First visit to Stitchbird

What to do when a visiting quilter comes to the big city?  Why not visit a “new to me” quilt shop in Kilbirnie, Stitchbird, a place I had long wanted to check out.  As out of towners ourselves, this was the ideal opportunity to give both me and my new  friend Sharyn a quilty experience. Sharyn arrived on the Dawn Princess cruise ship just that morning for a day in Wellington,  and we were giving her a quick sightseeing tour around the capitol city.

Stitchbird is a lovely shop, light and airy, and obviously the business is on the way up, as they have already changed to bigger premises.  Here we are – this is the place.

Stitchbird in Kilbirnie

We both got a warm welcome as we entered the doors – very important I feel, as a friendly greeting always makes you feel you are coming to a nice friendly establishment.  We were free to browse around, take photos (I asked first, of course), and the girls were at hand to offer help and advice if needed.  Stitchbird Fabrics was born out of a desire to bring some gorgeous fabrics that are available overseas to New Zealand, and offers contemporary, retro and vintage style fabrics as well as accessories and gift ideas.

Quilting fabrics and patterns

I loved the large selection of baby gifts, tiny little soft shoes, little hats, bunnies, even some cute bunting.  Just a shame that no one in my family is at the baby stage at the moment, otherwise I wouldn’t know where to start – or stop, for that matter!

For the well dressed baby

There was a lot to look at, from cushions and aprons, to a wide range of haberdashery items.  Something for everyone, I’m sure.  Sharyn picked out a couple of green fat quarters to go into her latest project for when she returns home, and I purchased a couple of patterns.  You can find Stitchbird at Shop 25 Kilbirnie Plaza in Wellington, or check out the web site.

It is a lovely, airy shop

The friendly advice even extended on where we could go for lunch.  Try the Spruce Goose, we were told, in Lyall Bay,  just before Wellington Airport.  So we did, the food was delicious, and we watched out the large windows as one plane after another took off for an adventure.

We lunched at the Spruce Goose