S-H-O-P-P-I-N-G - We're shopping

I heard this Pet Shop Boys song the other day when I was sewing and it got me thinking! I normally really hate shopping, for clothes especially. Christmas shopping has lost all its magic for me as well. When I do have to go into a department store, especially this time of year, I find the huge displays of stuff to buy (that I don't need) almost overwhelming. I don't want to be snobby about this - I really used to love going round the shops and choosing all my Christmas presents, but I think I've done it too many times and the novelty has worn off. It most certainly has lost its attraction for me.

But fabric ...... well shopping for fabric is a completely different matter. I LOVE shopping for fabric. Maybe it's because I don't have to worry about whether it suits me, or because I can buy just a little bit for not very much money, but for me shopping for fabric has some of the old magic that shopping for clothes or presents used to have when I was younger.

I found this list of quilt shops on the blog needles and lemons which I really liked. I thought I might try and make a list of shops I like in the Midlands soon. I've worked out that I use shops for quite different purposes - so I have those that I might make a special effort to go to which have a huge range, but I also like some of the small local ones where choice is limited but reflects what the shop owner likes. I do usually try and buy something wherever I go, however small, because I think it must be tough running a real live fabric shop when the internet is so all encompassing . If we don't use the little shops we will certainly lose them.

This weekend my husband and I treated ourselves to a trip on a vintage steam train  from Tamworth to York and back for our Christmas present.

It was a lovely ride, and when we got to York we headed for the shops. Not for us the busy Christmas streets or the queue for Betty's - no, I nipped into a fabric shop and he went to a model  railway shop. The Viking Loom was a really lovely craft and haberdashery shop - small but full of carefully chosen fabrics. For just a little more than £20 I brought home six fat quarters as a memento of our day in York that one day will find their way into a quilt and remind me of that trip. Now that's my idea of shopping!