I arrived into Auckland almost a week ago. I've got about 10 days on my own and then I join a small group tour for three weeks. So far NZ is really reminding me of the west coast of Canada where I grew up before I emigrated to England - all the greenery and water and the low rise timber buildings.
In Auckland I caught the train to the suburb of Penrose to visit the Ribbon Rose sewing centre that I had seen recommended online. By UK standards this is an enormous three storey craft shop that sells various needlecraft supplies including a wide range of knitting wool, art supplies, and a floor of fabric mostly for quilting. They have all the big names from the UK and America/Europe like Rowan for yarn, and Kaffe Fassett and Tilda for fabric. Once I had ascertained that they would be willing to ship to the UK for me, I was looking out for NZ souvenirs. I got a couple of balls of 70% merino/ 30% possum fur - possum is a pest here that they are trying to eradicate and apparently its fur is really warm and cosy. I found a couple of NZ themed cross stitch bookmarks as well. I had mostly come to see their Kiwiana - NZ themed quilt fabric range. They had just restocked so there was a
shelf full of Maori designs, kiwi symbols like the fruit and the bird, bird designs, ferns etc. I got a long quarter cut of most of them, with some extra of the fern fabric to use possibly as the border for a scrappy memory quilt of NZ. Super friendly and helpful staff and so much to choose from, a fun shop. It's all on its way back to the UK now.
The same day I was walking through the pretty shopping street in Parnell and came across another yarn shop on Parnell Road. This one stocked more hand-dyed yarn, fun to look but I didn't buy anything.
From Auckland, I flew here to Napier which is a smaller town famous for its collection of Art Deco buildings. Randomly, there is a well stocked Japan goods store in the centre called Raku with all kinds of wonderful Japanese and kawaii goods including many bolts of fabric. I found some sumo fabric I don't have, and a fabric of Japanese woodcut pictures, and a couple of other pretty ones. I think I am going to have to try to post a box from Auckland before the tour starts.
The Art Deco Trust maintains an attractive shop selling various vintage and repro goods, and I found a darling handpainted porcelain Nodder doll made by Colleen Crooks in Palmerston North. It's like a little Frozen Charlotte doll except the head is separate and attached by elastic so it can move. I took a walking tour run by the Trust to see many of the wonderful Art Deco buildings in the town centre.
1 comment:
Such a fun trip. It's interesting to see that even halfway across the world, we crafters are using the same tools - I thought I saw Clover accessories and Red Heart Yarn in your pictures. But then, of course, there are the things you can't get anywhere else, like those beautiful and unique fabrics you've purchased. Have a wonderful trip!
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