We're probably taking a longish trip to the UK over the Christmas period, the main areas we'll be in are Manchester, Hull, Edinburgh and Cambridge, but there will probably be day trips to catch up with friends who aren't in those locations.
So firstly, I'd like to compile a list of shops worth visiting and secondly, I'd like to extend my services as transporter of goods, my last visit, I brought over some rotary cutting blades for someone.
The more warning I have, the more chance I have of getting good offers!
Glad to hear you may be coming back to the UK for a visit, hope it helps you touch base even though Christmas has its own demands.
I don't think I need anything transporting, but am in the Manchester area myself (jct 19 M62) and would be happy to meet up and have a coffe find some fabric or just chill. Drop me an email if you feel up to that.
I am nowhere near any of your locations - I rarely am! However, in case you weren't 'into' quilting when you were in Cambridge, perhaps you might find time to visit The Bramble Patch, near Northampton. If you think it is possible for you, just let me know and I will send you full address, telephone number and directions. .
So you've got to visit the National Quilt Museum in York.
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a treat, and if you email them, they could probabably getsomething out for you if you wanted. There are also new exhibitionsdue over Christmas, so depending on your dates you might catch either,or both. The New Year one sounds particularly good. As for LQS, we are fairly poor in that area. there's a good one in Scarborough, but that's a fair step up the coast from Hull. If you travel to Edinburgh from Hull/Manchester by car there are a couple with good reputations on the way.
And if you had time to pop into Beamish, you'd get an eyeful of all the lovely Durham quilts.
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And Jedburgh is a great stopping off place with a famous history.
In small towns within an hour of Edinburgh by public transport: LQS's in Melrose (or did they close down?), Dunbar, Haddington, West Calder and Linlithgow (which has a couple of other fabric-related shops in the high street). In Edinburgh itself, Edinburgh Fabrics in Newington and the Cloth Shop in Pilrig. In Glasgow, Mandor's in the city centre. Good sewing machine shops: Drummond's in Edinburgh and Pemberton's in Stirling. Apart from West Calder, all these places are worth a visit for their visual/historical interest.
The most interesting textile-related museum I know of is the Verdant Works jute mill in Dundee. No connection with quilting at all, but it covers every conceivable aspect of the industry. There are also some interesting things about the weaving industry in the People's Palace Museum in Glasgow, which is on the edge of the Calton, once the main industrial weaving centre in Scotland (did you know they used to make most of the world's supply of Arab headscarves?).
Manchester probably has textile museums too (it used to export most of the cotton print textiles worn in Africa, and created many of the dramatic patterns we think of as typically African) but it's not a place I know very well.
==== j a c k at c a m p i n . m e . u k === ==== Jack Campin, 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland == mob 07800 739 557 CD-ROMs and free stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, and Mac logic fonts
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The Museum of Science & Industry, in Manchester itself, has a working testile display where they start with baled cotton (as off the ship from the USA) and then demonstrate all the processes through to woven cloth. Interesting and noisy.
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Helmshore textile museum, about 20 miles to the north of Manchester, has a variety of exhibits taking in the cotton and wool cloth industries from cottage industry through to large mechanised mills.
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Both are worth a visit, but MOSI takes longer because there is so much more than textiles: the steam house (stationary & rolling steam engines), air & space gallery, exhibition on the birth of computers & programming etc. I don't know when & if Helmshore will be open in December as the website only mentions April-October opening hours
Hi, if you are travelling up from Hull to Edinburgh there is
Quilters Cupboard - west side of durham, not open every day Dainty supplies - Just off the A1M at washington. Sells all sort of crafty stuff although the quilt section was quite small last time I went.
If you want suggestions of stuff to do with kids, let me know!
I get the impression that the main difference is that there's a lot more cheap, low-thread-count, short-staple fabric sold in the US, whereas UK quilting shops are more selective in what they stock (since quilting has always been a more niche, upmarket hobby over here). Match like for like and the price difference is a lot less.
==== j a c k at c a m p i n . m e . u k === ==== Jack Campin, 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland == mob 07800 739 557 CD-ROMs and free stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, and Mac logic fonts
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I can buy UK made quilting fabrics from the USA online places and have it shipped back here for less than I can buy the exact same stuff here in the UK! And that includes shipping... Mad, or what? £9.99 a metre vs $7 plus shipping works to my advantage, but not to that of the UK shops.
==== j a c k at c a m p i n . m e . u k === ==== Jack Campin, 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland == mob 07800 739 557 CD-ROMs and free stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, and Mac logic fonts
****** I killfile Google posts - email me if you want to be whitelisted ******
Good golly! No wonder you use every scrap. Sheesh! I couldn't be a quilter at those prices and I sure wouldn't have a stash. My sympathies and admiration to you for being so dedicated to our art.
That's why we flock to Quilt shows where there are often deals to be had.
Anyway, back to the trip, do I get to meet up?
Oh, and news from the Quilting Museum in York. They are closed from
23rd December till the 9th January. They are changing the Exhibition from the Turkey Red one (which is fab, btw) to one entitled 'Celtic' something or other. That one will be brilliant, too.
Yep, you warned me about that before we were there, Roberta. So we got the good lebkuchen from you and went off to Rothenburg o.d.T.; the quilt shop there carried an extensive selection of Westfalenstoffe:
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Store-owner's husband also gave us some history about the fabric;better price on it there than here, so I mailed home a bundle of it. Other customers were scooping up the American fabrics which were new tothem. It all works out. ;-) Btw, the U.S. quilting fabric in "overseas" quilt shops is (usually) the SAME fabric we get here in the QUILT shops, NOT cheap knock-offs. Quality comes at a price. The U.S. brands here
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19 Euros per meter is the exact SAME fabric, quality & maker, as wepay $9 for here in the U.S. (I do know my fabric). Btw, it was$6 a yard in the Amish shop in Arthur, IL. Texas cotton crop is down significantly this year (drought); if prices on fabric &/or batting goes up in response, I hope to have a good cushion against that inflation. *snort*
Cheers! R/Sandy - > I don't actually buy all that much locally -it's just not feasible.
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