Stepping out with a few of the locals...

It's the Australasian Quilt Market (wholesale trade show) in Melbourne this weekend.  I've decided not to exhibit this year but made a few samples for F.D. Textiles, to show off just how fabulous their fabrics look as my A-Line Skirt. 

These two skirts are both made using the gorgeous Veritas Design fabric that I fell in love with at the Sydney AQM earlier this year.  The denim is also supplied by F.D Textiles. 

 

Loving the local gals, I am.

 

And I'm loving this skirt..... I didn't want to take it off.



 

In Melbourne this weekend, there are also lots of opportunities to support local businesses.  If you're in the city centre on Thursday evening, there are all sorts of good things going on in Flinders Lane and surrounds.  Late night shopping with special offers with the small local retailers. 

 

And on Friday, there's a group pop-up shop with Nina Wish Designs and a group of designer-makers from regional Victoria.  They'll be at 112 Greeves St Fitzroy (my old street!) from 12noon-8pm.

 

 

In the days when I made hats for a living, Nina Wish was one of the boutiques I worked closely with. I made hats from their (mostly vintage) fabric offcuts, and helped out with garment patternmaking and sewing on a freelance basis.  We quickly became the best of friends and 20 years later, I feel blessed to still count Marion and Gordon among my dearests. 

 

I just dug out this photo, which I love, from somewhere in the early-mid 1990's.  It's the very end of a parade....

The parades were hard work to organise, and there was always a build-up of stress and late nights, so when the party went off, it went off with a bang.   We were young and energetic... so it was a big bang.  For me, this picture captures that tipping-point moment perfectly.  Good memories.

 

 

Have a good weekend everyone - and don't forget to support your local designers and makers.   

Le Tour de Fabric

What a huge day for fabric love....

A lovely bundle arrived from Quilt Fabric Delights.  I was a bit excited about their sale page and the fact that they still had a small piece of the Patty Young "Andalucia" print that I needed, so I put in a little order on the weekend.  (And yes - they stock my patterns, too!)

 Then there was a bit of a gathering of friends at Lara's house.  Annie, Jodie and Rachel came into town for the day and we went ON TOUR.... after the exploration of Lara's sewing room....

 ..and awestuck gazing at the VERY TIDY cupboards full of fabric stash.  (How DOES she manage it....??)

And there was a fair bit of posing against the famous wall....

 

We then went to Rathdowne Fabric & Remnants and then to GJ's.  I forgot to take the camera out in Rathdowne, but managed to snap a bit of Annie in action at GJ's.

 ...and pretty-much lost everyone amongst the rows and rows of luscious fabric....

 ...and rows of toys all over the floor.  (No idea who's wee girl that is....wearing a cat-print dress...)

 I'm not sure if it was noticable, but I loitered around the pre-cut fabric shelf a few times.  It looked a bit sweet-shoppish to me, and I was feeling a bit like a child..... but I resisted.  I have to finish my quilts-in-progress before embarking upon any new adventures in the world of patchwork.

 That small child in the cat dress took up position at the counter and talked "cats" with anyone who had a cat.  Luckily (for her), Jodie, Annie and Suzanne (behind the counter) all have cats.  As does the woman who was waiting patiently in the queue behind us.

 My purchases were quite restrained, and mostly geared towards turning my quilt blocks into quilts.  (I even managed to sew on the border of this one late this afternoon).

I also found enough spotty cotton fabric to make the back of the quilt.  (The idea was to make a cot quilt, but it's now a single bed size.)

 
The only completely-without-purpose purchasing I did were these pieces, below - a mixture from both stores.  They were too cute and too well-priced to pass up ($5.95-$8 per metre) and they'll go into the stash.

The only thing that I could have used but I DIDN'T buy, was the EXACT Patty Young fabric that I was looking for on the weekend.  Along with the QFD piece that arrived today,  I've organised Lisa to send me some from Sydney.  And here's a bolt of the stuff, in my local fabric store.....

Our shopping day ended with a short trip to my studio for lunch and a chat.   (I forgot to take out the camera again).  The kids all played beautifully together (Rachel's kids are ANGELS, I tell ya - ANGELS!)

Thanks, lovely ladies, for a grand day out.  I'm counting the days until we're sitting around the table together at Sewjourn again.

Itchin' for Stitchin'

Great shop name.  And a very lovely shop.

On a trip out west to see family today, I dropped in some patterns and samples to Itchin' for Stitchin at 11 Grant St, Bacchus Marsh (just up the road from where I finished High School). 

While I was talking patterns and snapping photos, I set the wee girl a task to find her favourite fabric....

In her own words, "There are too many that I really, really love!"

 There really is a fabulous range of fabrics, ribbons, embroidery threads and all sorts of everything.  There are Phaff sewing machines.... and now, You SEW Girl patterns!

 And yes - we found an absolute favourite fabric.....

PS. The girl is wearing an A-line shift dress, adapted from THIS book, in Martha Negley fabric.

My Local....

Fabric store, of course (...I can't remember the last time I was in a pub). I love GJ's Discount Fabrics in East Brunswick. And I think it's even better, now that all the patchwork fabrics are downstairs. The room is huge and light and full of colour. Gosh, there are even a few nice hat and bag samples.

GJ's were among the first stores to take on my patterns, way back in 2004, and have always supported me with lots of display space for samples.

They've always been good at keeping things fresh.... trying new things, turning over huge volumes of fabrics and always bringing in new ranges. (I love this Sherbet Pips range....it makes me want to make a quilt!!). They have great sales and bargain baskets (today I saw some Kaffe Fasset short ends for $8 per metre). Get on their mailing list!

And now they're the first to take on my first range of 'in store' bag hardware, to accompany the pattern range. So you can get all the bits to make the bag from the one place. No need to pay postage. We often talk about the great online craft community, but I love my local-real-life craft community, too. GJ's is a bit like the bar where everyone knows your name. A hub. I always bump into people I know, and the staff seem to know everyone. They focus on the real-life store and their customer service, and are constantly striving to improve both.

Even if this sounds like an infomercial/advertorial, it isn't. I just really love what they do and I appreciate their support.

Do you have a 'local'...? (And ...ummm...do you think they might like to try a bit of bag hardware..?).

PS. We've also begun wholesaling bulk quantities of hardware to makers of handcrafted bags and purses. If you'd like to order rings, frames etc in quantites of 50's and/or 100's, drop us a line and we can send you the relevant info. (Note: There are minimum order quantities).

Between page loads and page-load crochet...

...there's still time for shopping.



Drape Drape books from Tessuti and fabrics from Z&S Fabric's 25% off sale.

I daresay, it'll all be coming to Sewjourn with me in a few weeks.  I don't have time to sew (think or sleep...) right now.

...And it's almost like being in love.

New Pippijoe fabric (fat quarters and an offcut bundle).

Winterwood felt and Harper & Edie Japanese fabrics
Ink & Spindle wrens...

Coloured goodies from Above All Fabric (new to me, but loving it!). Check out the sales and specials. I ordered a parcel last weekend and it arrived today, so I'm VERY happy.

And more fabric on the way.... will keep you posted.

There's nothing quite like breaking out of a fabric diet, huh...?

This is....My Favourite Fabric/Craft Shop

Immediately GJ's Discount Fabrics in Lygon St (corner of Stewart St) springs to mind - especially the back room. There be treasures there... like fabulous remnants of stretch pvc in mock osterich, repro cotton bark cloth, loads of knits and suiting, discounted quilting fabrics and loads of surprises. The patchwork fabric range (rather aptly UPSTAIRS!!) is absolute heaven, and the women who work there are ... well... angels!

Kimono House springs to mind a mili-second after GJ's. Another treasure-trove, run by another angel. Leanne is passionate about beautiful, beautiful Japanese textiles and has created a little slice of fabric heaven in the heart of the city. It's also in the Nicholas Building, which is one of my favourite places in the world.

Online I'm a big fan of Z&S Fabrics. When I need a bit of me-time I take my time to go through the clearance fabrics to find gems, then go through each of the designer ranges until I have a 6-yard bundle or two (I'm currently awaiting three bundles....).

This is the "currently being used" stash on my cutting table. Kimono House Poppy print on top of Z&S quilting fabrics stacked on top of GJ's cotton jersey.... It appears I'm going through a "pink and green" phase.... Thanks to Sharon for a fab theme, and for putting me on to Quilt Home in her post today.... (I thought I'd check it out and caught myself filling up a shopping cart. Thought I'd better do this blog post before I got too carried away with more fabric shopping! I'll get back to it in a minute...)

Thanks to Angela for This Is.