Wellington

Its been really busy in the shop this week, which is good because last week was very quiet.  Surprisingly we have had a lot of customers who are in the area on holiday.  Some have just come across us, and others knew we were here already.  Debby is still poorly, having had tonsillitos she now has a nasty ear infection which is giving her vertigo.  She has missed the arrival of the Christmas fabric, two big boxes.  I looked at them for about two hours because I just didn`t know where to put it all.  I finally pulled myself together and had a big sort out to make room for it.  I haven`t taken any photographs because the charge on my camera had run out, a bit like the charge in me by the time I had finished!  I am still amazed at how many people have been asking for it, and I`ve already sold quite a bit.  One husband today informed me how many weeks there were to Christmas, but I don`t want to think about it so have blanked it out, and will continue to do so until about half way through November, although of course I am happy to sell the fabric to anyone who wants to buy it!

I have decided this week to tell you all a little about Wellington and show you some photographs of our little town.  Apologies to anyone who lives here because you will know it all, and will certainly know what the town looks like, although I have to say my photographs do not do the town any justice at all.  We are amazed at how many people have found our blog from all over the UK, and this week, I had an email from Anne-Marie in Holland which caused great excitement, we are looking forward to meeting her when she comes over in August.

Wellington is a small market town.  Lots of the buildings are Georgian including our shop, which has a cellar that we don`t use.  Debby refuses to go down there, and I hate heights - if you saw the vertical steps down to it you would understand what I mean.  It has a beautiful 15th century church, and some rather substantial buildings some of  which are home to the four big banks.  Lloyds Bank used to be Foxes, and was the last private bank in England to issue their own bank notes - what a claim to fame.  There used to be several woollen mills in the town including Foxes which is still there albeit on a much smaller scale.  Foxes make wonderful woollen fabrics, and you can go to the factory shop to buy them.  A group of my friends have just completed a quilt made of the fabric, which has gone to the NEC for the quilt show, so look out for it.  Debby Meaden from Dragons Den has recently become involved with the factory which has in recent years had financial problems.  Our accountant has her offices in the old Counting House on the factory site, which I just love.  Relyon beds also have a factory in the town.

I am sure most of you have heard of the Duke of Wellington, and apparently he took his name from the town, but I have no idea why.  We have a small museum over the road from us, and one day I will hopefully find the time to go over and find out the answer. 

Wellington Musuem

Because it is a small market town, there are not lots of multi national`s on the High Street, apart from the usual W H Smiths, Boots, Superdrug, plus a small Co-op.  There is a small Waitrose in the town, which I know brings people into town.  Most of the shops however are small independents.  There are quite a few empty shops like most High Streets these days,  in fact we have one next to us, and just a couple of doors away there is a large unit which used to be Woolworths.  However, there is a new curtain shop opening next month, and there have been others since we have been there. 

This is our favourite coffee shop.  Unfortunately Martina who owns it is leaving to go and live in Monaco (have I spelt that right?)  She has been so kind to us since we opened the shop and we shall really miss her.  We have met Tracey who has bought the business from her and she intends to carry on the way it is now, so Debby will be able to have her coffee with soya milk, and I can still treat myself to Tiffin!

This shop is Paprika and is almost opposite us.  They sell lovely gifts, most of them Fair Trade.  There is another very good gift shop round the corner opposite the Chocolate Box called Frame of Mind, but the photograph I took was so terrible it could not go in this blog!  To the left is our bank, which is great, because we can see when the doors open in the morning and close in the afternoon.  We can also see what the queue is like inside, so can time our visits so we don`t have to queue

This is such a lovely building I couldn` leave it out.  To the left is the opticians, but the rest is a shop called Nurtered by Nature. which sells all sorts of things, lot of Fair Trade again, clothes cosmetics, world music, just to name a few.

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 I have included this picture because it is the Fishmongers.  Last year there was a programme on BBC3 called the Young Fishmonger of the year, and the man that owns the shop either came first of second, I can`t remember which, but people come from all over the place to shop there.

This building used to be the Town Offices (I think) but it is looking rather sad now, and although there are retail units in it, most of them are empty.  It`s a pity because its a nice building.

I have included this building just because I like it!  I`m not sure if it is still the Conservative Club.  Next to it on the left is The Garden Cafe.

This lovely brick building is to the right of the Conservative Club and again I think it is a beautiful building.  It is a hairdressers at the moment, and in the basement there is a bar, which I am told is very good, but I am never in Wellington in the evening, so I have yet to find out.

This isn`t a great photograph, and in fact it was bin day, so there is rubbish outside the bank, but this is Lloyds which I mentioned earlier.  A bit further on  the left is a fantastic ironmongers called Perrys which sells everything you can think of.  You don`t find many shops like it any more.  I asked the other day if they sharpened scissors, and they had someone that they send them to.

This road is a bit further along from Dotty Dolly and is the road out of town heading South.  the blue building on the left used to be a pub, but is now a Bed and Breakfast.

I could have taken lots more photographs, but lots of places were having deliveries and the lorries were in the way.  You may have noticed that there is very little traffic, this is rush hour in Wellington or 8.30am at any rate!   It is also the first week of the school holidays.   One shop I wanted to show you was the butchers.  I wanted to take a photograph of the sign above the shop - Tim Potter, son and daughter.  They really do all work in there, and I believe Mrs. Potter does the paperwork.  It`s a great butchers and there are always queues.  They know where all the meat has come from, and they have been known to deliver to me when they haven`t got it ready when I go in early in the morning.

There are three shoe shops none of which I have photographed, an artisan bakers and a fantastic cheese and wine shop - called you have guessed it The Cheese and Wine Shop.  There is also a good little Bookshop, and several excellent Charity Shops and Steptoes as everyone calls it.  Basically they do house clearances amongst other things, and we watch people all day with their purchases going past our shop,including sofas and beds.  Haberdashery Plus is another of our favourites, .Beryl who owns it sells practically anything you can think of in the Haberdashery line,  and very little of it is pre-packed.  She also sells flowers which are always outside the shop - her son has a nursery, but best of all free range eggs which are from her grandson`s hens.  He marks in pencil the day the eggs were laid, and they are delicious.  Oh and I nearly forgot to mention her homemade jam!

Finally I must mention our landlords Helen and Jim who own the newsagents next door.  They are getting quite a reputation for the large range of craft magazines they sell.  I try to stop Debby going in when the Austrialian magazines arrive, but it`s to no avail, I think she has built in radar

Thats it for another week.  It would be so nice if you left a comment.  I know lots of people read this, but sometimes we feel like we are writing it for ourselves.  It`s always lovely when people come into the shop and comment on something they have read on the blog, but it would be even better if they left a comment!

Have a good week.

More Fabric again!

Moda  Farm Yard

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I just think I have cracked this blogging lark, and then I go and make another stupid mistake.  This time I managed to post it without including the photographs, so here goes -

Moda French General Fa-la-la-la-la - you have to look really hard to see it`s a Christmas Fabric!

Borders now added, ready to put together to quilt.

More Fabric

Its been a busy few days, hence we didn`t get round to writing the blog last week.  Debby has been off galivanting again including a trip to Cardiff to see James Taylor - reliving her youth no doubt!  She said he was really good.  I think I mentioned that last week she went on a hen day to Dartmouth and had a champagne breakfast on the river.  When I asked her if she had had a good time she said she had, and she had now apologised to everyone.  She doesn`t drink, but I think it might have had something to do with all those lovely naval cadets down there and perhaps not being as grown up as expected.  Although she did point out that she was hardly going to jump in the water and swim after them!  That probably sounds worse than it was.  She also forgot to take her inhaler, and once on dry land had to spend some time looking for a doctor`s surgery that would give her a prescription to get another one.  I in the mean time was working away in the shop, and haven`t done anything exciting at all!  She is now laid low with tonsillitos (think I may have spelt that wrong, so apologies), and is really rather poorly.

We have had a couple more fabric deliveries this last week.  The first lot arrived, and I thought it must be the Christmas fabric, but it wasn`t.  Instead we received part of a Moda collection called `Farmyard`.  When I first saw it I couldn`t believed we had ordered it, and yes we did order it together, so I can`t blame Debby.  In actual fact I love the colours, and its really rather quirky.  It would make a lovely rug for outside, so I keep telling myself, when I will ever get round to making it is a different matter altogether.

Today another delivery arrived, and yes this time it was some Christmas fabric, it was another Moda fabric fro French General called Fa-la-la-la-la.  When I first looked at it I thought well this isn`t Christmas fabric, but on looking closer I discovered that one bolt which has text on it had little holly leaves, so I would say it`s a very grown up Christmas fabric, so we are still waiting for the bling.  I`m beginning to think Debby didn`t order as much as she thought she had, and we keep getting people in asking for Christmas fabric, if only I were organised enough to start thinking about Christmas.

I spent a large part of the weekend getting my grand daughters quilt ready to start quilting it took me ages, but I was very pleased with the final result.  Last night I started to lay it all out, and then discovered I didn`t have enought spray left in the can, so I had to put it away again, hopefully I will be able to do it tonight.

Well I think that`s it for this week, as I said it`s been busy, but not much to tell you all.

We have had quite a busy week here in Dotty Dolly world.  Debby met lots of South West Quilters last Saturday, and thoroughly enjoyed herself, she told me lots about it, but I can`t have been concentrating because I can`t remember anything she told me!  While she was there I was teaching on a Beginner`s Workshop over at Rockwell Green.  Although it was a beginner`s day there were lots of different levels.  Nina was most definately not a beginner, and produced a lovely cushion cover from her Japanese prints.  Jacquie was a stitcher, but had never attempted patchwork before.  Rachel is often in the shop and put together a really great blue and cream quilt top, I`m looking forward to seeing what the finished quilt looks like.  Francoise was a beginner and made a cushion cover. She brought along a couple of her books which were in French, one of which we have in the shop in English `Quilting In No Time` by Emma Hardy.  There are lots of really good simple projects in the book and several of the others took down the details.  Tip put together a quilt top in greys and reds, and Mandy who has never even used a sewing machine before just about put  a quilt top together for her little girl in pretty florals.   I expect she has finished it now.  They were a lovely bunch, and I think we all enjoyed ourselves, I hope so!

Jacquie`s spots

Nina`s Japanese theme

Rachel`s Blue

Tip`s soft greys, pinks and red

Mandy`s contemporary floral, she didn`t quite finish the sashing

Bright`s from Francoise

I look forward to seeing the the quilts when they are completed!

Debby went to Somerset County Quilters on Monday night where the guest speaker was Ferret.  If you haven`t come across her before she has a really good blog.  Debby said her work was amazing, so much so that she emailed her the next day to see if she might do a workshop for us at some time.  She will be coming back next year, so watch this space.

Robyn Pandolph`s Scarborough Fair

Blue Hill Fabrics.  There are some reds in the collection, but I couldn`t fit them all in

We have had a couple more fabric deliveries this week.  I particularly like the Scarborough Fair collection although having lived in Scarborough as a girl, I don`t think Robyn Pandolph can ever have been there, or felt a cold North East wind  even in summer, because if she had these would not be the colours she would work with!

We often get customers in the shop who make the comment that they don`t want their husbands to see what they have bought or how much they have spent, and usually other customers sympathise and agree, this tends to be the norm.  One day this week, we had a whole day of customers coming in with their husbands, who were all absolutely delightful, who waited patiently while their wives pondered over the fabric, and then put their hands in their pockets and paid for the fabrics, quite large amounts in a couple of cases, where did the rest of us go wrong?  My husband wouldn`t even come in a fabric shop, which is fine by me because I wouldn`t want him to see what I am spending either!

Met an interesting lady yesterday in the shop.  I think her name was Angela, she has just moved to Wellington from Torquay and was telling me about her blog theenglishromantic.blogspot.com.  I had a look last night and she makes some lovely things with a vintage feel.

Got a family day tomorrow, son and daughter-in-law are back having been to a wedding near Frome yesterday, and daughter and son-in-law are also coming with the grandchildren.  Really looking forward to seeing little Charlie who is now 5 weeks old, and of course Georgia his big sister. Off out for a meal tonight and in the kitchen tomorrow.  I feel chained to the kitchen this week.  I got carried away down our allotment picking beetroot to make chutney, but ended up with about 10 jars of beetroot chutney and 5 of pickled beetroot, I am going to be giving quite a bit away, and there is still loads down there.  Debby is gadding about, she went to see Jimmy Carr last night, and is out for dinner tonight.  We will both be back to the grind next week, although Debby is still gadding about on Tuesday on a hen day, I think down to Totnes, on the river - it`s alright for some.

On Monday our 10% off sale will be over.  Debby and I have decided we need to make some new cushion samples, so we will be getting rid of quite a few of our old ones - and we are hoping customers will adopt one for £10.00!

Glastonbury

I think I mentioned last week that I had driven past the Glastonbury site, well this Sunday I went along with our friends Jenny and Vince, my son and his wife, Neil and Claire, and of course my husband John.  We have been going on a Sunday ticket for several years now, but I was not looking forward to it at all this year.  We got to Glastonbury town for 10.00am to be picked up by one of the many buses that take you there.  It was obvioulsy going to be very hot, but we went armed with wellingtons, or in my case walking boots, and my goodness we needed them!  It was very disconcerting to be baking hot and wading through mud.  We always pitch ourselves half way up the field in front of the pyramid stage, the ground  here wasn`t muddy, but shall we say sticky!  The big thing about Glastonbury however, is  whether to go to the toilet, or not to go to the toilet, or at least how long you can hang on until you have to.  If you are a middle aged woman with my bladder, there is no choice!  The day got hotter and hotter, and the toilets more and more smelly, but when you`ve got to go you`ve got to go!  It wasn`t the best Glastonbury musically speaking I was really looking forward to hearing Paul Simon, but he had a bad throat, not his fault, but he has a new album out and sang lots of songs from this.  I am sure they were very good, but what everyone really wants to hear are all his old songs, and unfortunately  he didn`t sing very many of them.  However, Don Maclean was brilliant, and we all enjoyed singing along to Starry Starry Night, and of course American Pie!
The day was very long and very hot, and at one point I told myself I would never ever go again.  It finished with Beyonce (I think that`s how you spell her name) who I wasn`t really bothered about, but my goodness me could she perform and belt the songs out, accompanied not only by an all female band, but amazing fireworks too!  I fianlly crawled into bed just after two on Monday morning, and who knows I may go again!

                                           The photograph doesn`t do the spandex trousers any justice, but it had to be taken.  Later there were about six men in them, but it was too dark to take a picture.   

Beyonce is there somewhere!

Debby tells me she got into trouble in the shop yesterday.  A lady came in with her young son, I`m not sure what the conversation was about, but at one point Debby said `Oh my God` as you do, and the little boy told her off.  She apologised, and his mother said, he does think he is the God Police, so now Debby is worried everytime she opens her mouth that she will be taken to task, and is trying very hard not to say Oh my God, which she does say a lot!

On Satuday Debby is off to Honiton to a South West Quilters `do`.  We were very pleased that they asked if we would be interested in having a stand.  We have been deliberating all day about what she should take, so hope we have made the right decisions. 

We are still getting customers in the shop from all sorts of interesting places.  On Tuesday a very nice Scottish lady came in who is staying in the area, before she goes to see family in Scotland, on leave from West Africa.  She lived in America before that, and has done lots of quilting, so has probably gone from the sublime to ridiculous.  It was good to meet Wendy today who came with her friend from further up the county.  I knew I had met her before, but couldn`t think when or where, until she reminded me that I used to teach her daughter, it`s such a small world.  It was lovely to see her again, and I loved her linen bag with red buttons embroidered on it and the fantastic red and white spotty lining.

We have finally received all our fabric orders for some time now, but thats probably just as well as the shop is bulging at the seams.  That said we are expecting our Christmas fabric in soon, I can`t believe I have told you all that, but we have been asked for it already and have sold several advent calenders.  Debby goes quite quiet when this fabric is mentioned, but I am convinced she wants to open a Christmas Shop!

Back to normal

Well Debby and I are both back now, and spent the afternoon in the shop together as we always do on a Thursday afternoon.  Yesterday a new delivery arrived, mostly plain pastels which we are very pleased with.  Debby was a little concerned as it was only half the order, and when I got back from the class this morning the other half had arrived.  Debby was drowning in a sea of spots, lots of lovely colours, and nowhere to put them!  We had felt we had got rather low, and obviously with our name we love spots, but I think we may have got a little carried away, so if you are looking for spots, you know where to come.

I had a little trip over to Shepton Mallet on Tuesday.  I have belonged to a co-operative gallery over there for a while now, but have decided it is too much of a commitment, so decided it was time to call it a day.  I have one day left over there next week and it is my last.  When I saw the date for my stint in the shop I didn`t think much about it, but suddenly realised at the weekend that it`s Glastonbury this week.  I decided to go home avoiding Glastonbury itself, but it`s such a huge site that I couldn`t avoid it at all, and ended up in a queue of Camper vans all waiting to get in - they weren`t supposed to be letting them in until 9.00pm that night, so I was not amused, the air was blue to say the least.  It took me three quarters of an hour longer than normal.  I mustn`t complain too much because I am going myself for the day on Sunday as I do every year, but it`s different when you just want to get home.  Please pray for sunshine, and for all the mud to have disappeared by Sunday!

Debby and I have been making plans this week, and are setting the wheels in motion for a brand new website from which you will be able to order on line, which is all very exciting for us.  We have booked a stand  at the  Malvern Show in October (hopefully we will be able to sell some of the Christmas fabric ordered - I think I have told you Debby has ordered enough to fill another shop!)  The website will take a few weeks yet,
but we are looking forward to its completion.

For those of you who don`t know, from Monday 27th June and for the next two weeks we will be selling all our fabric with 10% off - this includes our new stock. some of which is shown above.

We have also been finalising details for our new evening class.  We have been to look at the hall which is at West Buckland and NOT Buckland St. Mary!  We aim to start on Wednesday 3rd August.  It may seem a bit mad to start then, but several people have said they are quite happy to, so we have decided to go ahead.  We will send details individually but if you are interested give us a ring or email us.  We have decided to run quilting and dressmaking at the same time.  The hall is a lovely large size and there is plenty of room for both.  I will teach the dressmaking and Debby will teach the quilting.

I have been plodding away at my several quilts.  I have been messing around with jelly rolls and made a small one using half a jelly roll.  I say made, but so far I have only completed the quilt top, but I like the colours.  It`s only about a metre square, and I will need to do something with the green squares, not sure what yet.  I have also completed some more of the blocks for my grand daughter`s quilt which I mentioned in a previous blog.  This time I am able to show you a picture, albeit not a very good one!  There is quite a lot of work to do on this one yet.  The blocks are all different sizes, and I am not sure how I am going to put them together yet!  The little people will need faces, and there will be quite a lot of quilting to do, but I am really pleased with the way it is going so far.  I ordered my Camelot quilt pattern which I mentioned Shirley from Stitchery do was making.  I have decided I need something really challenging, and this certainly will be.  I keep wandering around the shop, and thinking this will look nice and that will look great.  I`ve just got to wait for it to come from Australia now!

Well I have finally run out of things to say now- makes a change!

Joan

Power going to my head!

Flushed with success having been in the shop by myself this week, I feel ready to attempt another post.  It`s been quite a quiet week in Wellington, but we have kept ticking along.  I`ve met some interesting people, one lady from Shropshire told me she had discovered this blog, and was on holiday in the area so came to look us up.  She was very complimentary about the shop which was very nice of her.  The next day another customer came in who holidays regularly in the West Country, she had seen our stand at Westpoint and again came to have a look, she tells me she will be back which is lovely to hear, so if either of you do read read this post, you will know who you are, and thank you for your kind words and encouragement.

We had the disappearing 9 patch workshop with Anne yesterday, and although I didn`t get to see any of the work as I was in the shop, the feedback was good.  I picked up a couple of samples from Anne to put in the shop for the Layer Cake workshop she is doing for us in July.  She did this earlier in the year, and it proved so popular we have decided to run it again.  Well I just loved one of the samples, actually they were both lovely, but the one above was just my favourite.  (I hope you are all very impressed I have finally managed to get a photograph to appear on the blog without any help.  It was more by luck than judgement but I`ve done it!)  I spent a very pleasant hour looking at various different layer cakes, none of which I liked as much as Anne`s, but I am determined I am going to make it.  Why is it that other people`s work always looks so much better than mine.  I just have to make a decision now as to who I can make it for, but that  shouldn`t be too difficult.

We have had two deliveries of fabric this week.  One I had forgotten we had ordered, it`s called feedsacks, and is based on the fabrics used for flour sacks in the 1930s.  I`ve always loved the fabrics and just the idea really.  Wouldn`t it be lovely if we could buy our food in these lovely cotton prints, it would make life a little more interesting.  The photograph doesn`t really do them much justice really but hopefully you will get the idea.  This is just a small part of the range.

The other fabric came today, great excitement as far as I was concerned, as we have been waiting for this for a while now.  It`s from Stof, a new supplier for us, I particularly like the red and white collection, and can`t wait to do something with it, not sure what yet.  I just love red and white, it gives a really clean and fresh look.  Another quilt that I would love to make when there are enough hours in the day is a red and white one using churn dash blocks, so may be this will get me started.  I am struggling to know where to put it all the fabric.  There are several bolts of linen which we thought we would try, its everything we expected it to be, but it`s very wide, in fact too wide to go on our shelves,. whoops  Debby will probably come in tut tutting next week when I am not there and change it all around, but if she can make a better job than me, then great!  There are several other fabrics from Stof, but having uploaded 3 pictures onto the blog (not even sure if that`s the correct term!) I will probably need to go and have a lie down to recover from the shock of getting it right.

Shirley who writes the Stitcherydo blog came in to the shop today and brought her medallion blocks which are just wonderful.  They are beautifully made and inspirational.  She has made them all by hand, and of course I want to make some of them too! I went as far as to get the details from her, but have left them in the shop, so am uable to send away for the pattern tonight.  If you don`t know what I am talking about do go to her blog and have a look at them, you will feel like I do and want to make some straight away.  If I was really clever I would be able to fix it so that you just click on Stitcherydo and hey presto you would be there, but I can only do one thing at a time.  That`s my project for the next post!

Finally, I had a lovely young customer who came into the shop today with her partner and 4 month old baby girl.   She wants to make a quilt for her little girl, something that she can keep, made by her mum.  Call me a sentimental old fool, but I just love the fact that she wants to do that, and not go off to one of the big multiples and buy an overpriced quilt made in the far east and which loads of other people have. It won`t matter what it looks like, it will have been made with love, and that`s why I love what I do.  Blimey that sounds a bit heavy and over the top, but I expect you will all understand what I am trying to say!