Rent It By the Hour

The Marimekko location in Silver Spring was Mecca to the crafty folk you usually see curled into coffeehouse corners, crocheting furiously as their lattes grow cold. And while the name has given way to Honfleur Home, the bright fabrics, bold patterns and fearlessly creative vibe is stronger than ever.

Because now you can rent a sewing machine by the hour.

We're sorry if that sounds a little dirty.

But it's true. Finagle your fabrics (you'll tend to find two-toned uber-mod florals here), pick a pattern (ranging from a baby bib with a drool pocket to a handily massive tote bag) and get crackin'... or sewin.' Whatever. Something missing a 'g' on the end, anyway.

And did we mention that the sewing machines are only $7 an hour? We're not even sure you can rent one of those paddle boats on the Tidal Basin for that cheap. You can also sign up for sewing camp and knitting clinic. (We know, it just sounds so "official" like that.)

There's only one piece of bad news in all of this: This place is the crafting equivalent of going to the grocery store when you're absolutely starving and you're only planning to get turkey burgers and the next thing you know, you can barely steer your overflowing cart down the aisles. Not that we're speaking from experience or anything.