Crackpot Quilters’ Blog

I desperately need a Bedazzler.

This is how the whole saga began. My sewing group is doing a wardrobe challenge. Members who choose to participate will try to make a coordinated wardrobe–slacks, tops, jackets, skirts that can be mixed and matched.

So we took a fabric store road trip on Thursday. Now you’d think that if you went to a fabric store, you’d find fabric. Well, you will, but around here quilting fabric dominates the fabric stores. It’s not as easy as you’d think to find good fashion (garment) fabric.

Our main stop was at Fabrications in Richland. They have lovely designer fabric and super helpful clerks. At the store my friends encouraged me to think outside my comfort zone–to think about a print! To think beyond my usual fashion guru LLBean.

I purchased some very nice cotton/poly twill in olive brown. Ok, so cotton/poly twill is not very unusual, but this was a beautiful quality. I’ll make slacks from it.

But what to wear with it? My slacks tend to be black, navy and khaki. I wear blue, yellow, green and purple shirts. Mostly blue. And all plain colored. (No, it’s not a dress code. I’m just in a rut.)

Yellow looked great with the olive brown, but I was challenged to try a print. I purchased a rayon knit with a sort of abstract print in olive brown, navy, tan, white and mauve. Whoa! Nothing else like that in my closet! This fabric will be a t-shirt.

Since I might make a jacket as well, I decided to cruise through Kohl’s, Penney’s, and Yonker’s today to check out what might look good. Oops! Wrong season for jackets.

But there were lots of t-shirts in prints. And that brings us to the Beadazzler. The t-shirts were Beadazzled! Sparkle City! Major bling!

You’d think that a person who has as many beads as I do would have Beadazzled clothing. Nope. That I’d sparkle. Nope. That I’d wear bling. Nope.

LLBean is not Bedazzled and neither am I.

I need to get out of my wardrobe rut. I need to be Bedazzled. I desperately need a Beadazzler. Anyone have one I can borrow?

All these Delicas and bugles?

All these hanks of beads?

And these 20 tubes of 11/0s, 10/0s, 9/0s, and cubes?

That’s what she asked me. I didn’t ask her, but I did wonder what she was going to do with those two sets of 1950s salt and pepper shakers.

What we’re both doing is increasing our net worth.

This is the way I figure it: Say, for example, that the beads were priced at $100. But at the 70% off sale, I only paid $30. I’ve increased my net worth by $70.

Early this morning I had a one hundred dollar bill. Now I have $100 worth of beads and a fifty dollar bill and a twenty dollar bill.

Early this morning I had $100. Now I have $170 worth of extremely valuable stuff (money and beads). I’ve increased my net worth by $70.

Had I been thinking more clearly, I might have relieved Dr. Mathematics of all his cash before he had a chance to peek into the going-out-of-business bead store. One quick look, and he decamped to the public library across the street. With more cash, I might have increased my net worth even more.

If the phone is busy when you call, don’t worry. I’ll be on the phone with NPR for an interview on economic theory.