Sunday, January 23, 2011

Calico and Ivy in Balmain



We had a great day on Friday, Donna showed me around her new workplace. I forgot my camera, so she kindly lent me her good iphone. It was lovely to meet one of the co-owners Sarah, and Amy, who showed us her gorgeous fabric combination that she spoke of here.



Calico and Ivy in Balmain is the sister shop to the one in Perth. The Balmain store looks for all the world like a renovated boatshed, and is located in Birchgrove Road, a leafy street just off the hustle of Darling Street.



It is a cornucopia of treasures for the mindful sewer or knitter. Liberty lawn, japanese linens, kaffe fasset fabrics, Rowan and Debbie Bliss yarns and lots more.



There is so much there, but the three things that got me really excited were:



Rowan Felted Tweed. I just swooned over the huge range Felted Tweed colours - and with the explosion of sport weight cardigan and pullover patterns - I loved the pearly oystery pinks, lilacs and mushroom shades. I'll be back for a cardigan's worth as soon as I can decide on a colour.



Sophie Digard crocheted scarves and shawls
. I saw these items on display at Alexandra Palace knitting and stitching show in London in October, and had I been more flush or had more luggage space, I totally would have bought one. These airy organic peices are hand-crocheted (for there is no other way to crochet, it is impossible to machine-crochet) in wonderful earthy natural colours. They really are breathtaking. I want one as a throw for the raspberry french style chair I have in my bedroom.


Kaffe Fasset rugs
- these riots of colour mimic his effusive style - I thought they were perfect for girls bedrooms, or to give a little pop to a white on white colour scheme in a sunroom or bathroom. And very reasonably priced too. When I go back for my Felted Tweed, one of these might fall into the basket.



But, lets face it, the visit to Calico and Ivy was maybe just an excuse to go to another place round the corner. This place here.



(I'm besotted with Balmain now, I've even looked at property listings in the area. I can't afford them.)

6 comments:

Rose Red said...

oh, I can't wait to visit Calico and Ivy!! All those lovely things!

soknitpicky said...

I've never seen that much Felted Tweed all in one place. Wow!

Thanks for the "fencepost" idea. Clever!

Baa-Me Kniits said...

many many moons ago before Balmain was trendy I used to spend a lot of time there :-)

Ducks and Rabbits said...

Oooh I'm so jealous! I can't wait to make a pilgrimage there, but also can't forsee when it will happen. I might faint from all the glorious fabric and yarn!

1funkyknitwit said...

D.R.O.O.L. !!!!!!!

I can't believe you managed to get there before me and I live down the road...ahahah

School must get back asap, then hop skip jump to Calico & Ivy !! ..new years resolution ;)

Gorgeous photos !! ...sigh!!!

DrK said...

What a great looking shop, and can I just say you look totally at home here? And what, no tower of macarons? Or is that macaroons. Such hard work being trendy. Oh sweety darling, its lacroix.....