Saturday: Just back from Toronto - Famous for its International Movie Festival and it's winning and losing baseball/hockey teams. The trip to TO, as it is known by the locals...was a rare treat. Gail D. at the wheel, the weather absolutely not cooperating - raining buckets, slippery roads and distracted drivers... It's a wonder we arrived in one piece!
We were lucky with the indoor parking and
did not have to endure the weather for most of the day. Lots of people lining
up for tickets and coat-checks.... But, on with the show! ... First
impression... not crowded, but busy... we had a bundle buggy for our swag!
Entering our stubs in the door prize draw, (not winners) and continuing down the first aisle
we noticed a lot of vendors selling jewelry, and stamping supplies, yarn and
fabric in small booths. At the far end of this aisle is the Len's Mill store - www.lensmill.com with
a fine display of all sorts of fabrics and accessories, yarn and the like. We
decided to come back this way at the end of our tour, because we were sure to
find something there that we had not seen anywhere else! Walking in a grid fashion we were certain
to see everything and not miss something important. I had a shopping list and
some idea of what I was looking for, as had Gail... It's always important to
keep the budget and the "must
buys" in mind. We both
found the new Sew Easy Ruler which is 4½” x 27½" - with the built-in
rotary cutter on our list. We had both seen it at Ultimate Sewing Center in
Oshawa http://www.ultimatesewing.com
and at the Art of Fabric www.artoffabric.ca,
as well – And we found this item on sale at Great Notion - www.agreatnotion.com.
There were lots of rulers and notions, which as the name says are great! I found
the “Tri-Recs” ruler/template I need for The Celtic Mystery Quilt with Bonnie
Hunter – I have been looking for this
all over! – FYI I will be posting a blog about my progress… but I digress..
sorry. All along our route I bumped in
to people I knew, although I didn't see anyone from our Guild – “Twisted Stitchers”…
Maybe they were there on Friday or on Sunday?… We made several stops along the way admiring
piles of fat quarters, and lots of yardage and yarn at Mary Maxim - www.marymaxim.com. I was seeking an extra large
crochet hook 15-20 mm size and they did not have one! L
I stopped for a rest at the Janome booth – www.janomecanada.com and whispered to my dream
machine (MC8900QCP) that I would come and get her (him?) soon it is my fave. Shirley
Eichler – from Ultimate was there and we greeted one another, but she had a
customer and I didn’t stay too long. On we went. Batiks are another item on our
shopping list, there were all kinds and all colours… Finding the “right”
colours was, as always problematic… Lights and some darks, blues, greens, pink –
got too have pink!, you know I love pink… from rich cherries and strawberries,
to the palest baby through lilac and all the way through purple!… Oh I love it!…
We shopped at Sew Sisters – www.sewsisters.com and found the batiks
there at very good prices. Also stopped at the Quilter’s Cupboard (Uxbridge), -
www.quilterscupboard.ca where Sue
Carmichael greeted us with hugs and smiles!
We had packed a lunch and headed for the Food Hall to sit and eat
with other crafters, lots of crafters… lots of pizza and sushi and pulled pork
on a bun… I had a.. well that is not so interesting, so I’ll spare you!
After lunch, we continued. We were at the halfway-point now and eager
to complete our shopping lists… I succumbed to a beading pattern – “3D Tila and
Crystal Bangle” by Sue Charette-Hood – www.originalstexas.com … looks
lovely and I have a huge collection of beads to make it! Beads are smaller than
fabric so they are easier to store, and my fabric stash is pretty much a room
full! J… We found Edith of Sew Have Fun www.sewhavefun.com
over on the far wall. She was very happy to see us and gave us more hugs and
smiles… The crowd was thinner now, as it was after 3.00pm and we were on the home
stretch. We ended at Len’s Mill store and although I didn't buy anything there,
our buggy was full…And I still didn’t find my jumbo crochet hook!
