Shopping in the New World
07 Nov 2008 6 Comments
in Fabric, Shopping Expeditions Tags: funny shopping trips, shopping for babies cot panels, tea towel totes, Westfield Bondi Junction
Yesterday I sauntered off to Westfield Bondi Junction to look for more cot panels for my tutorials and to personalise for my etsy shop. I started by returning some clothes I bought a few weeks ago. Do not know what I was thinking ….the fit was terrible ….. I can make them much better myself. Also until I lose the rest of my excess weight I do not want to buy too many clothes that I will be stuck with later. I am already down two sizes…but do not jump up and down… I lost that weight last year and have to tackle the rest of it now! I was talking to a friend and fellow blogger and later on to my son about weight gain. I do believe the secret is to not allow yourself to get over a size larger in the first place. I know I can and do blame my useless Thyroid and I do mean useless as it does not appear to work at all and once again have needed to up my dose to try to level it out… but really it is self discipline and knowledge in the light of all the new research we have at our disposal now. If one has fat parents and diabetes in the family then the children in that family should never be allowed to become overweight…okay rant aimed at myself really… over!
So then I went into Spotlight which is my local fabric shop chain where I stock up on wadding and cottons etc…supplies really and occasionally fabric for quilts. I had a good haul really, all the DMC perle style threads I need for the forseeable future and then after great difficulty managed to manhandle [well if there had been a man working there I would have got him to manhandle] the baby panels on their bolts as they are wedged in so tightly that it is almost impossible to get them out. Don’t even think about trying to get a good look at them so that one has some kind of a choice in the matter! I ended up with three girl’s ones again…don’t they think people make things for boys too?
Then I spied some stunning yellowish lemon floral fabric which conveniently was on the counter where I was being served. Naturally it had no bolt and information about it whatsoever and also naturally nobody could remember the price or where the empty cardboard bolt was! After much searching they decided on eight dollars a meter and we agreed that was fair as they do not have anything over thirteen dollars anyway. I managed to get about two and a half metres which is useful on so many levels.
Then as I waltzed…still on cloud nine from yesterday’s world news I spotted a bolt with a lemon background and coral coloured butterflies. Well am a pushover for butterfly fabric and especially yellow florals so I grabbed it and saw it was five dollars a meter! Yes my mind did go straight to ‘was that other one five dollars as well’ but I soon got over that. The counter where I had been served before was packed so I strolled up to the curtain counter which as luck would have it was free. I managed to get over four metres so was a very happy shopper.
As I walked out through the store I felt something on my leg and looking down saw my tan linen skirt was covered with chunks of fur and threads trailing down my leg etc. As I wriggled and shimmied and tried to pat myself down without the aid of a clothes brush or mirror I thought to myself what was the point of getting into my lovely freshly pressed linen outfit when I ended up the same as if I am at home? Thank goodness I had found it before I strolled up to Westfield where Armani and Ralf Lauren type clothes are worn by quite a lot of the shoppers. We are talking luxury shopping centre…leave your flip flops at home type place. Anyway I think I might suggest they put a mirror up near the front of Spotlight so that people can check their clothes….otherwise there is no point getting all dolled up…we sewers may as well stay in our thread laden everyday wear when we go there.
After that I needed a coffee pronto so sauntered into the Coffee Club near David Jones Foodhall where I proceeded to risk it all happening again by taking out my fabric and patting and stroking it all. Madness…I know but fun. After refueling myself…you know I have suddenly really started craving a coffee…..duh….I pottered right across the other side of Westfield….you actually have to go across the road or a walkway to get to the other department store in the complex ….it is just so huge …to look for more tea towels in Myer for my Tea Towel Tote range. Yes it is the Three Tees.
Then I sauntered over to the shop next door to gawk at the tote bags made with Marimekko fabric….. they are over two hundred dollars a bag! I wasted another half hour looking at writing paper and such like in Pepe’s Paperie and ended up with some stunning writing cards for CJ. The shop is quite expensive but they have a range of boxed mugs and writing pads etc which are all under twenty dollars and great for Christmas gifts and just for spoiling one’s favourite son.
Then I had to return something for that favourite son to the huge electronic warehouse opposite Myer and naturally they would not give him/me a refund…store credit only but boy was I pleased I did not have threads and fur and wool all over my skirt as it was like a night out on the town there for everybody.
Shopping appears to be the new entertainment. Don’t laugh…Westfield has these hugely glamorous signs or I should say glamorously huge signs ….which say….something like …Spend your Fridays here at Westfield Bondi Junction. Shop with us right up until 7pm then have dinner in out wonderful Harbour View Room [well it actually is fabulous] while you wait for your movie in our fabulous cinema complex. Actually I do not think they have to say anything about the cinema…it is self evident. Anyway…imagine the amount of money one would be spending? Not only are you shopping but you are eating in a restaurant quality foodhall with the same prices I might add and then one is off to the most modern and spectacular movie complex in our city.
What happened to the old “lets go down to the pub or drop in to see a movie”? Well, now it is destination shopping and the destination is Westfield and there it is simply a case of more is more and there is absolutely no way that aging quilters who are limping around the centre trailing threads and detritus fits their demographic. Okay am off to get a coffee…you might need one too to get through this post!!!
New Shop and Thrifted Thursday
21 Mar 2008 2 Comments
in Fabric, Thrifting, Vintage Shopping Tags: Blue Mountains, Kara Smith, vase, Westfield Bondi Junction
Busy week starting with last Thursday actually, I went up to the Blue Mountains 2 hours west of Sydney to meet Kara and to check out her creative area and also to see what her tastes are in fabrics for throws and quilts. Saw the wonderful art deco suite she won on ebay …had it trucked in from Adelaide and it was still a bargain. Kara was exactly as had imagined her to be, very open and engaging and very hospitable. Felt as if I had known her for years, not sure if that is an internet thing but seem to be able to really connect with some of the people I have met online. Maybe it is a creativity thing, finally mixing with people who are on my wavelength. Loved seeing all her fabrics in her home in the bushland setting and have a better idea of what would work for her personally. Winters in the mountains can be quite cold and we discussed how several types of throws and quilts would work well together, all modern in design with various ottomans in luscious fabrics to tie it all together. Got so carried away that I forgot my precious inspiration folder, well I was distracted after she started giving me samples and fabric scraps and a great sampler book.
We rushed off to check out a series of second hand dealers under one roof emporium type place, they had some great coloured glass vases but am so clumsy that I did not trust myself on the train for two hours with anything breakable. After dashing through there Kara dropped me off at the station with plenty of time to get seated for the return journey.
Yesterday my son and I went shopping in our newish Westfield mall, where we once saw Sandra Bullock on a promotional visit. As we ducked into Borders she went whizzing by on the scary escalator up to the cinema complex. Also frequently see David Wenham with his family shopping and many other Aussie celebrities. We do not do anything except nod and look away as feel they are entitled to their lives with their families without interruption. So while we were up there we went up to the other end of town where the prices of rents are way lower and went into a church run charity shop which always impresses me by how well run it is but also how pleasant the whole charity shopping experience is there. Afterwards I realised that my previous experiences with the charity shop where I live have almost always been tempered with me being careful of the staff, in not offending them by saying the wrong thing, in trying to deal with staff who are uncommunicative to the point of rudeness one day and appallingly rude at times to customers on another. It is almost as if there is another standard for workers in charity shops, it would help if they remembered they are there to serve the public not to take their frustrations out on us. And by workers I mean paid workers, I am sure some allowances are made for volunteers although they are screened these days before they start working for charities.
So both myself and my son had a really pleasant experience, my goodness I had almost forgotten what that was like. I found a cute embroidered blouse and a lovely vase to go with my pottery collection and then best of all delved into their superbly organised fabric section where I found over two meters of stunning floral upholstery fabric and a bag of mixed scraps. Best of all it only came to $20.40 and they have a reward card for spending over $20! How good is that?
The fabric bag of scraps was $3.50
The fabric was $4.50
The vase was $3.00
The embroidered tray cloth $1.90
The shirt was $7.50
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