Our stallholders always have lovely stories. Here’s a selection from 2023
Blondie: We are always emotional hearing our stallholder stories. So often we welcome children, siblings or grandchildren, who are selling items from loved ones who are not able to work on their craft anymore, or are no longer with us. So we welcome with open arms the family of Blondie, who passed away recently. A much-loved Palmerston North midwife, wife, mother and grandmother, Blondie was also an avid cross-stitcher. Her family have joined our Fabric-a-brac community to find a new home for her cross-stitch patterns (around 100!), embroidery cotton, hoops, frames and more, with a table at the Palmy event. If you love cross stitch, or are looking for a project to work on with kids on these cold wintry days, this is going to be the table you’ll want to head to. We are also so humbled that the family are planning to give all the proceeds to Arohanui Hospice from sales on the day. What a wonderful gesture – thank you.
Emma: I started sewing when I was eight….I’m now staring down the barrel at 50! My earliest memory of sewing was using my mum’s sewing machine at the family dining table….things didn’t quite go to plan as my thumb got in the way! Clearly it didn’t put me off though. My grandma taught be the basics of using the sewing machine, then the rest was a combination of sewing classes at school and just giving things a go. At school I had designer tastes, but without the budget – so I’d try on what I liked in a store, then promptly head off to a Wellington fabric store to grab supplies to recreate my version. I really enjoyed the process – selecting colour, texture, problem solving to get the ‘right look’ and somehow making it all fit into my baby-sitting earnings! Then at uni I enjoyed making our run-down flats feel homely – I recovered my friend’s slightly grotty vintage couch in Thunderbirds fabric – and it become pride of the flat.
I’ll be bringing a swag of lovely fabrics from the Miss Maude store to Fabric-a-brac – fabulous remnants, seconds, bolt ends, haberdashery, patterns and books! All at least 40% of retail prices.
Andrea: I sewed my own clothes from the age of about 12/13 after sewing lessons at Tawa Intermediate. I still have the first thing I ever made – a rabbit that we hand stitched at primary school out of felt. Although mainly self-taught, my mother sewed clothes for us, her mother was a whizz with knit fabrics, and growing up we had a neighbour, Mrs Lumley, who was a beautiful sewer. I love sewing. It’s so satisfying to look at something and say “I made that”.
I bought Curtis Fabrics in Waipukurau in November 2020. It’s been here since 1986, I’d been shopping there since we moved here and I couldn’t stand the thought of it closing. It’s been a lot more fun that my previous role working in IT, although my dreams of spending every afternoon sewing have been put paid to by running the business!
I’m bringing things from the shop to Fabric-a-brac like fabric rolls, remnants and fat ¼’s, wool/yarn, zips, threads and sewing patterns. I can’t wait!
Tina: As long as I can remember, I’ve been a textile collector and lover of fabric. My earliest memories are of days spent sewing with my Nana (Doris Day – the original not the movie star! 
) after going through her well-ordered fabric stash and choosing something to make. It has become a bit of a family tradition – I loved it so much I became a dressmaker, and so did my daughter. I love this photo of Nana. It was taken at the Trentham races around 1957. She always looked so stylish and looks so excited to be at the races.
I have had stalls at Fabric-a-brac and helped out for years – and really looking forward to this first post-COVID event in Palmy! A lifetime of collecting now needs to be shared with others. I will have classic vintage and classic cottons, wools and silks as well as vintage haberdashery items and patterns.
Moana: I have had crafters and sewers around me most of my life – Mum, Gran, Nanny and Aunty Pats, Annie Berry, many other aunties and cousins too. My darling friends like Tina and Caro constantly inspire creativity!
I’ve been crafting for most of my life. When I was little I made clothes for my Daisy and Cindy dolls and my lucky pets. I fell in love with sewing all over again when I had children and started making clothes for them.
I love creating, it helps calm my busy mind. Even sorting and folding fabrics is a meditative fun thing to do (and you discover treasure you forget you had!)
I take random classes to upskill and discover new ways of doing things. Am slightly obsessed with quilting and textile art and all things up-cycling! Working on tiny things like purses are my current go-to. I take craft with me everywhere – even into meetings (I’m working on tiny hexagons for a quilt).
My collection has outgrown my room so I need to DESTASH! At Fabric-a-brac I will be selling fabric, woollen blankets, vintage linen, doilies, wool, shiny fabrics (I had a dance child!), buttons, beads, cottons and a sewing machine or two as well!
Alex a.k.a Mum: “I have been sewing since I was a kid and have been obsessed with fabric my entire life. My mum taught me to sew – she was a costume-maker for the Wellington Opera Ballet Company. I graduated from fashion school in Wellington in 1976 and went on to own Bernina Sewing Centre in Levin for 20 years, running classes in leatherwork, lingerie, stretch sewing …and more. I still LOVE sewing. I still do alterations for a local clothing shop, sew for the whole family, and sew with my grandkids.
Me: a.k.a Jodie: “Mum taught me to sew when I was 8. She refused to teach me how to make dolls’ clothes so we started with an elasticated waist skirt (purple and green striped), and matching t-shirt with buttons down the back (purple and green polka dots). I wore it endlessly. After a hiatus after a full-on period of sewing for my business, I am slowly getting ‘back on the tools’, and really enjoying playing around with fabric again. (And continuing to collect it!). It’s a joy seeing my daughter get confident on the sewing machine.
Sewing brings us both a lot of joy. It fills up our tanks, makes us feel productive, taps into our need to ‘restore’ things and make them better, and we both love getting creative – it just feels good!
Alex and Jodie will be at the Palmerston North Fabric-a-brac on 19 August with their stash including vintage and modern fabric from the past 30-40 years, haberdashery, patterns and more.
Joe: Joe Weinbauer is no ordinary retired tailor. The designer behind Weinbauer Fashion Studios was a multiple Benson & Hedges Fashion Design Awards winner in the early Seventies with his womens fashion, mens casual fashion, and suede & leather design. He designed and tailored for politician and sometime PM Jim Bolger, as well as singer John Rowles and the King of Tonga. His family are bringing a ton of high-quality leather, suede and men’s suit fabric, buttons, zippers, closures and cotton out of his loft and to Fabric-a-brac Palmy.
Dianne: I ran Village Books & Crafts here in Palmerston North for 34 years, but I am semi-retired now. I added the handcrafts side to the bookshop back in 1987 as I loved making things and got very into Patchwork which became my big passion. I love creating with fabric, adding stitch (quilting) and sometimes paint to embellish, then into hand dyeing and mark making on fabric. I also teach textile craft classes to share my knowledge and passion with others. Please help me to destash! I have reduced my personal stash and I’ll be bringing that along to Fabric-a-brac as well as patchwork cotton fabrics and panels, dressmaking and curtain fabric remnants from the shop (the shop is still open by appointment).
I have been an enthusiastic sewer from my early teens inspired by my older sister, and taught sewing for several years. Along with this came a compulsion to buy fabrics!
I used to make everything from clothes (including hats and coats), to household items, upholstery and various crafts, but family and work commitments meant my purchases soon outstripped the output of finished products. It is now time for someone else to enjoy turning my treasure trove into useful items! At Fabric-a-brac I will be offering many useful lengths of woven and stretch fabrics in cotton, wool, linen, silk, velvet, evening, children’s prints, a few vintage fabrics from my mothers collection and some heavier furnishing fabrics. I have also made up a large number of packages of co-ordinated craft fabric, zips, buttons, ribbons and lace.
Fabric-a-brac 