All The Leaves Are Brown

...and the sky is gray!" are the opening lines to "California Dreamin' " a song by the Mamas and the Papas! But it is also a great title for a Fall SWAP!

I have been thinking alot about fall sewing. I am sure that is because the fall RTW catalogues and magazines are starting to hit my mailbox and fall fashions are popping up everywhere! So to assauge my desire for all things fall, I started searching my fabric closet for shades of brown fabrics.

Ahhhh ~ true confession time! I have three full shelves of brown fabrics in all shades of brown and in an amazing array of fabrications. It was actually a little difficult to come up with several fabrics that worked together but after a little pulling and tugging (to get them out of the packed shelves), a little mixing and matching and a whole lotta "I can't believe I have this!" I came up with two sets of fabrics that I want to use to start my fall sewing. Yeap, two sets! I know, I know I have issues but I will pledge allegiance to the "no more buying fabric gods" at another date, okay!!!

The first set of fabrics consist of deeper shades of browns and a little tan for contrast. The interesting thing to me is that none of these fabrics were purchased at the same time and several of them came from opposite coasts of the USA.

The first batch of brown fabrics consist of:

• a caramel brown polyester knit from Fabrix Fabrics in San Francisco, CA
• a brown/black paisley moleskin from Walmarts from Cape Cod, MA - purchased while I was on vacation one summer.
• shades of brown wool challis paisley that has been in the collection since I was 21!
• chocolate brown wool pique from Textile Studio
• a crumpled pattern brown stretch velour from Spandex House, NYC garment district
• a deep brown crocheted knit from Jomars in Philadelphia, PA
• a brown/tan/black silk/wool blend glen plaid from Fabric.com
• and finally a smooth brown sweater knit from Emmaonesock

And of course I have a myriad of garment ideas floating through my mind to construct! No solid decisions yet. I just know that this fabric combination will work great for fall sewing.

The second combination is a smaller list and is not really a SWAP sewing experience, just some fabrics that go together and will make wonderful pieces.

They are:

• a mahagony brown wool flannel that has been aging for years in my collection. This 6 yard piece was purchased from Felsen Fabrics in NYC. Felsen has been out of business for at least five years maybe more! But I do remember that this was one of my first major fabric purchases from 40th Street.
• a cranberry waffle knit that is just part of the collection
• a rust/brown/black floral printed corduroy from Fabric Mart
• a rust wool/blend sweater knit from Casual Elegance

The Mahagony Brown Pieces and a shot of all the fabrics together! Boy did this leave a big hole on a shelf in my fabric closet! And I vow not to fill it until these pieces are actually garments! *smile*

So all I have to do now is get through the last of my summer sewing and I will be ready for fall sewing! I love my fabric closet ~ I really, really do! And all the little white tags on the fabric ~ why to tell me what it is, where I purchased it and how much yardage I have!