Piled high and deep

I'm back from Vancouver. What a great trip; lots of time for visits with my family, two sleep-overs with my oldest girl friends, Mom's cooking and endless cups of tea, you get the picture. Good stuff.
Since I arrived with a suitcase stuffed with presents (including a quilt) I had anticipated that I would return a little lighter. Instead, I nearly had to pay an excess baggage charge at the airport for my overflowing suitcase. What sort of retail escapades did I get up to, you might ask? As is usual on my trips home I stocked up on Murchie's tea, new Canadian literature and Australian Women's Weekly cookbooks. But a half dozen paperbacks, 2 pounds of tea and a handful of magazines doesn't take up that much space. There were a few lovely gifts that added a little bulk but there was still room for a small child (a fact that I mentioned to my 3 year-old nephew, much to his consternation).



In fact, I had so much room in my suitcase that I thought I would make a quick trip at the local Sally Ann to check out vintage linens. It was pretty tiny and I didn't find anything, but I had the taste so I kept going. I think I hit every branch within a 20 km radius of my Mom's condo. My mom kept telling me I had "interesting tastes" when I would pull out yet another vintage sheet from the endless racks of linens. All told I came home with 5 bed sheets, 4 pillow cases, 2 table cloths and 2 large pieces of fabric (check the Flickr page for details). A good haul and there was still plenty left for others.



We also finally made it to one of the many Punjabi fabric stores listed in the Surrey yellow pages. Gorgeous stuff. There were bolts and bolts of fabrics for Punjabi suits, saris, men's clothing, blankets and bedding. And then I found the remnant bins. Six dishwasher-sized cardboard boxes overflowing with scraps of up to 3 yards in length for $1.99 per piece. At least, that was what was marked on the boxes, but it turned out it was a "buy one, get two free" deal. I paid $4.24 for six large pieces of fabric. This was seriously the best fabric deal I have ever gotten and you all know I love a bargain.



I now officially have a lot of fabric. As in need more storage space, cannot possibly find more room, must place an immediate moratorium on new purchases, this is getting embarrassing "a lot of fabric". Guess I'd better get sewing.