Hello, my name is Karen and I have a fabric addiction...

This is the email I recently sent to my 'partner in crime', my sister who attended the recent Sewing Expo with me.

Good Morning Sis,

Well, I have been stewing and worrying about having to tell Brent about my fine fabric induced euphoria and the resulting Mastercard bill for $330!

I've kept the fabrics next to my chair in the living room, tidily bundled and sheltered in my leather footstool. I touch them, I run my fingertips lovingly over them, I pet them frequently. Every. time. I. sit. down.

So, last night before dinner he decides to pay bills. We've been doing it together. I don't know if you remember me saying this, but when I went to work full time, I told him I couldn't do it all by myself, so he took over bills. I always said, I paid the bills for the first 15 years, he pays the bills for the next 15. Well, he paid the bills for 11 years, and when I retired I wanted back in....so, we do it together.

So he goes to the MC website to see why the bill is so high and I have to confess.

I explained how we were experiencing all the fine fabrics, the textures, the colors, the polished salesman, a true horse trader..."you have to feel this, see how fine, oh it looks so good on you, definitely your color, I'll give you a good deal, feel how fine this is"... and I have to confess how I got carried away...

How I got carried away...I thought the pale celery baby cashmere was $23 or $26 per yard (a definate splurge)...but it wasn't. It really wasn't. When I got home and really looked at my receipt I realized I paid $97 per yard for 2 yards. Yes, ninety-seven dollars a yard! What have I done?

I told him how I almost hyperventilated when I walked away from the stall and realized I had just spent $330 on 4 pieces of fabric and how you kept saying, "Breathe, just breathe". I told him how much I've been dreading telling him how weak I was when I am the driving force behind our NOT SPENDING efforts and how much I regret the price but I cannot regret the fabric. I AM WEAK.

He starts laughing, he laughs until he had tears in his eyes! He says "I bet your a**hole just puckered up!?!!!HAHAHAHA" (how can you say that to your beloved wife?)

I say, "It's not funny, I almost cried right there on the floor of the expo. I couldn't catch my breath..."

I tell him that he cannot tell anyone, especially not his parents, they won't understand...please!

"Nope!" he says. "Everyone always enjoys a good laugh at my expense, now it's your turn!" "I can't wait to tell the family. Remember Dad's famous "The Shirt" story? Well, this is yours!" (insert cackling here)

It could have been worse, he could have been angry. :-)

Well, back to my morning chores. I am determined to start sewing the apron pattern this afternoon!

Love to all,
Karen
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Hello, my name is Karen and I have a fabric addiction.

My most recent textile purchases still have me mesmerized.

1-7/8 yards each of 60 inch wide fine Italian 100 percent cotton shirting that feel like silk, the weave is so fine and tight, the threads are so fine...one is pure white and has a beautiful, intricate trellis pattern woven into it. The other has tiny black squares that form little 'X's in a vertical stripe. Oh, the perfect blouses I will make from them!

Two yards of a 60 inch wide of beautiful olive wool and silk blend that has such a beautiful woven pattern. It is heavier than the shirting but still lightweight. Oh the perfect tunic length over blouse I will make from it!

Oh, how can it describe the pale celery green baby cashmere? It is the most expensive thing I have ever purchased! It is 60 inches wide and I have two luscious yards of it! So soft and delicately woven, so silky it doesn't make me itch at all! I decided on this one for a wonderful wrap that has armholes in the center of a large oval, creating a wrap that can be worn in multiple ways. I dream of the finished garment, I dream of trying out different edge finishes, but how can I bring myself to actually lay scissors to this fabric? Until I cut it, it remains perfection! But, Oh the perfect wrap I will make from it!

(if I can bring myself to cut it...)