Ooo-wa, ooo-wa, ooo-wa Kitty....

OK - That shows my age, but it's how I feel about New York City.

I love New York City - it's like a candy store for me...plus - like the song says (paraphrased a little), if you can find your way around in New York, you can anywhere!  I don't seem to have any problem when I get to the fashion district. Actually NYC is just a huge conglomerate of little neighborhoods, and most people are very familiar with their own neighborhood.  Doesn't this picture just scream "Mary Tyler Moore?"!!!

This is the beginning....40th & 7th....this is how I find my way around.  If I make it here, I know exactly where I am and know where I want to go.  Of course there's a moment of silence for the halls of fashion design, and then quickly start .

How could one place hold so many ribbons.  This was just one wall out of an entire room - actually this is just 1/3 of one wall of an entire room, with more ribbons in the middle of the room.  But somehow I manage to overcome the visual barrage and make my way through the yards of beautiful things. 

M&J not only has ribbons, but trims, cords, piping, buttons and other sorts of magical things.  The old store is mostly the buttons, while the new part is the trims and ribbons.  It's really an awful lot to absorb quickly.  So I had to come back - what's a poor girl to do - ho hum!!!

Next is fabric.  This gets a little more complicated.  There are a number of good fabric stores with nice selections, but there are an endless number of fabric stores - up and down the streets on both sides.  Fortunately I've been in most of them and know how to negotiate my way around.  But again, I have to make a quick visit then trek back on my own to do the real meat of the work.  Work!!!  This isn't work - this is fun.

During the day it's fun, but night it's always concerts.  I'm a musicoholic, so I have to get my fix of that too while in New York.  See here for more about the music part.

This is a quaint little button shop on E 62nd...can you possibly imagine spending less than 5 hours in this place?....and what's worse New Yorkers don't know what they have cause it's there for them every day!  The have the most exotic and fabulous buttons.

Because of the theater and fashion industries, New York and Los Angeles (because of the movie business) are the two great sources of fine fabric.  In Canada, most major cities have their own fabric areas that are flush with a fine selection of fabrics.  American women are born and raised on ready-to-wear, but European and Canadian women prefer custom made dresses for their special events.  This makes it increasingly difficult for women to find fine fabrics in the US.  It is changing, but ever so slowly. 

For me, going to New York, is like hitting the mother lode, and I can not wait to visit, and am always working to get as much done while I'm there.  By the time I'm home, if I'm pooped, I know I've done a good job.  This time it's taken me two days to recover!!!

And my fabric hasn't arrived yet from NY - it will be like unwrapping Christmas presents when the package comes!