I'm off to the 'Big-Smoke' ...

... yes siree! I am heading south to the fashion capital of Australia ... Melbourne, with it's European lifestyle and unusual climate, it does give the impression around this little country of ours as being more fashion forward and quirky than the other cities. My holiday is only a fleeting 4 day weekend, with poor hubby in tow, but I am sure I will be able to do some damage to the credit card in a few of the fabric stores.

Coming from Brisbane way, I am excited to be able to visit a few different fabric stores. Yes, I know, there is always online shopping, but we all must admit, there is nothing equal to just being in the store, with all the bolts of beautiful fabrics lined up and being able to actually touch each (and every) one.

The lovely Suzy from Suzy Bee Sews has given the addresses of 3 shops she recommends -

* Rathdowne Fabrics

* GJ Discount Fabrics

* Clear It

So let me warn you, by early next week there may not be much left in these shops. And my main aim is to stock up on knit/stretch fabrics. Up this way there isn't a great range of stretch fabrics around. Plenty of cheap poly-blend with poor recovery is readily available, but I am after the good high-quality knit fabrics in a range of types ... jersey, ponte etc. 

In my pattern stash I discovered that there already are a few (what an understatement) stretch patterns that I have collected over the years - 

Hopefully I will come back fully laden with fabric to keep me busy for the rest of my holidays ... 

... and are there any other recommended stores that you feel need my attention whilst I'm in the Melbourne neighbourhood???