~cushla’s village fabrics~

Here in Auckland it is summer, and humid, and it feels kind of incongruous to pick up those knitting needles and start knitting with wool. A part of me wants it to be snowing outside like it is in many parts of the world, just so I can snuggle up on the sofa with my knitting and the cat!

Enter – my rediscovered enthusiasm for sewing.

I’ve always been a sewer, and one of my early sewing memories was making a pair of jeans for my Barbie doll – complete with belt loops and faux twinstitched pockets! I graduated to making my own wardrobe, then my own clothing label, then my own shop. Until it all became a bit, well – unsatisfying. I know it is a dream job for many aspiring designers, but I found that once I got to where I wanted to be, the challenges ceased to exist anymore. And to design within the commercial constraints of price, positioning, and profit was frustratingly restricting. My sewing machine came to mean work, not pleasure.

So I stopped.

And I haven’t sewn anything for myself for about 5 years.

It has taken this long for me to feel that flash of inspiration again.

(OK – it also helps that my sewing machine has ended up in our lounge!!)

And that flash of inspiration came from Lucy at Attic 24. A lovely colourful photo of her Cath Kidson teatowels, and the suggestion that she might turn them into a quilt, was all it took. It reminded me that I had always desired to make a quilt, so after some magazine buying, and some googling, I found out about Cushla’s Village Fabrics in Devonport.

L and I crossed the harbour on the ferry, then walked up Victoria Avenue to number 38 and stepped inside, through the narrow doorway into a colourful fabric-lined cavern. If you ever have the opportunity to visit you must – it is true fabric heaven. And if you’re a knitter needing an excuse you can visit Wild ‘n Woolly at the same time, as it is right next door!

I managed to spend a good hour there fossicking about, but as you can imagine it is not exactly the place a 10 year old boy likes to hang out, so I suffered a fair bit of flak! The customer service was excellent and very friendly, and eventually I walked out delighted with these:

I’ve already begun cutting and sewing parts of my quilt, but need more supplies to really get it underway. So it looks like I will definitely be making a return trip, and hopefully many more, to this wonderful store.