Walking through Fabric Crush, Magnolia Village's new boutique fabric store, is breathtaking - you just want to grab everything and take it home. Each pattern is almost too lovely, and each color is like a flavor for the eyes.
Owner Sarah Stine moved with her family from Edmonds to Magnolia nine years ago and wanted to open a shop in the neighborhood. Before Fabric Crush she had been selling fabric online: "I wanted to open a place that was not too big," says Stine; "I wanted to make it special. This is not a traditional fabric shop in the way it's laid out with bright lights and a boutique feel. I had a vision of how I wanted this to look."
Stine knows every pattern that she carries inside and out, she knows each designer and their history: "Everything in here is something I've chosen, things that I personally love. I know that there are people like me who have an interest in a little more modern print." Fabric Crush specializes in fabrics for quilt makers, and they cater to every other type of sewing project as well - including carrying fabrics heavy enough for upholstery and coats.
When I bring up the coming holiday season, Stine has suggestions: "There are all sorts of possibilities for things you can make. And our fabrics are affordable and fashionable." The shop has patterns for pillows, bags, aprons, shirts and skirts that range from very simple to more complex. "Even if you can't sew something right away you can bring beautiful fabric home and lay it over a table or wrap it around a pillow, just so that you can look at it."
All I can say is that a lot has changed since the days when my mother first sat me down in front of her old and black Singer machine. Sewing, along with every other facet of life, has exploded thanks to technology. Software is now included with certain patterns so that you may change sizes and styles in your computer and print them out. Plus, every fabric and pattern designer has a Web site that includes helpful forums and blogs. (To find Fabric Crush's blog just search engine them and it pops up.)
For holiday shoppers, Fabric Crush will be selling quilts made by Stine's sister-in-law along with placemats and tree skirts. There are also great stocking stuffers and notions, including German-made Gutermann Thread that comes in delicious colors and leaves less dust and fuzz in your machine.
In January the shop plans on holding classes for quilting and beginning sewing, along with workshop classes where experts will be on hand to help with individual projects. Get on Fabric Crush's emailing list so that you won't miss anything because...it's time to sew!
Fabric Crush is located in the Village at 2313 Viewmont Way W. and is open Monday 10-5, (Closed Tuesday Wed-Fri. 10-5, Saturday 11-5, Sunday 1-5. 206-465-6193.
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