To SIRS with Love

Several years ago I wrote a post about

"The World's Best Fabric Store."

This wonderful fabric store was located in

Fayetteville, Tennessee,

where my parents live.

Rarely did I visit them  

without a visit to SIRS as well. 

Horrible, sad news last weekend

when a fire erupted late Saturday night

and early Sunday morning.

The result of the fire is a total loss of SIRS.

SIRS was more than a fabric store.

It was a historic landmark,

the largest fabric store in the southeast.

In business since the 1940s,

it was a gathering place

for designers and decorators

as well as home sewers.

Fayetteville is a a small town, but

their customers came from miles away to shop.

It was a "girls day out" kind of place.

In the past few years they began

selling sewing machines

and offering classes,

helping to insure the future of

home sewing.

I cannot tell you how many times

I have walked through their front doors

to spend hours of bliss.

The inventory at SIRS was beyond belief.

You could not just run in for a few minutes.

Piles of fabric had to be gone through,

piece by piece,

as if you were on a treasure hunt.

And because SIRS' prices were

incomparable, very often,

REAL treasures were discovered.

I look around my house and see 

curtains and draperies,

upholstered furniture and slipcovers,

shower curtains, table cloths,

pillows and cushions,

all made from fabric from SIRS.

All this in addition to 

a very large portion of the

fabrics used to make my

totes, bags and needle cases,

the backbone of my 

Buttermilk Cottage business,

all came from SIRS.

A total loss indeed.

No word yet on future plans for SIRS.

Will they rebuild and possibly come back

newer, bigger and better than before?

I surely hope so.