This is a quick sharing post to let you guys know that I'm still here. I'm sorry for the lack of craft posts since this is a craft blog. It's just that there have been so much stress and negativity along the fringes of my personal life that I haven't really been in a creative mood for a while. And the weather here is not helping. After being terribly hot all day... it suddenly started raining hard... AGAIN. Rain always puts me an... errr... melancholy mood. And somehow I found that funny. Anyway I hope to get over this creative slump soon. And I just discovered something that will help me with that.
I discovered a new fabric store that sells cotton fabric in various prints that I LOVE! And plus plus PLUS points... they have a branch at the mall I always go to. *giddy* *giddy* *giddy* If you're wondering why this is a big deal, well... I remember my professor in one of my graduate classes told me that the Philippines textile industry is dead. We don't produce fabric anymore... we import. And there are very few mainstream stores that sell fabric.There are a couple of big chains that have branches at the mall but choices are always limited. Very very few choices for printed cotton... and in our humid climate, cotton is my fabric of choice for my daughter's clothes. If you want to hunt for good fabric... you have to endure traffic and brave the crowds at one of the streets in Quiapo, Manila... Ylaya Street. I haven't been there yet... I passed by it once... I didn't realize it was a street because it was so crowded and full of people. Maybe one of these days, I will try to go there.
So anyway, I remember passing by this new small fabric store at an out-of-the-way area of the mall after if just opened a few months ago. When I first visited the store, it didn't make a good impression because it was small... and initially, their choices were limited. Last night, I decided to make a quick check because I needed white and red polka dot fabric to finish a dress for Andrea and couldn't find any anywhere else. Am I glad I did.
The store is called Cotton Stuff and it's located near the left side entrance of SM North EDSA (Hi Kelley! I remember you once asked me where I get my fabric in Manila :). They just sell cotton fabric but they have a wide range of selection. Price is pretty standard too. P150 - 180 per yard (approx $3.50-4.50). Not sure if that's supposed to be cheap or expensive... but whatever. Good enough for me. I wanted to buy them all!! If I didn't have my husband with me, I'm sure I would have run up quite a bit of credit card debt. But since he frowns at credit card purchases... I had to keep my spending within my cash on hand.
It took me a while to choose which ones to get.
I had to keep reassuring myself that I can always go back when I need more.
Here's a little preview of the project I finished using one of the fabrics I bought.
Details and more photos of the dress on Monday! Happy weekend everyone!
It took me a while to choose which ones to get.
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| Daddy and Andrea patiently waiting for mommy to pick something. |
Here's a little preview of the project I finished using one of the fabrics I bought.
Details and more photos of the dress on Monday! Happy weekend everyone!
4 comments:
Hello Janelle! I'm actually on the way to SM North to see a friend. Haha I might dropped by just to see it. :) Good for you and regarding what your professor said, he may be right at some point. But sometimes the textile industry is not all about the textile itself. The creative minds that design the textiles and the creative people that converts each textile to beautiful pieces of clothes, are also part of the industry. We may not have the resources but we have the Filipino minds to work out on them. :)
Actually there are a couple more stores with these fabrics. I think they belong to one family. there is Cotton Something in Market Market next to Carolina's, Cotton Something Else top floor Glorietta 5 (this is the biggest I have seen though I have not been to North Edsa yet) and a small one above the Science Museum in Mall of Asia called Cotton Something Else Again! For printed cotton fabric, don't bother going to Divisoria. Although you can find some and they can be a bit cheaper, there is not that much choice and you have to look really hard! Most fabrics in Divisoria are man-made and if you are looking for super glitzy, slinky, sparkly stuff, then definitely go there! It's also the place to go for pre-washed denim (along CM Recto, other side from Tabora and Ilaya), cotton twills for pants, cotton/polyester T-shirt fabrics (also on the other side of CM Recto) as well as school uniform fabrics.
Hi Janelle! Thanks for visiting my blog. Oooh, I wish I can go to that store too and shop for fabrics. And you've made it into a pretty dress for your daughter too. Lovely. Well, how cool is it that we have the same office phone model! I work about 30 minutes away from Melbourne CBD. Not really best friends with that phone though, probably use it just a couple of times a week or so. Hahaha. My job does not require me to use it much.
I love the picture of your family waiting patiently whle you choose your fabric!! And the dress you made is gorgeous!!
Jill @ Creating my way to Success
http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/
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