Shambles Cross is back! A lot has happened since my last post way back in 2015. The biggest change was moving across the country with my husband and two cats. We drove from Washington, DC to Portland, OR. That was an adventure! After a couple of days on the road, both cats figured out the routine and hid under the bed every morning. One of these days I’ll share some photos.

This blog has been in my thoughts a lot. Starting it back up has always been one of my goals, but the details are what I get bogged down in. I read advice on what to write or what to focus on, and it just puts me in a deeper muddle. I love to create things, anything. Sewing and crafting are so important to me, but I want to share more than that. I also love cooking and sharing recipes that turn out well. I’ve been vegan for nearly 11 years and there are more amazing recipes out there than I could ever make in my lifetime. My cats are like my kids and I have some seriously cute photos. Plus, there’s also so much to explore in the Pacific Northwest. The scenery is so beautiful that taking good pictures is almost a no-brainer.

I’m a needlesmith at heart, so it’s highly likely that much of posts will be sewing and embroidery related. To kick that off I’m going to share some fabric photos.

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One thing that I have done over the past year is collect fabric. When you get into sewing, it’s not unusual for your fabric stash to turn into what friends or family members might consider a hoarding situation. That said, I’ve been pretty conservative over the past year. I gave away approximately 1/3-1/2 of my fabric when I moved, but some of the pieces I saved have been with me for 10-20 years.

Sometimes I see a piece of fabric that is so beautiful or fascinating that I’ve got to have it. Maybe I have a project in mind or maybe I’ll take it home and wait for inspiration. Those pieces will become something or they might just hang around to be admired when I look through my stash. Either way that fabric is part of my collection. It’s completely acceptable to have a fabric collection, just like any other collection of tea cups or arrow heads or stamps. Not that I have to justify that, but sewers have a tendency to feel guilty about stacks of unused fabric. Here’s a few of the new stacks.

From left to right:

1 Scrap PDX & Jo-Ann’s, 2 Scrap PDX, 3 Bolt Fabric Boutique, 4 Bought at neighbor’s yard sale