Shopping and birthday presents

I recently discovered via Facebook that the public can buy direct from Elegance Novelties and after browsing their webpage, I discovered a whole range of ric rac braids in all the colors of the rainbow and more.  I was so excited as I struggled to get packets of pastel colors, so I ordered some to add to my collection.

I also got the 10mm wide brown ric rac which I used to rescue the Stack and Wack quilt with, this post refers.

I also bought sewing needles at an astonishingly low price of about 50c each.  I thought it must be a misprint, but not.  I have been using this brand forever, so was really glad to discover them on a local companies' website.

At our year end function, the members of the Rotary Cutters quilting group, gave me some money with which I bought embroidery thread.  Yes, again.  This time a set of 12 variegated threads and two huge 9000m cones of white and black.  I thought about getting the glow in the dark set as well, but will do so at a later stage.  These were acquired from Embroidery Warehouse.

And for my birthday, my husband and son bought me some jelly rolls.  Yeah!

I spoiled myself with the latest novel of Robin Cook named Spasm and fellow quilter Frances got me a Karen Kingsbury book to add to my library.

Online shopping at Fabricstore

Earlier this year I asked for help to obtain a certain fabric line from the Facebook community and was told about this store and I was absolutely blown away by their variety and prices.  But being a pensioner, I had to bide my time until was I able to shop till I dropped.  You know, you have to buy enough to justify the courier costs, or well, that's my excuse.  Great was my husband's astonishment when he arrived last night after lawn bowls, and it was just fabric everywhere.  And now I am in need of cupboard space as I literally don't have any space.

10 pieces of 0.5m x 1.50m striped pieces (bought for quilt bindings)

Cotton thread

A closeup of two of the offcut bundles, 100% cotton.

7m precuts of 1m x 1m.

Mixed prints for boys consisting of 10 x 0.5m x 1.5m pieces.

Mixed prints for girls consisting of 10 x 0.5m x 1.5m pieces.

Another offcut bundle.

White polar fleece.

Black Faux Leather

Winnie the Pooh Bunting

Mickey Mouse Bunting - 1m x 1.5m for R15 - I mean, really?

Various offcut bundles/remnants - softshell, cotton fleece, 100% cotton bundle, cotton knit (always handy when machine embroidering as you don't need large pieces)

20m roll of bias binding for only R10

Various lace pieces.

10m set for babies

Solid colors consisting of 10 x 0.5m x 1.5m pieces.

It's like having your own birthday party opening up all the packages.

Online shopping

I discovered Fabric8 at the beginning of the year and it is just my kind of shop with handy tools, notions and gadgets for machine embroidery, sewing, quilting, knitting and crochet as well as some arts and other crafts.  Being a Brother retailer as well suits me just fine.  On Saturday night, I put my order in and yesterday it arrived.  I am very impressed with their speed, their prices and variety of products.

On the left-hand side is a ruler handle with suckers as well as two little plastic sucker hooks which when stuck to the side of the machine will hold small scissors etc. They even sell these nifty stands for cellphones.  My husband bought one some time ago at our local Pick and Pay which is always in demand by somebody.  These 3 will sure come in handy.  With me always losing pins around the whole house, one can never have enough magnets to try and keep those pins in check.

Using 505 temporary glue spray when embroidering, I got a glue and residue eraser which I hope will remove the glue stains when they occasionally happen without having to wash the item to remove it.  As I am always in need of fasteners for various charms, beads etc. I bought a packet each gold and silver Globe Pins. Another item I don't seem to ever have enough of, is quilting safety pins as well as the small fabric clips which is very handy for binding and other sewing needs.  I also bought a bottle of fabric glue and an adjustable rainbow thimble which have a raised rim to keep the needle from slipping.

Talking about those stray pins, I also bought a telescopic magnetic pick-up stick.  For ruler quilting, I got a sewing gauge.  Fabric8 included a small thank you gift of a sticker, two buttons, two metal clips and a fabric label.  Underneath these items is a non-slip anti scalding iron cloth.

As well as stocking Brother parts, they have a wide variety of generic presser feet and I bought a few.  From top to bottom they are a Clear presser foot, a Red Line presser foot, a Roller presser foot, a Seam Guide presser foot and a Teflon one.  On the right is a Bulky Seam Jumper and a magnetic metal sewing guide.  I also got a packet of Brother bobbins as I regularly run out of empty bobbins as well as a cleaning brush.  The Bulky Seam Jumper with two different thicknesses slide beneath the presser feet to help make the transition over bulky seams smooth.

Now to just get stitching.  With the cold winter nights we are currently experiencing, I prefer to bask in front of the fire.  And I have heaps of embroidery to do. 

Do have a look at Fabric8 when you are in need of just about anything.  Even the courier fees are very reasonable, and my package arrived within 3 business days with this cute message on the box:

Shopping at Wookeys, Kimberley

My son had a function in Kimberley on Saturday and as he had not driven on main roads since getting his driver's license, my husband suggested we go with, and I could go shopping at Wookeys to which I did not need another invitation.

I visited Wookeys a few times before and are always amazed at their stock as well as prices.  Saturday was no exception with 100% quilters cotton priced between R89 and R100 per meter.  Tie dye 100% cotton which is locally priced R110, is at Wookeys available for only R69 per meter.  It just blew me away.  I can maybe understand that local shops can't compete with Habby and Lace in Vereeniging which might be classified as a fabric shop, but Wookeys is just a normal little fabric shop in Galeshewe?  (Now, I am not referring to local small dealers selling imported fabrics which I consider to be my quilting friends.)

I even found a strip tube ruler which Donna Jordan (from Jordan Fabrics) use in most of her tutorials.  They also sell whole rolls of satin ribbon, packets of ric-rac trim etc.  I haven't even looked at their selection of wool of which they have a room full.

I also bought fabric for our quilting group's next project, a courthouse step runner which we will do under the guidance of teacher Annie du Toit.  I needed only 10cm of 5 different lights, but Wookeys doesn't cut less than 25cm which didn't matter though as it is so cheap.  Had no problem gathering 5 lights which can also be a problem locally getting 5 shades of a particular color at one shop.  They also have a wide variety of solids which is a rare find locally.

A really big find was these baby prints which was on sale for only R25 a meter, so I bought all 3 remnant pieces totaling just over 6m. 

I love doing embroidered items with Chintz which is really getting more and more difficult to find with some dealers not selling it at all anymore.  It is a lovely fabric to make in the hoop items with with a lovely shine and not as flimsy as satin fabrics. I did buy white and cream locally and was able to get these 3 colors at Wookeys as well as white Scuba with which I want to embroider quilted cushions as it creates a beautiful loft.  Now to find grey, black, beige and light brown chintz.  Also for projects on my to do list.

This was only the 2nd piece of Shwe-Shwe I bought and will combine this with orange and blue tie dye fabric to embroider placemats.

This concluded my purchases which will be used to stitch another Big Footed Lamb for a friend of my son.