Holiday Buys!

At last the sun came out today here in Belfast! 

I celebrated by cutting some flowers from the garden and filling vases around the house!  So cheery!

I also managed a good bit of sewing & prep. sewing today, but as I'm still trying to rattle through my holiday news, I'll save today's progress for another day.

So what fabrics did I buy while on holiday?

The first wee shop I stumbled across was in Llandudno, called Fabulous Fabrics (they are soon going online).

With over 1200 bolts of quilters cotton, it was a super wee shop run by a lovely 70 year old lady with tatoos!  I picked up some bargain fqs and navy polka dot (see pic below).

We then travelled through N.Wales & made a scheduled stop here:

I was a little hesitant about coming here, after viewing their online site.  But boy oh boy! I wasn't disappointed!  In fact I was overwhelmed!  There is sooooooo much fabric here I didn't actually end up buying any!  Their selection of quilters cotton is small, and that is what I was trying to keep my small spending budget for, but oh the linens, and wools, and tweeds, and fleece, and buttons, and trims, and ..., and ...., and ....!  I came away completely glazed, and not entirely sure that I'd made the right decision not to spend!

A few days later we were in Witney, Oxford, perusing the shop in the rain, wearing sandals, looking like utter idiots tourists!  We stumbled across the most divine wee shop called The Old Pill Factory.  For all you vintage lovers out there, you will love this adorable shop. 

Here's what I found tucked away in the very back room of the shop:

The label read "3m Liberty Lawn - £18". What a bargain!  I will be adding this to the 'clothes for me one day' pile!

The staff in the shop were so friendly and welcoming.  I also saw a very old hand sewn hexie quilt, a true antique - beautiful!

A few shops down from The Old Pill Factory is a lovely wee fabric shop which sold beautiful, modern quilters cotton, but at £16.50+ per metre, they were all out of my budget sadly.

And opposite The Old Pill Factory, is the most charming Papier Mache shop and workshop.  So inspiring!

These friendly chaps were sitting outside the shop!

This reminded me of a similar technique I've done before of covering items (e.g. chairs) with fabric scraps and pva glue!  Great fun!

Next to Bournemouth, where the fabric shops cater mainly for dressmaking and soft furnishings.  But I did manage to get some ditsy cotton prints to add to my stash.

I didn't quite get all of what I was looking for by way of quilters cotton, but that just means I can do a wee bit of online shopping without feeling guilty!

We took a quick jaunt into the Cath Kidson shop (despite there being one in Belfast, I've never been in one before).

It is so well set out and displayed, but again out of my price range!

And one more find in a charity shop which no.2 daughter pleaded with me to buy!

I wonder why she likes him so much!!!!!

By the way, if anyone is ever in Bangor, Wales, there is the most amazing Vintage Clothes shop called The Vintage Shop (!!).  Oh, it was a walk down memory lane (yes I'm that old!). The dresses, scarves, coats etc. from the 50's - 80's where fabulous!  I didn't have time to try anything on or buy, but it was a lovely shopping experience (& it's not often you'll hear me say that!).

Well that's it for now.  Sorry for such a long post.  Tomorrow I promise to show you some sewing!