Sunday 27 April 2014

Graduation and Birthday shopping spree

I'll be honest, I know that opinions are divided when it comes to haul videos/posts. But I personally love reading/watching them, because I almost always am introduced to a new brand, product, or item that I love and would never have found otherwise. 

So here is my birthday/graduation haul from Spotlight. 

Please excuse my cat Vergil, it is raining and he is sulking because he doesn't want to get wet!

This is just the fabrics, I also got patterns which I will show you after the fabrics!

Gorgeous Japanese cotton with retro scooters - how could I leave this behind?! I got 5m, as it is only 112cm wide,  and it will be made into a dress.


Adorable bears on pink poplin. I am going to make myself a romper/playsuit out of this, as it is just adorable. Any excess will be made into something similar for my niece. I got 4m at 109cm wide. 


 Dancing gnomes on yellow - I was really taken in by these gnomes (as you'll see in the next photo!) although was nervous of the yellow backing - I have not worn yellow for many, many years, I find it doesn't look quite right on me. However I decided to push my luck, as this is a gorgeous butter yellow rather than something bright, and I couldn't pass up these wee darlings. I got 2m at 112cm wide. This was a 'I don't know what I want to make with this fabric but oh my gosh I need it in my life' purchase, something that is very, very rare for me!


World traveller gnomes on sky blue - Ah, yes, more gnomes. Seriously, these guys are adorable. Absolutely hands down adorable. And they are on holiday! This was another 2m by 112cm wide buy, and as with the previous gnomes I don't have a set plan, I just knew I needed it.


Nursery train poplin on blue - I saw this and absolutely fell in love with the sweet little train motif, so I decided to get 3m of it at 112cm wide. When the lady at the counter was unrolling it, I noted that there was almost nothing left past my 3m mark, so said I'd take what she had left. I ended up with 3.4m by 112cm, which is easily enough for just about any project I could possibly want it for.

Cherry Blossom quilting cotton - I grabbed this on a whim because it was so gorgeous, and got 95cm by 112cm - all they had left! It spoke to me and while I have absolutely NO idea what I can do with a piece that small, it was so pretty, and I just couldn't leave it behind. 

Sweetpea flowers on green Japanese Lawn - I've heard so many good things about Japanese lawn fabric, and I'd never actually encountered it until now.  It is just as beautiful as I had been lead to believe. It is so soft and drapey and generally gorgeous. I got 2m of 112cm wide, and I'll be making a shirt with this.




Forest Friend Flannelette - say that five times fast! I just loved this, and it is super soft and warm (the general bonus of buying kids fabric is that they are ALWAYS super soft, regardless of the fabric content). I got 1.5m of 110cm wide, and plan to make some pajama/lounge shorts out of them. If I can get the pattern to fit, maybe pj pants. We will see! 


Moose and Shroom Flannelette - not kidding, that's what it's called! This was another 'Oh cute kids print I want it' purchase, and with 1.5m by 110cm wide, I will be making more pj pants/shorts with this.

And now for the patterns!



The first two were intentional, and the third has a good story behind it. I chose the Butterick 4790 because my mother has had this pattern in her stash for YEARS and I have always adored it. However, she bought it in a smaller size, so I've never been able to make it up from that pattern (by which I mean nick off with the pattern when she wasn't watching!) So when I was choosing my first 3 for $10 set of patterns - yes there are more - I instantly gravitated towards it. The Butterick 5682 was because I love wearing jeans, but they are an absolute pig to buy in my size - narrow waist with wide hips means I can either have RTW jeans that fit my hips but are too big in the waist, or they can theoretically fit my waist but I can't get them on due to my hips. So I will be trying my hand at making them. 
The third pattern came home because I had originally chosen another one (it escapes me now what it was) but they didn't have it in stock. I didn't want to have to go back and look through the books, and because there was no line the lady said "If you want you can look through my returns basket" so I did. I was deciding between two different dress patterns, when my partner suddenly informed me he had found 'the best one' - he'd had a look through when I was busy looking at the dress patterns, he had found one for Jedi robes. There was no chance I was telling him he couldn't have it, after he'd spent a good hour and a half wandering around a fabric store with me! So that'll be a project for another time. 
 
I also bought myself a Yankee Candle, in the Mango Peach Salsa. It is my favourite candle and has been for a while, so I got the medium jar one. And I don't regret it at all, even though I was worried I would. It was expensive at $40, and I knew that could end up being a LOT more fabric, but in the end I went for it, and I am so glad I did. My sewing room smells amazing!

That was my first trip, and to break it down, the total cost came to $170.60, of which I paid $0.60 in cash, and the rest with vouchers from family and friends. However, since I always love knowing how much of a bargain I've gotten, I worked out what the cost would have been without discounts and sales. 
$300.25
Wait, what?
That's actually a hang of a lot more than I was expecting XD What is also important to note is that other than my Japanese Lawn and two flannelettes, all my fabrics were clearance, at either $8pm, or $10pm. Regularly those would have been anywhere between $11.99pm to $15.99pm. Since the original prices aren't on my receipt, I cant work that into the total cost, but either way I am still gobsmacked that I managed to save so much! I <3 40% off sales, I can't wait til next Easter when they will have another one! 

The day after I bought everything above, I remembered that I had a $10 voucher for signing up to their online database with my Spotlight Card. Checking the Ts&Cs, turns out I couldn't have used it on the above purchase anyway, because it couldn't be used with vouchers. So, I went back again, this time for more patterns. 


These first three were mainly just chosen because they were pretty. I am intending to use the KwikSew 3874 with my pink bear poplin and make the playsuit, as I have wanted one for ages. The McCall's 6503 and 6795 just looked lovely, and I could see myself wearing the styles very frequently, so both came home straight away. 



KwikSew 3602 was bought to go with my flannelettes to make pjs, as I couldn't be bothered drafting a pattern and it seemed a good thing to have. Burda 7300 looked practical and pretty, so I grabbed it - I don't have a lot of non-straight/pencil skirt patterns, so figured it was a good buy. And of course where would I be without an odd-ball pattern?! McCall's 6770 just spoke to me, from the jacket to the skirt and bloomers! I don't know when I'll possibly have a use for it, but I am sure I will. 

That lot came to the grand total of $8.02, because of my $10 voucher and the VIP 10% off paper patterns (yup, that works even on pattern deals!). All up without deals and discounts, these six would have been $112.83. That's an impressive deal in my eyes. 

All up, I got $413.08 worth of fabric and patterns for $178.62. Of that, only $8.62 came out of my monthly fabric budget. And I amvery happy with that outcome. 

Now, I am off to actually DO some sewing!

No comments:

Post a Comment