I know this blog is about the various Quilting shops I visit in my travels and this includes those that I visit online. If you're like me you're always looking for that elusive piece of fabric or the latest book on quilting or the newest quilting tool however, you can't always find these items in your favourite quilt shop, maybe not even in Australia. So where do you begin to look? In my case, and I suspect many others, you look online. However, you may not be too sure how to go about searching and buying the quilting products you're after? Or you're concerned about how safe buying on line is?
After chatting to the Contractor who delivers our parcels, he told me that his mother-in-law hadn't had a very good experience buying online. In fact, she found the credit card details she had provided a US quilting shop were stolen and used by the thief. Not a great experience for her. Hearing this made me realise that I've been very lucky and overall have had a positive experience, so why not share my experiences I thought?
Let's begin at the beginning...the first step is decide how you want to pay for the items you've purchased. The reason I say this is that you want to protect yourself as much as you can when buying on line. There are a lot of choices ranging from opening up a separate transaction account with your bank and apply for a Visa or Mastercard debit card that you can use for online purchase that is linked to this account - You can only spend as much as you have in the account. Another alternative is to apply for an additional credit card with a low limit and use this for your online purchase.
I'd also recommend opening up a Paypal account [ www.paypal.com ] which you can use for your online purchase. Paypal gives you the option of using either a transaction account and or a credit card to pay for your purchases. Visit the site and you can get more information on Paypal so you can make your mind up.
Personally, I have a combination of all three: a transaction account with the Visa Debit card + credit card (though I limit the use of it online unless I'm very sure the site is secured) + Paypal account (this is the one use whenever I can given the protection they afford to their users).
Okay so you have some ideas of how to fund your online purchases. Where to next? My next blog will start you on your online shopping journey so check in again.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Threadbare, Castlemaine, VIC, Australia
The only other shop I managed to find open when I was travelling for work was Threadbare which is located in Castelmaine, Victoria, about a 30 min drive from Daylesford. There contact and location details including opening hours can be found at their website, www.threadbear.com.au.
I know no other way to describe this shop as a traditional quilter's shop. What I mean by that is the fabric that is sold at Threadbare covers the range of Aunt Grace, Civil Ware, etc. type fabric. You won't see a bright or novelty print at this shop - believe me I looked. If you're a Moda fabric fan then you'll probably love this shop as they have a lot of the more traditional prints from that range. However, one of the rare times I didn't see any Moda precuts in site. Saying that, it looks like the owner has put together her own precut range for your purchase.
The shop itself is small but the owner has used all the space cleverly to get her fabric range stocked. So if you do visit make sure you look below the counters as youl'l find more fabric. Overall, I would recommend visiting this shop even if the fabric range isn't your cup of tea for two reasons.
Firstly, the quilts on display. All I can say is WOW! What is great about this is you not only see the owners work but also that of some of her customers. Whether they are your cup of tea or not, you can't help but be impressed by the quality of the work completed.
Secondly, the owner herself is a friendly and knowledgeable person. I've been humming and haaing about getting a rotating mat for cutting of small squares, etc. The shop had one that was a lot cheaper than the Olaf brand one I've seen at Spotlight. The owner didn't hesitate taking it out of the package so we could see how it worked - have to say it flumoxed us both. Unfortunately, because of the issue with getting it to work easily, I didn't end up buying it. The owner was great about it and said she was pleased she had finally had a play. Suspect she won't by buying any more.
I know no other way to describe this shop as a traditional quilter's shop. What I mean by that is the fabric that is sold at Threadbare covers the range of Aunt Grace, Civil Ware, etc. type fabric. You won't see a bright or novelty print at this shop - believe me I looked. If you're a Moda fabric fan then you'll probably love this shop as they have a lot of the more traditional prints from that range. However, one of the rare times I didn't see any Moda precuts in site. Saying that, it looks like the owner has put together her own precut range for your purchase.
The shop itself is small but the owner has used all the space cleverly to get her fabric range stocked. So if you do visit make sure you look below the counters as youl'l find more fabric. Overall, I would recommend visiting this shop even if the fabric range isn't your cup of tea for two reasons.
Firstly, the quilts on display. All I can say is WOW! What is great about this is you not only see the owners work but also that of some of her customers. Whether they are your cup of tea or not, you can't help but be impressed by the quality of the work completed.
Secondly, the owner herself is a friendly and knowledgeable person. I've been humming and haaing about getting a rotating mat for cutting of small squares, etc. The shop had one that was a lot cheaper than the Olaf brand one I've seen at Spotlight. The owner didn't hesitate taking it out of the package so we could see how it worked - have to say it flumoxed us both. Unfortunately, because of the issue with getting it to work easily, I didn't end up buying it. The owner was great about it and said she was pleased she had finally had a play. Suspect she won't by buying any more.
Threadneedle Craft, Daylesford, VIC, Australia
I've recently come back from a work trip. While on the road, I managed to stop in at a couple of quilting shops. The first was in the lovely town of Daylesford (a must see if you're visiting Melbourne). You can find their contact details and opening hours at their website, www.threadneedle.com.au . Note, this shop is down a little side street near the supermarket. Threadneedle Craft is a small shop with a little bit of everything - quilt fabric, cross stitch, beeding, etc. Great if you need to pick up something for your crafting needs while on holiday.
From a quilting purist point of view, the range of stock is very limited. There were a few interesting patterns and I noticed a few bolts of some interesting Australiana fabric - more in the flower design. Price wise, the few bolts I looked at were around the $24 pm. To be honest, I wouldn't go out of my way to travel to Daylesford to visit this shop as there simply isn't enough selection for me but if you're visiting the area do stop in.
In terms of Daylesford itself, visit www.visitdaylesford.com.au which will give you a great over view of the area. From my perspective, there are some interesting shops to visit in the town itself and of course let's not forget the cafes. I had one of the best bits of carrot cake I've had in ages at one of the cafes there. If you enjoy a good glass of wine then of course, you will have no trouble finding a variety of vineyards to visit to try out some of the region's excellent wine. This is bed and breakfast country, so I'd suggest going up for a weekend. And for the quilting enthusiast, there are a number of quilting shops in the region for you to visit and suprisingly a number of them are open on a sunday so you don't have to visit them all on Saturday.
From a quilting purist point of view, the range of stock is very limited. There were a few interesting patterns and I noticed a few bolts of some interesting Australiana fabric - more in the flower design. Price wise, the few bolts I looked at were around the $24 pm. To be honest, I wouldn't go out of my way to travel to Daylesford to visit this shop as there simply isn't enough selection for me but if you're visiting the area do stop in.
In terms of Daylesford itself, visit www.visitdaylesford.com.au which will give you a great over view of the area. From my perspective, there are some interesting shops to visit in the town itself and of course let's not forget the cafes. I had one of the best bits of carrot cake I've had in ages at one of the cafes there. If you enjoy a good glass of wine then of course, you will have no trouble finding a variety of vineyards to visit to try out some of the region's excellent wine. This is bed and breakfast country, so I'd suggest going up for a weekend. And for the quilting enthusiast, there are a number of quilting shops in the region for you to visit and suprisingly a number of them are open on a sunday so you don't have to visit them all on Saturday.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Sew Eezy Curtains, Fabrics & Blinds, Kadina, SA, Australia
On our second day on the Yorke Peninsula we decided to head North, stopping first at Port Victoria.
As you can see, the pelicans were certainly enjoying themselves.
We liked the area so much, have ear marked it for a future camping trip
From there we travelled on to Moonta and then on to Kadina, where the only other shop selling quilting fabric on the Yorke Peninsula was in Kadina (this was the furthest North we made it on our holiday), Sew Eezy Curtains, Fabrics & Blinds. No website but address and contact details are:
8 Digby Street
Kadina SA 5554
Ph: 08 8821 1101
Really liked the quilting range they had and in fact managed to find yet again some OOP fabric - Clothworks, Garden Shop - which was great. And yes, I managed to find another roll of Kiwi fabric. Amazing where these bolts end up. Great selection of fabrics that will appeal to the traditional and modern quilter, including a nice range of fabrics for the children. The lady who served me was delightful and very friendly. Overall, well worth a visit if you are ever in Kadina.
And while in the Yorke Peninsula, make sure you visit Innes National Park. Here are some photos to tempt you.
 |
| Beach at Port Victoria |
As you can see, the pelicans were certainly enjoying themselves.
We liked the area so much, have ear marked it for a future camping trip
From there we travelled on to Moonta and then on to Kadina, where the only other shop selling quilting fabric on the Yorke Peninsula was in Kadina (this was the furthest North we made it on our holiday), Sew Eezy Curtains, Fabrics & Blinds. No website but address and contact details are:
8 Digby Street
Kadina SA 5554
Ph: 08 8821 1101
Really liked the quilting range they had and in fact managed to find yet again some OOP fabric - Clothworks, Garden Shop - which was great. And yes, I managed to find another roll of Kiwi fabric. Amazing where these bolts end up. Great selection of fabrics that will appeal to the traditional and modern quilter, including a nice range of fabrics for the children. The lady who served me was delightful and very friendly. Overall, well worth a visit if you are ever in Kadina.
And while in the Yorke Peninsula, make sure you visit Innes National Park. Here are some photos to tempt you.
 |
| Emus we saw as driving on Innes National Park Road |
 |
| Coastline at Innes National Park |
 |
| Panoramic view of coastline |
 |
| Yes, you can swim from this beach though suspect surfing may be the game! |
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Wurrtoo Quilts, Minlaton, SA, Australia
Happy New Year everyone. Can't believe another year has slipped away and we're now into 2012. So to begin the New Year in the right way, some more updates on quilting shops I've visited.
My partner and I like to camp but with our busy schedules we seem to have less and less time to do so. Consequently, we decided to make the effort and head off for a few days to the Yorke Peninsula. And where is the Yorke Pensinsula for those of you not from Adelaide or South Australia? If you've not visited or even heard of this area, I strongly recommend you make time to visit if you're in Adelaide, its only a two to three hour drive depending upon where you live and if you're visiting Adelaide in the near future, it is well worth the visit. For more information, please check out http://www.southaustralia.com/regions/yorke-peninsula.aspx . This is a great website which can help you plan your visit to the area.
We ended up camping in the Port Rickaby Caravan Park - www.portrickaby.com . The owners were very welcoming and even though we were a pretty late booking we ended up with a pretty good site
The ocean is barely a three minute walk from our campsite.
Okay now the first quilting store I visited while we were away was Wurrtoo Quilts in Minlaton. This wasn't a big store by any means but had all the basics you would need for quilting. The fabric selection was fairly average except for two exceptions. The first was they had a very large range of batiks. I'm not big on batiks myself but suspect if you were, you'd find a good range here. Secondly, I found a lonesome piece of New Zealand fabric, Ponga Koru:
It's become a bit of a game for me to see what Kiwi fabric I can find in these shops. It's surprising how much I have found in the last year. Even with the small selection of fabric, I still managed to walk out the door with a few meters of fabric.
More to come!
My partner and I like to camp but with our busy schedules we seem to have less and less time to do so. Consequently, we decided to make the effort and head off for a few days to the Yorke Peninsula. And where is the Yorke Pensinsula for those of you not from Adelaide or South Australia? If you've not visited or even heard of this area, I strongly recommend you make time to visit if you're in Adelaide, its only a two to three hour drive depending upon where you live and if you're visiting Adelaide in the near future, it is well worth the visit. For more information, please check out http://www.southaustralia.com/regions/yorke-peninsula.aspx . This is a great website which can help you plan your visit to the area.
We ended up camping in the Port Rickaby Caravan Park - www.portrickaby.com . The owners were very welcoming and even though we were a pretty late booking we ended up with a pretty good site
The ocean is barely a three minute walk from our campsite.
Okay now the first quilting store I visited while we were away was Wurrtoo Quilts in Minlaton. This wasn't a big store by any means but had all the basics you would need for quilting. The fabric selection was fairly average except for two exceptions. The first was they had a very large range of batiks. I'm not big on batiks myself but suspect if you were, you'd find a good range here. Secondly, I found a lonesome piece of New Zealand fabric, Ponga Koru:
 |
| Ponga Koru distributed by Nutex |
It's become a bit of a game for me to see what Kiwi fabric I can find in these shops. It's surprising how much I have found in the last year. Even with the small selection of fabric, I still managed to walk out the door with a few meters of fabric.
More to come!
Friday, December 30, 2011
The Wool Company, Taihape, New Zealand
Okay I know this isn't a quilting/patchwork shop but I also knit and
The Wool Company has been one of my favourite wool shops for years [
www.thewoolcompany.co.nz ]. What makes this wool shop interesting and I
believe unique is its selling the wool they've created themselves. All
the knitting wool is NZ wool. However, one thing I should say to you is
if you're a knitter who likes wool crepe this won't be the wool for
you. This is what I'd call more worsted wool.
I'm a knitter who doesn't use anything below an 8 ply but I've bought 4ply for my Mom and she says its lovely to knit with. From memory it was the mint colour and it was pretty true to the colour on the website. I've only used the Perendale yarn and I've now lost count of how many sweaters I've made but it must be getting close to double digits. Again when I've ordered on line I've found the colours to be pretty close to what you see on the site. I haven't as yet used their possum wool - saving up for that one - but plan to buy some on my next trip back to NZ.
Try their knitting needles. I've bought a few pairs for myself and I quite like them. They're very cost effective and they're also made out of casein which is something a little different.
If you do have time and are driving through Taihape (note the shop is to the south of Taihape on Highway 1 as you head to Wellington) and is well worth a visit. I don't think I've been in yet and not walked out the door with yet more wool. If you're not in the area, do use their mail order service. Everything I've ordered has always arrived well packaged and quickly, often within 24 hours of my order when living in New Zealand. I haven't ordered anything as yet to be sent to me in Australia mainly due to my being back or my partner being back at least once a year, so I can order and have sent to a relative or friend's place for pick up.
I'm a knitter who doesn't use anything below an 8 ply but I've bought 4ply for my Mom and she says its lovely to knit with. From memory it was the mint colour and it was pretty true to the colour on the website. I've only used the Perendale yarn and I've now lost count of how many sweaters I've made but it must be getting close to double digits. Again when I've ordered on line I've found the colours to be pretty close to what you see on the site. I haven't as yet used their possum wool - saving up for that one - but plan to buy some on my next trip back to NZ.
Try their knitting needles. I've bought a few pairs for myself and I quite like them. They're very cost effective and they're also made out of casein which is something a little different.
If you do have time and are driving through Taihape (note the shop is to the south of Taihape on Highway 1 as you head to Wellington) and is well worth a visit. I don't think I've been in yet and not walked out the door with yet more wool. If you're not in the area, do use their mail order service. Everything I've ordered has always arrived well packaged and quickly, often within 24 hours of my order when living in New Zealand. I haven't ordered anything as yet to be sent to me in Australia mainly due to my being back or my partner being back at least once a year, so I can order and have sent to a relative or friend's place for pick up.
GJ Discount Fabrics, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
One of my favourite fabric stores in Melbourne is GJ Fabrics [
www.gjsdiscountfabrics.com.au ]. For me its the quilting fabrics I
enjoy looking through but if you need fabrics for dance costumes, this
is also the store for you. GJ Discount fabrics is located on Lygon
Street, Brunswick East. Don't make the mistake of thinking the store is
in Lygon Street where all the Italian restaurants are - its not. To
get there, I personally would recommend hopping on Tram #1 or #8 along
Swanston Street and then getting off on tram stop 126 which is right in
front of the store.
Overall, really nice selection of fabrics including moda fabrics and other name brands. They have an extensive selection of brights, novelties, Australiana, some Asian/Japanese prints along with an excellent selection of baby and children prints. You will also find a small selection of Moda pre cuts such as jelly rolls, layer cakes and charm squares. On my last trip there, I bought the Morris Workshop jelly roll to make a quilt design I've picked up off of YouTube.
Also for an expat Kiwi, I've managed to pick up some Kiwiana FQs. Make sure you check out their specials as again, I've picked up some great quilting fabric at fantastic prices including a Kiwiana panel fabric which you would normally pay NZ$24.00 pm and I lucked out and found it in the store's special area for AU$8 pm. Needless to say I bought about 3m which I'll get a lot of use out of. Check out the Kiwiana quilt picture on the blog and you'll see the panel in use.
And another store with friendly and helpful staff. This store also runs workshops though I left Melbourne before I had a chance to sign up for any of them. Also fantastic sales. So if you live locally, make sure you sign up for their email notices so you can hear about their sales ahead of time.
Overall, really nice selection of fabrics including moda fabrics and other name brands. They have an extensive selection of brights, novelties, Australiana, some Asian/Japanese prints along with an excellent selection of baby and children prints. You will also find a small selection of Moda pre cuts such as jelly rolls, layer cakes and charm squares. On my last trip there, I bought the Morris Workshop jelly roll to make a quilt design I've picked up off of YouTube.
Also for an expat Kiwi, I've managed to pick up some Kiwiana FQs. Make sure you check out their specials as again, I've picked up some great quilting fabric at fantastic prices including a Kiwiana panel fabric which you would normally pay NZ$24.00 pm and I lucked out and found it in the store's special area for AU$8 pm. Needless to say I bought about 3m which I'll get a lot of use out of. Check out the Kiwiana quilt picture on the blog and you'll see the panel in use.
And another store with friendly and helpful staff. This store also runs workshops though I left Melbourne before I had a chance to sign up for any of them. Also fantastic sales. So if you live locally, make sure you sign up for their email notices so you can hear about their sales ahead of time.
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