So Friday was a rather sad day for all of us sewing/crafty type people in Wellington as it was the FINAL DAY EVER for our beloved Arthur Toye Fabrics.
It seems that Arthur Toye Fabrics has been around for about a million years - I remember advertising for Arthur Toye being on TV when I was a kid.
When I first started sewing a couple of years ago I loved going to Arthur Toye and not just because it was ten minutes from my apartment. I just loved the selection of fabric they had, especially all the fun quilting cotton. I know some people say don't sew clothing from quilting cotton - whatever, if I like something I'm going to sew with it somehow.
The other great thing about Arthur Toye was that the people that worked there were genuinely interested in fabric and sewing and I felt like I could ask them questions and they would be able to answer them with some level of knowledge.Unlike other "mega" craft/fabric stores - you all know what I'm talking about.
I also loved the fact that Arthur Toye was near not only my apartment, but also my office! So if I was having a rough day and needed to get get out of the office and do something I would often go to Arthur Toye. Sometimes I would buy things, but other times I would just look at all the lovely fabric - it just made me feel better about things.
But now the dream is over and last Friday I went to Arthur Toye with some of the Wellington Sewing Bloggers, for the final time, to hunt out some final bargains and say bye bye to one of our favourite stores.
I think most of us wore something that we had made from Arthur Toye Fabrics - I wore my most recent make, my Laurel Mask Dress. Here's a group shot with our final purchases.
Then a shot of extreme sadness...
We are so not impressed! I know, you may be wondering what I bought, but there have been a number of purchases over the past month (if you follow me on instagram, you would have seen recent pattern hauls) which I will share over time. To be honest, I feel like everything I make over the next six months will be from fabric or a pattern from Arthur Toye!
Thanks to Mel from The Curious Kiwi for these photos.
