A day out in Bath...

So yesterday I took the day off and caught the train up to Bath for the day to meet  up with my mum and sister who were staying with friends in Wiltshire for a few days. I do love Bath... in fact I was actually born there, and although I've lived all over the country since, I'm really glad that we now live quite close again, it is such a great city. I try to go up about once a month, it takes about an hour on the train (a really slow one though that stops at every little town and village on the way) but the journey is really scenic so it doesn't seem too bad at all! I haven't actually been for a while though cos I've been so busy lately, but also as I'm now too old for a young person's railcard (sob!) it makes it quite expensive!

I went up on the ten o clock train so I had some time to myself to do some fabric and yarn shopping before the others arrived... I have a few shops which I have to visit each time I visit Bath to get my fabric and yarn fix. One of my first stops was Wool, a relatively new yarn shop, located on Old Orchard Street. Being only quite new to the whole yarn thing myself, I've only popped in a couple of times before, but this time, I was on a mission! I was looking for yarn for a new project... I wasn't exactly sure what brand or colours I was after but oh my, I wasn't disappointed with the choice!

Source

The whole shop was crammed full of delicious colours and yarns, with a comfy looking sofa with a colourful granny blanket thrown over... It has a nice relaxed atmosphere where I didn't feel intimidated by my lack of yarny knowledge! The lovely lady who owns the shop (in above picture) was really friendly and helpful but let me just potter about and mull over my choices.

There were so many different brands of yarn but I was drawn to the few makes I had actually heard of... One of which was Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino.... so many gorgeous colours and so, so soft! Really gorgeous yarn... I just had to have some of it! I had done a bit of research online before I went, but buying in person is always so much better as you can see the colours for what they really are and feel the texture and quality up close. I must admit that I do tend to buy quite a lot of supplies etc online as we live out in the sticks now, but I do love to support my local craft and yarn shops when and where I can.

Anyway I spent quite a while pulling out different colours, trying them out in combinations to see what jumped out at me. I'd decided before I went that I wanted a more muted palette than I've used for my recent stylecraft blankets, something softer, maybe greens and duck eggs... I also wanted to try out a 'luxury' yarn as opposed to my usual cheap and cheerful stuff!      

This is what I came away with....

Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous... aren't they! I must admit a teeny bit of guilt did go through me as I went to pay. It is quite an extravagance for me at £5.50 a ball, especially considering the balls are only 50g each. I haven't even tried it out yet but I can already tell it will be worth it, the quality of it feels so nice.

Anyway I'm really happy with my colour choices. Although most of you probably associate brighter colours with me, with the exception of my studio, which yes, to be honest, is full to bursting with colour, the rest of the house is actually quite neutral. I love the calming nature of these soft and beautiful colours, they are the colours I am drawn to for a lot of my soft furnishings. 

I think I am going to make a cushion with my yarn, something snuggly for the sofa. I would love to make another stripey blanket, or maybe even a ripple but I don't think I can justify the cost of using such expensive yarn for something so big! I am possibly going to add a little pink to the mix... I'm not sure though. I do love the greens and blues together, but I just wonder whether there will be enough contrast for me with what I have chosen. Will make up a couple of squares I think and then decide...

Anyway, I also popped into Country Threads too, my favourite fabric shop, and which handily, is right across the street from Wool!

Source

 

Source

It is a bit of a treasure trove as there is a whole room hidden away at the back of the shop, crammed full of all manner of quilting and patchwork fabrics, threads, ribbons, tools and books. I can often lose hours in here (not a joke). The staff are always really friendly but to be honest, kind of leave me to it, I am in there that long! Though yesterday I was actually quite organised as I had a project in mind which I needed some new fabric for, which I decided on quite quickly. I did also impulse buy some new 'London' fabric (new mirrors coming shortly!) some felt, some pom pom trim and some new scissors though but other than that I was really good and stuck to my 'shopping list', haha!

Oooh and I also popped into The Makery, another fab new crafty shop in Bath (readers of Mollie Makes will recognise it!), on Northumberland Place.

Source

It is an absolutely gorgeous little shop full of cute fabrics, felts, buttons, trimmings and ribbons, and the window displays are always so creative too. So many lovely things to look at, you don't know where to look first! I got chatting to Kate who runs the shop when I was in a few months ago and she is lovely too. They also run lots of workshops for all sorts of different things, from embroidery and sewing, to felt making, lampshade making, bookbinding and knitting amongst many many more! Check out their website for more info.

Sorry for the lack of my own pictures on this post and of the insides of all these wonderful shops, but hopefully you will check out their websites, or even better, pay them a visit in person! They really are a crafty person's heaven!! Anyway I had a really lovely day out, and it was so nice to see my mum and sister again (even though I only saw them two weeks ago!) it was really great to catch up and spend the day together. Hope you are enjoying the weekend too, will be back soon xxx