Calico & Ivy

Calico & Ivy is one of the most amazing fabric and knitting boutiques I have ever ventured into, firstly its size is quite impressive with three different areas; one devoted to knitting fanatics you will honestly find every colour and type of yarn you wish for here — from merino to cashmere (heavenly may I say), then you walk down towards the front desk where there is a gorgeous display of little gifts and then the real magic happens.
You turn to your right and there are rows upon rows of the most gorgeous fabrics, all colour coordinated and immaculately displayed with the prettiest and daintiest prints perfect for cute pillow cases or for a dress. Calico & Ivy also stock lovely and helpful little books to create your own stuffed toys, patterns for making quilts, pillow cases and bags and what I thought was the cutest their selection of little bird decorations made out of recycled linen and other fabrics.
Great little boutique that is a must for anyone who loves fabrics and knitting.

One of my friends once said of our local fabric shop, ‘I bet they’ve got enough fabric to wrap around the entire world.’
Erm. I’m not sure if that’s true of Calico & Ivy (I sincerely doubt it) but what it lacks in circumnavigational abilities it makes up for in sheer beauty. I LOVE fabric shops. I could happily spend my life inside them, just wandering around, staring and stroking things. At every opportunity I get, I go in them. And so it’s really saying quite something when I say that Calico & Ivy probably has the most universally pretty fabrics of any shop I’ve ever been in. Oh they are just so so SO pretty! They are all beautifully patterned, with plenty of Liberty of London fabrics, and I don’t think there is one fabric in there that I wouldn’t happily wrap myself in. There are also some gorgeous sewing and knitting patterns, wool in every shade under the sun, knitting and sewing books and some cute gifts. I also love that they have little glass dishes of buttons strewn here and there. I just LOVE it. Ok, I’ll stop gushing now.