I bought up every colorway of Eleanor Grosch’s Zoo Menagerie line of cotton fabric that I could find on Fabricworm’s Etsy site (this photo is of one bundle I ordered).

I knew this line was coming out in the fall, but I missed it’s actual release with the craziness of starting a new job. And I nearly missed this fabric altogether, it’s difficult to find all the patterns now. Since I’ve been a huge fan and customer of Eleanor’s going back to her Keds days (when she designed our wedding stationery), I couldn’t let that happen.

We have her prints all over the house, and our friends still comment on our wedding design. I really, really wanted to have this fabric in my stash so someday I could keep the tradition alive and make something with it for a mini Reeve. I still wear my 5 pairs of her Keds to death (even though the owls are held together with sheer willpower at this point), and I almost bought some of the kids’ versions to keep for a day in the future when there was a mini Reeve to wear them. But I felt kind of ridiculous buying girls’ shoes for an imaginary child in the future. I do not, however, feel ridiculous buying up this fabric to keep aside for the future.

It’s my Christmas present to myself. Long live traditions.