My absolute favorite season of the year is fall. It’s not just the crisp air, the colors and the smell of the leaves, it’s the anticipation of back-to-school supplies! Kids might hate it when the stores break out the displays of backpacks and pencils, but I could not be more excited.
I always loved school and I was very good at it, so I always looked forward to September not only for the new school experiences but for the back-to-school shopping excursions. I loved new pencils, a new lunch box, cool erasers and of course a new notebook. I spent a lot of time agonizing over what kind of notebook I was going to have that year, what kind of folders would I use and most importantly, how I was going to decorate my notebook before school started. My best year I think was 8th grade, the year I made a denim cover for my 3-ring binder with a rust-colored leafy print quilting cotton on the inside. Denim was very hip due to the popularity of skintight “designer” jeans, a new thing at the time. I’m sure the other 80’s kids were unimpressed with my denim notebook cover, but in my creative mind, this one-of-a-kind creation was infinitely cooler than any Trapper Keeper.
Even though I’m now long done with school (and college, and grad school… I’m really done, I promise!), I am still very enthusiastic about my own version of back-to-school shopping. With the long, hot summer months in the rear-view mirror and a merciful end to sticking to my fabric, I turn my attention to fall decorations and handmade holidays projects. The quilt shops are full of leafy prints in orange and rust, fun Halloween novelty fabrics, even cute Christmas prints and now is the time to get started. Every year my ambition always exceeds my accomplishments but nevertheless I persist. And what would a big pile of fabric be without a couple of cute new notebooks for my fabric measurements and project design ideas? While I’m at it, I’ll grab a handful of folders and a pack of colored pens, too!
What is your favorite supply, back-to-school or otherwise?
Visit the By the Yard Store for the By the Yard® 2024 Calendar for Quilters, plus lots of fun greeting cards for quilters!
Yep, love those back-to-school sales and supplies! We’ve already had our tax-free shopping weekend, because school started this week, but I may still find one or two things I have to have for the new year of quilting!
Like new fabric, new back-to-school supplies are full of promise and potential! I always feel anxious when writing in a brand new notebook, like cutting into a piece of expensive fabric, LOL!