Quick PSA for anyone around here: the huge September Pendleton Woolen Mill sale ends today! I went yesterday morning with Michelle, Daniela and Everett, and snapped up some pretty amazing things. Everett loves it there and crawled all around while I trailed him, looking at beautiful things. He has an eye for the most colorful blanket fabrics!

I ended up choosing some yardage for fall sewing – I want to make some Western shirts and a-line skirts. My 13th anniversary with Andrew is coming up in October, and the first year we were going out, I sewed him a dark brown corduroy Western shirt with a 1974 Simplicity pattern. I made him close his eyes when I tried it on him for fit, and I was so excited to give it to him once I set the last pearl snap. This year, I want to make him another one in the soft reddish-brown plaid fabric, a reissue from the 1960s Beach Boys era. I saw this beautifully sewn sample shirt in the Pendleton booth at the Expo and fell in love…

So this is what I picked out. The plaid yardage is mostly 60″ wide (or even wider) so you can make a nicely detailed shirt, even if your husband is 6’6″, with just a couple of yards. I’m going to use the inexpensive soft brown cotton for a muslin/sample shirt to get the sleeve length and details just right before I cut into that gorgeous wool. So Andrew will hopefully end up with a few anniversary shirts after all!

So, my fall craft dream is to make a few simple a-line skirts for myself and Pearl, and a little Western shirt for Everett (probably in cotton for now while he’s growing so fast). This is going to be fun! Michelle picked out a bright turquoise and white wool to make some pillows, and Daniela bought a fantastic blanket fabric to make herself a duffel coat. I am super excited to see it all come to life!

If you go:
Pendleton Woolen Mill Store sale
Ends at 5:30 today! (9/30)
8500 SE McLoughlin Blvd, Portland
503-535-5786