One Day Trip to Vermont (plus a Simplicity pattern haul!)

As the title says, after a couple of years of not leaving the country we drove down to the U.S of A. Specifically a one-day trip to Burlington, Vermont. There I got to know the city, I visited Joann the fabric store for the first time ever and got a dozen of Simplicity patterns for a tiny fraction of the cost!

But before I get ahead of myself, I’ll just start by saying Happy June! It’s hard to believe we’re already halfway through 2022. Honestly, not much has happened in these last six months, except if you can count me being absent from Plaid & Sugar (whoops!). However, it hasn’t been terrible or dreadfully disappointing either.

In April I finished my fourth year of university (only one more semester to go!), I took another French course through Concordia et maintenant mon français a amélioré and oh, right I left the country for the first time in years!

preface

As you all know, I live in Montreal which is just over an hour away from the U.S-Canada border and about 2h 15min from Burlington the largest city in Vermont.

Since it’s so close, I’ve always wanted to take a day trip across the border but time got in the way and then the pandemic hit. With border restrictions being lifted and enforced constantly we did not have the opportunity recently!

Another reason for me going down to the U.S is that love sewing and I love using Simplicity patterns.

However, as I mentioned in my making 18th-century stays post, this pattern brand is not sold in Canada and can only be bought through their website or if you’re in the U.S: Joann Fabric & Craft store. Plus once a month the patterns go on sale for $1.99 USD and I could not just live so close and not go to Joann. You get me? Lol.

So this trip was the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone!

A One Day Trip to Burlington, Vermont

Driving south from Montreal is quite uneventful but crossing the border and talking to the U.S Border Agen is more than a little scary.

She asked so many questions about who we were, what we did, and why we were going to Burlington.

After a couple of minutes of trying to find holes into our stories (I get that it’s their job but it was intimidating nevertheless), she handed back our passports and we entered the United States of America.

From then on we drove through Vermont’s very green and lush forests and I understood why it was the “Green Mountain State”. In French, Vermont translates to green mountain!

Vert (green) and mont (mountain).

Prior to reaching Burlington, we stopped by the Walmart in St. Alban’s city to freshen up and buy some snacks and I was surprised to see that some of the signage in the store was in French.

I guess many Quebecers cross the border to do groceries, which considering how many products cannot be found in Canadian Walmart I completely understand!

After a 35-minute drive, we finally reached downtown Burlington. To our surprise, there was a marathon going on right in the pretty, downtown area so parking was a bit of a nightmare to say the least. However after parking in a somewhat sketchy area we walked back and we finally got to enjoy the city and the lake.

Lake Champlain

Surrounded by Quebec, New York, and Vermont, Lake Champlain is very large, blue and oh so beautiful.

Named after Samuel de Champlain, an über important French explorer of the 17th century, this lake is one of those nature sights where you can’t help but admire it. Both for it’s history and it’s beauty.

Plus it so calm and peaceful that I just wanted to sit near the shore the whole day.

However, even though we were in no rush we wanted to see what else Burlington had to offer. So after spending so quiet time and walking along the walk path the surrounds the shore, we made to the most picturesque & New England looking street.

Church Street Marketplace

This street is how do I put it? Very Hallmark-y.

I mean the buildings, the decor, the friendly people and the open atmosphere made me feel like I was in a Hallmark movie!

With the street closed to cars, Church Street is the place for tourists to stroll about and check out the diverse section of stores without having to worry about jaywalking.

For the first time in almost a decade, I set foot into a Ten Thousand Villages store. As a child I loved going there and seeing all of the beautiful items thag came from all over the world. The food, decor, books and games that ware carefully and that the workers got a just, fair pay.

It was really nice to visit one after so many years and to remember all the memories I had growing up. If you like fair-trade items and home decor, I recommend checking out Ten Thousand Villages.

The buildings are colorful and grandiose, for example the city hall is quite a dramatic building with the back facing Church Street and the front facing a beautiful park.

After a disappointing lunch at a Nepali place, we left the picturesque downtown core for the shopping centers!

After visiting some of the shopping centers, including the University Mall we started wrapping up the trip but not before the highlight of the trip.

my simplicity pattern haul

Later in the afternoon before heading back to Montreal, we reached my final destination: Jo-ann Fabric & Craft store.

After years of waiting and wishing, I could not believe that I had finally reached this store and that I was *this* close to getting my patterns. So obviously I had to take a picture in front of the store to commemorate this experience. Similarly to how I took a picture with the Archbishop of Montreal back in March.

Interestingly, the store is like a blend of Fabricville and Michaels. There are fabric, patterns, and sewing notions but there is also home decor and lots of crafts notions.

As Burlington is a smallish city (with around 50k people), the Joannn was not that large however that didn’t matter since my main focus was the patterns.

After browsing the book and the list I had bought with me, I narrowed it down to just twelve patterns. It was hard but, even at that amazing price I just couldn’t buy 30 patterns at once lol.

These are the patterns I bought:

A mix and blend of different styles and seasons, but they are patterns that fit my ~aesthetic~ and that I’m more likely to wear on a daily basis.

I love dresses so it was hard to narrow it down and I chose 5 total. One of the three above is Simplicity 9041 which is very drapey and has a wrap-like v-neck bodice. It looks perfect for summer and fall plus I also got this one because it has the potential of being made into a top similarly to How To Do Fashion’s Ronne pattern.

Simplicity 9174 is very distinct and the drapey neckline plus the darts just drew my eyes and I just had to get it even if it might be difficult to tailor to my body. On the other hand Simplicity 9136 is the opposite. Simple clean lines, and ideal for sewing with a serger, plus it would look great as a top so I just had to get it.

The two other dresses I got were Simplicity 9326 which has a square neckline and an a-line skirt and Simplicity 9327 which has a v-neckline and fluttery sleeves.

Both dresses and their variants are perfect for summer and like the first three dresses above I have plans of mix-and-matching the bodices and the skirts. Or just making them into tops as I always have a hard time finding cute (affordable) ones!

The bottoms, well skirts. The wrap skirt (simplicity 9335) caught my eye because it’s so perfect for the beach or for nice summer walks while the other wrap skirt (8746) is less casual. Plus I love tartan skirts, so when I saw the image I just had to get it.

The last skirt (S9375) is probably suited for fall/winter but nevertheless, the distinct style caught my eye and it went into my basket.

The other four patterns I bought are less essentials and more for fun!

Last winter I became obsessed with these jacket-like coats (Simplicity 9388) and while I have a couple of those I’d love to try my hand at making my own with some fun fabrics. Likewise I have some cute fox fabric that would make a fun warm cardigan with the Simplicity 8811 pattern.

The last two of my pattern haul were very unexpected and amusing additions to my basket. With my love of vintage patterns, I couldn’t ignore S8876 a reprint of a 1940s gown. Likewise, I couldn’t resist getting the American Duchess regency dress pattern. Will I make it? Who knows, but it’s a great addition to my stash 😅.

Besides the patterns, I also ended up getting some cute pink scissors that were on sale and a bobbin thread rack which was too good of a deal to pass up.

After visiting Jo-Ann, our time in Burlington came to end.

We made our way back home, saying goodbye to a very friendly and cute city. With a quick stop at the Walmart in Saint Alban’s City, where we got snacks & drinks not found in Canada, we soon made it home just in time for a late supper.

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Overall it was an amazing and lovely trip. As an Anglophone in Montreal (and one raised in Western Canada at that), I sometimes get a craving to be surrounded by English. To hear, to speak, to read English.

When I feel like that I usually end up going to Ontario but it was a great change of scenery (well not really) to go to Vermont, buy patterns and be in an English setting. Three birds one stone.

We left around we got there mid-morning and left at around 5 pm, the way back took longer since there were more people entering Canada plus it was a Sunday so many people were also coming back to the island of Montreal causing some traffic.

If you’re in the Montreal area and want to head down to the U.S for the day, I recommend visiting Burlington, Vermont. The people are really friendly, the Marketplace is very lovely and it has a Hallmark-like feeling.

On that note of you’re a Montreal-area sewist and love Simplicity patterns or notions/fabrics that cannot be found in Canada, I recommend visiting the Joann store in Burlington.

And if you’re not a sewist, Burlington has a great selection of stores not found in Canada, along with beautiful hiking trails and lots of history.

To conclude, I recommend Burlington as a one-day cross-border destination!

So that’s it for this month. I know that my posting has been very inconsistent, bit for some reason I’ve been having issues focusing and going through all the blogging process. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy reading everyone’s posts and finding new bloggers but the act of blogging has been difficult for me to get back into.

With summer break (finally) arriving, along with the warm weather, maybe it’ll get better.

In any case thank you for sharing, following and commenting on my posts. I appreciate all of you 🧡

Have you ever been on a international day trip before? What pattern should I try first?

Hope you all have a great long weekend! Til next time