I was in Boston for the Special Libraries Association conference. On my last day in Boston, I walked over to a fabric store called Grey’s Fabric and Notions. I had looked at their website and saw a number of blog posts on garment making including lingerie, so I was on the fence about visiting.
My conference buddy encouraged me so we walked over there together. We got there off of Summer, A Street, 4th and finally Harrison.
Summer Street was a main road and to get to A Street we had to go down a set of metal stairs to the street below. It was kind of like the Stockton Tunnel street madness here in SF. The neighborhood looked yup and coming, but also very much in transition.
It was a bit of a long walk, but we enjoyed it. We took pictures of interesting architecture and things we don’t see at home or interested us. The neighborhood is definitely changing.
Grey’s was a little hard to find, but worth the trip and in a charming little alley with other art galleries and creative spaces, including a bead and fiber store.
The store itself is great. It is a good size without being huge. They had plenty of quilt fabric; a very respectable selection and I liked what they had. I indulged in a couple of pieces. One will be a dress for a future NSGW event. They had a fair selection of Philip Jacobs (my man!!!), considering the size of the store. They also had notions, patterns, embroidery floss and a lot of gift items.
One thing I really liked was the table in the front with lots of little things, including gifts. If that “Be Nice or Leave” pouch had been a sign I would have bought it. I need to tape such a sign to my forehead.
I bought a piece of flannel to make future receiving blankets. Ashley, the store manager, introduced me to double gauze, which she said fluffs up a little after it is washed. It came up after I told her about the receiving blankets I make as gifts for babies. The double gauze, apparently, makes very soft receiving blankets. I didn’t buy any, though it might be good for lighter weight receiving blankets. They have an online shop and it is made by Cotton + Steel so I maybe able to find it locally as well.
The store had lots and LOTS of the independent pattern company garment patterns, such as Colette. I was tempted by one, but restrained myself because I want to look at the Vogue patterns before I buy any other patterns.
The other thing I saw that I liked were the Sublime Stitching embroidery patterns. Of course, I have heard about them and seen them online, but I have never seen them in person. There was one called Sexy Librarian that would make a great raffle prize for my library association, if made up into a pillow or something.
All in all, visiting Grey’s was a worthwhile activity and I would visit again. I wish it was near my house as I would love to take classes there.
You can find Grey’s Fabric and Notions at:
450 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02118
(617) 338-4739