Everywhere I go I'm haunted by curtains

Really, does nowhere round here sell fabrics for making dresses? I know I can buy online but since I'm new to this I want to get a feel for different compositions and what the fabric feels like but everywhere I go I'm faced with racks and racks of furnishing fabrics and none for clothes :( I've been to fabric warehouse, John Lewis (this specific branch only sell home stuff apparently), hobbycraft and a few independent stores and they've all been rubbish to be frank.
There's one place near me which is ok but the range still isn't great. I know the John Lewis back at uni have a haberdashery so maybe that will be a little better but right now I'm feeling defeated by the curtains! I have Christmas money to spend on patterns and fabric but I can't find any, the money will have burnt a hole in my pocket at this rate!


I did buy a really cute sewing kit in John Lewis for £5, it comes in a clear plastic case and has a lot of the things I needed to get me started - pins, thread scissors, needles, pin cushion, coloured threads, needle threader, tape measure, seam ripper, chalk pencil and more! I had already bought a few of those items but the more the merrier! I bought a big black vanity case for £7 in the Boots sale to use as my sewing box (bought it last week sometime) and it's already getting quite full! I've also ordered some Fiskars dressmaking scissors.


What am I currently working on?
Well, I'm knitting myself a simple garter stitch scarf using lilac colour Sirdar 'Big softie' wool, it's going to be lovely and soft! I'm mainly doing it because I was getting a bit jealous of the one I made for my mum and my other scarf molts over everything so I'd quite like a scarf that doesn't leave a trail wherever it goes!

I've also just layed and cut out the fabric pattern pieces for my next project, a pattern which came free with 'Sew' magazine this month. It's a cute sleeveless dress with a peter pan collar (love these) and I'm making it using the fabric from the big grey maxi dress I bought the other day (it was a close fit but the pieces just fit) and I'm going to make the collar black using a dress of the same fabric that I no longer wear. It's viscose and cutting it out was hell as it kept stretching and moving about, so I'm still not convinced this new project will be entirely successful but I can only try! At £3 for the dress and using a free pattern, it won't be the end of the world if it doesn't work. I'm sure I'll be back to update you over the coming days!