Skip to main content

addendum and outtakes: Boston city guide

My Boston city guide is up in this month's issue of Seamwork.

Disclaimer: I revisited most of the places on the list (and went to a few new ones) to get the most up-to-date information. I didn't revisit the museums—we go a couple of times a year, and they don't change, really. And I have to admit I've never been to O Ya—although it shows up A LOT on Best of Boston lists and it's the place to go if you want to get fancy, so I had to include it. I hear the fish is especially good. 

I also met a ton of really nice people (hi, proprietor at Newbury Yarns! I need to learn to knit now) and added to my stash. (Shocking, I know.)

Also, I didn't include some of the usual Boston sights like Fanueil Hall, the Freedom Trail, Fenway, etc., because you can find that stuff anywhere. If you have questions, though, feel free to ask, and I'll answer if I can.

AND I should thank my husband Tom for driving to some of the out-of-the-way places and coming with me on the SoWA trip. You know it's love when you say, "Hey, want to go fabric shopping?" and he says yes. 

Okay, enough disclaiming. Outtakes/fun stuff that happened along the way:
  • Discovering December Thieves. I visited both shops—in SoWa (by Grey's Fabrics and the other crafty shops) and in Beacon Hill. I loved the clothing in particular—it's very AllSaints/Rundholz/Marcy Tilton, if that's your thing. 
  • My husband at Marie Galvin: "This is awesome." Weeks later, out of all the places we visited, he's still talking about it. (Which is understandable. Her hats and headbands are amazing. If you're looking for one nice souvenir to take home, you could do worse.)
  • Going to Fabric Place Basement for the first time. At least three locals have recommended it to me over the years (quilting lady at Topsfield Fair: "You HAVE to go there. It's FABULOUS."), and they were right. It's enormous and there's a ton of apparel fabric, including flannel-lined denim, which I've never ever seen in a fabric store.
  • Guy at Fabric Place Basement: "You should see the Monique Lhullier I just got in! It's three hundred dollars a yard!" (I chickened out.)
  • The button table at Fabric Place Basement. (I cannot say enough good things about Fabric Place Basement.)

  • Important note about Fabric Place Basement directions: It's in a strip mall, and you have to drive around the back to get there. It's next to Guitar Center.
  • Finding this abstract bicycle knit at Grey's. I got the last yard and a half.

  • Finding this wacky satin-ish-with-polka-dots fabric at Winmil. It needs to be a dress; I just need to find the right pattern.

  • Fine, I'll show you what I got at Fabric Place Basement. It'll be a work shirt. Yes, I like polka dots.
Luckily, Seamwork has a whole story on how to print polka dots on knits.

Good Lord, I do go on.

Okay, I wanted to mention a few places that got cut for one reason or another (mostly for space).
  • Peabody Essex Museum, Salem: Asian, maritime, and contemporary art. (I volunteer there.)
  • Made in Fort Point: Looks like they moved, and I wasn't able to visit the new location in time...so it got cut. :(
  • Louis Boston: Ye olde famous high-end Boston department store. It's been around for 80 years...AND IT'S CLOSING. I am sadpants.
  • Viola Lovely: Near Grey's and the other SoWA shops. 
  • Priemlov: Local designer who's a friend of a friend. I like her stuff a lot.
  • MIT Press Bookstore: For the science nerds among us. I didn't have time to revisit it, but it's one of my favorite secret bookstores. 
  • Seed Stitch Fine Yarns: Also closing. :(
I think that's it for now, but I'll add more stuff as it comes up.

Thanks for reading!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Alabama Chanin Factory Dress, and an update

Right! So I've been thinking lately about making three "uniform dresses" with pockets in Alabama Chanin cotton jersey that can be worn by themselves or over t-shirts and leggings, under cardigans, etc. And then I got this new "accessory" in May (which I'll explain in a sec) and couldn't get a red dress out of my head. To match, sort of—even though I hate it—but also, I love red and for some reason have none of it in my closet. So anyway, here's the first Factory Dress! It's single-layer medium-weight cotton jersey in Carmine, in a straight size medium, with hand-stitched seams (although I machine-stitched Eloflex within the SA afterward for extra stability). I used the punch cards from The Geometry of Hand-Sewing for the Cretan stitch around the neckline and armholes, which worked out great.  Bad closeup of neckline: This was a really enjoyable make—I had fun with the combination of machine and hand-stitching. I might k
4 comments
Read more

complete: Nani Iro pocket dress

I made a dress! With the new sewing machine! Wheee! And not to bury the lede, but: We went to Japan for two weeks, and I completely fell in love with the clothing—especially Nani IRO and their amazing fabrics. I'm hooked. We tracked down the atelier in Osaka. ( Here's my review on PR .) They wouldn't let me take photos of the shop but said it was OK to take pictures of the fabrics. Lots of linen, cotton gauze and sateen in bright colors, as well as buttons and notions, an archive (I wasn't sure if it was possible to buy any of the archived fabrics), and jewelry. I bought some lovely blue linen with an asymmetrical print: And the book—the English translation had just been released. And it was signed! (I have a picture, can't seem to post it, sry.) So anyway. I couldn't stop reading the book—you know when you get really really obsessed with a pattern book? Like that. As soon as I got home, I decided to try out the pocket dress. Here'
2 comments
Read more

a trip to Alabama Chanin

 Hi there. It's been a while. Didn't mean to go on mute, but some things happened over the last year or two. Anyway! I finally paid Alabama Chanin a visit. I've wanted to go for years, and finally reached out to them to sign up for a Studio Day and embroidery workshop while I was sitting in a high school gym in Lynn recovering from my first Covid shot. Definitely a bucket-list thing. I would have signed up for their three-day workshop in May, but it happened to coincide with the date of my second shot. :( It was a bit nerve-wracking -- only my second trip since 2019, going to a new place and all that. I went with a friend from my stitching group, and we'd never traveled together before.  We had a great time, though. It was an amazing three days! We landed in Nashville on a Wednesday, drove straight to AC, and spent the rest of the afternoon looking around and trying stuff on. Thursday was our Studio Day, where they let you focus on whatever you want. We toured the facto
Post a Comment
Read more