but I think that for the kids it’s a little bit of a let down.  There is nothing quite like tearing into paper to uncover a gift.  Adults, on the other hand, really seem to enjoy getting them, because they realize they can reuse them.  Our compromise for the kids is that gifts from us go in the fabric bags, but Santa’s gifts get wrapped.  In our house, Santa fills the stockings and each little gift gets wrapped with a specific colored paper for each child.  That way there is no confusion, if everyone dumps their stockings out on the floor at once.  We use plain foil paper in gold, silver, red and green.  Each child has the same color each year.  It’s a sweet little tradition and it works well for us.  This way I never have to worry if I wrap things early and they get shuffled about, because I always know which stocking each thing belongs in.

And next year I’ll have lots of new bags for under the tree.