Pages

▼

Thursday, 25 January 2018

Amitie Textiles - Jen Kingwell's shop in Australia

Last week we went to Australia for my son's cricket tournament.  This year it was held at The Geelong College, just 1 hour's drive from Melbourne.  Even better, the college is just a 30 minute drive from Jen Kingwell's shop, Amitie Textiles, in Torquay. Win, win!!
 

 

I was fortunate enough to visit Amitie twice during our stay.  On the first day I was a bit rushed because my husband was waiting outside in the car, but on the second visit I was by myself and could look at everything!


If you're a fabric lover it really does take more than an hour to look at everything in the shop.  There are so many bolts of fabric, all sorted nicely by colour.  Then there are all the patterns and templates to peruse.  Amitie make their own acrylic templates, so there was a huge variety of templates to look at.


Some of Jen's quilts are hung up high to admire, but others are left on long tables for customers to pick up and study closely.  I particularly enjoyed looking at the hand quilting, and the subtle background fabrics Jen uses to bring out the other fabrics in her quilts.

On Thursday morning a group of ladies were settling in to enjoy a few hours of quiet hand sewing.  The on site cafe was churning out coffees as most people picked one up one on the way past.

My purchases from my first visit

I enjoyed a coffee as one of the very helpful shop ladies cut some fat 16ths of the very latest Liberty for me.

My purchases from the second day

I couldn't stay and sew because the temperature was expected to climb to 41C that day (106F).  And it did.  I have never been so hot!!!  Fortunately our apartment had air conditioning.


And a lovely view from the balcony.


Here's some photos of The Geelong College where the cricket tournament was held.  It was founded in 1861 and has amazing grounds and buildings.











at

12 comments:

  1. Katrina25 January 2018 at 14:10

    Looks like fabric heaven to me Wendy :) and what an amazing spot for the cricket tournament.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Julie25 January 2018 at 18:31

    Well, Amitie would be a dangerous place to visit,. The college buildings and grounds are beautiful, I'll try not to imagine what critters might be living in all that ivy stuff climbing over the buildings.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kunzfrau25 January 2018 at 20:41

    Boah, da würde ich auch gerne mal stöbern und einkaufen. Ich war noch nie in Australien. Das sit ganz schön weit weg von mir!

    Gruß Marion

    ReplyDelete
  4. Barb Neiwert26 January 2018 at 02:18

    Oh, looks like you had particular fun at this shop! Lots of projects await you now. And the campus is beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Danette 26 January 2018 at 03:34

    Wonderful photos! I would love to visit Australia someday.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Judy26 January 2018 at 06:45

    Oh how awesome to go to her shop and see her wonderful fabrics! It’s wonderful you live over there! I’m surprised they have the game in the heat. I’m sure they were kept hydrated. Great gifts to come back with, and to see ladies hand sewing. I wish it was me going. I wonder how the prices are compared to the USA. Most fabric here runs $10-12 a yard online. Thank you for the great post!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Genevieve Gerrard26 January 2018 at 09:31

    Gorgeous pics! I lived in Geelong as a small child, I don't remember ever visiting the college, though.

    ReplyDelete
  8. cityquilter grace26 January 2018 at 15:03

    what an awesome shop....and they cut 16ths??? wow, gorgeous fabrics indeed...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous26 January 2018 at 15:16

    What a fabulous shop....must make sure I visit when next in Victoria.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dondi M27 January 2018 at 11:37

    You chose very well. It must have been so hard to have a budget. The shop looks amazing. Thank you for the awesome field trip you gave to all of us!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Granny Maud's Girl27 January 2018 at 15:08

    I see some lovely new Liberty among those purchases.
    I cannot imagine what being that hot for the first time must have fell like. We are hardened to it!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Linda @ kokaquilts29 January 2018 at 16:42

    Ah yes, it's a wonderful shop, so easy to go crazy buying bits & pieces, love your choices! They seem to have so many different fabrics from what's available here in NZ.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting my blog. I do read all your lovely comments and always reply to questions, either by direct email or by leaving a comment on the blog post if you are a no reply blogger. Sometimes there are just too many kind comments to reply to everyone. I hope you understand.