The Most Beautiful Fabric + Button Store in the World - Delectable Mountain, Brattleboro, VT

We haven't had much company this summer. Some of you (hopefully, some of you) have probably been wondering about my Getting Stitched on the Farm Classes. I decided not to run classes here at the farm this summer because of my book deadline/obligations. (Let's say I hemmed and hawed and angsted over it all to be truthful - but in the end, I decided I couldn't handle the extra pressure of strangers in the house along with my family and farm responsibilities.) 

I have missed having "like minded" students to share with. This past weekend, our good friend Cathy Payson came to visit and help me out with some handsewing I am inundated with for the book. We had a real girly weekend - Cathy, Julia and me. Totally fun. Luckily, The Farmer was busy with the Farmers Market and haying. On Saturday, we took some time out from sewing to visit nearby Brattleboro, Vermont. 

Brattleboro is home to many creative people and businesses. One of my very favorites is Delectable Mountain - a fabric store which specializes in incredibly beautiful and luxurious silks, cottons, and wools. Located on the Main Street, the owner - Jan - has been in business selling fine cloth for 35 years. I have been shopping at this amazing store for close to 30 years! Yikes - how did that happen?

Cathy is a knitwear designer too - we worked together at CEY back in the 1980's and have been friends ever since. Cathy loves to visit Delectable Mountain whenever she comes to the farm. She has traveled all over the world visiting yarn and fabric stores. The other day, she said she has never seen a better selection of buttons anywhere in the world! Wow - how lucky am I to live close.

Cathy knows her buttons and has a very nice collection herself. The buttons at Delectable Mountain are displayed in cut glass salt cellars and small plates. It makes them look like little jewels.

Jan also sells antique buttons - in sets. The photo below is a close-up of a large jar full of mismatched white buttons.

Besides fabrics and buttons, Jan sells beautiful earrings which are displayed in the window of the store on silk pillows. 

She fills her store with many things that aren't for sale - cake stands, cut glass, lace, antique hats and children's dresses, teacups and china. Lovely - all of it - and inspirational.

All of the "extras" add to the incredible ambience of Delectable Mountain. 

Many of Jan's customers come from very far away - expressly to shop at the store. I suppose this is because so many "dress" fabric stores have gone out of business.  The other day, a woman flew in from Michigan and spent two days buying fabric! 

Below are the "small pieces" that Jan assorts and are popular with quilters, historic costumers, and dollmakers.

 

Besides silks, there are gorgeous velvets in so many different colors. 

Many, many brides have purchased fabric for their dresses at Delectable Mountain. So many different colors and textures of white fabric. 

And then there are the colored silks..... 

 

Color overload.......

Such shiny, lusterous beauty..... all arranged with an eye for aesthetics.... 

It is not only silks that are available - there is also a lovely selections of small prints - like these cotton voiles. Sometimes there are upholstery weight fabrics and embroidered pieces. In the winter, Jan stocks an amazing collection of patterned wool shawls - mostly from India.

Next year, when I am once again teaching here at the farm, maybe you will visit us and Delectable Mountain. Julia was a sport - being quite patient - especially for a 15 year old. She has known Jan since she was a baby so she feels very comfortable at the store. Here she is sitting on the floor - patiently waiting for Cathy and I to be done talking and looking. As we were leaving, a young couple was buying wedding dress fabric and wedding shirt fabric. Sweet.

If you are heading towards this area of the country and you are a fabric or fiber person, make sure you check out Delectable Mountain. Tell them Kristin sent you! 

And NO - Delectable Mountain does not do on-line business - you will have to visit.

Historic Buildings in Brattleboro + Another Quarters Cap

I'm still working on Christmas 2009 folks. Anyone else in the same situation? I just finished three Quarters Caps for my sister Jenn's new step-kids Bryce, Reese, and Chase. I've got to get the caps in the mail before it warms up. This time, I added some crochet flowers to Bryce's hat. Julia was desperate for me to let her keep it but I'll have to make a different one for her. I wanted to show you all how cute it turned out.


The other day I got this comment from Australia after I wrote about books Julia has been enjoying and the new yarn store Knit or Dye in Brattleboro where I will be teaching February 28th:

Ruth said...

Loved reading about Brattleboro. My childhood church was a little brick and iron building built in a paddock 10 miles from the nearest town in country Western Australia. It had a small pedal organ (which I played during holidays from boarding school, all stops out) and the gold gothic writing above the keys proclaimed that it was made in Brattleboro VT!!

Ruth's note reminded me of how I have always wanted to write about about an amazing bit of architecture in Brattleboro. One day many years ago when I was trying to avoid a traffic jam in Bratt, I took a side street detour. A little bit down the road, I found the most amazing series of tall and large buildings covered in gray slate. I have always been interested in old buildings - they don't have to be fancy, nor in great shape. I just like looking at them and wondering about how they got there, who built them and what they were used for. Part of that building love comes from the 15 years I spent working in an enormous brick factory building in Lowell when I worked for TYC.

It took me a while to look into the history of the buildings but eventually I found out that they were built by the Estey Organ Company sometime in the 1800's.

Today the buildings are a bit delapidated. There are relics from the past from what looks to have been a huge company in the area. Here is the factory clock that has long since stopped.


A few of the buildings house some small businesses but many are vacant.

The thing that struck me most when I first stumbled upon them was their color - a beautiful purplish, grayish, bluish mottled mix. I have driven by these buildings many times and determined that the gorgeous color came from the slate stone that was used for siding them. There were many slate quarries here in this area of New England - from the little roads around here, you often see piles of slate which must be left from when slate quarrying was a going concern.

One of the first things I thought about, upon seeing the slate up close was how beautiful one of my pieces of knitwear would look against the natural color of the slate. I have mentioned the location to different magazine editors but we are far from everywhere and frankly no magazine wants to pay a model, make-up person, photographer, etc travel time. But now that I am doing my own photography for this blog and for my PDF patterns and I have a willing model in Julia, I could take care of my photo fantasies.

Julia and I spent a good amount of time driving and walking through the complex the other day. It was freezing, there were signs all over the place for falling ice, and the complex was pretty deserted.

On the back side of the buildings, there are many different little alleys, building extensions, and courtyards.

We also discovered the Estey Organ Museum which we will have to check out this coming summer.


I found some other lovely old buildings to use as backdrops for photos including this building


and this one. I'm a sucker for old wood, weathered paint, and funky doors.


So there you have it folks - I've satisfied my yearnings for photographing something near these fabulous Estey Organ factory buildings, I can send the Christmas present off before winter is over, and I'm hoping Ruth in Australia (who doesn't have a link) will see this post because she is the reason for it.


You can buy my Quarters Cap Pattern on my website here. I've made a Crochet Flower Tutorial Video which you can watch here.