Patricia Ann Textiles

Patricia Ann is where I go to indulge my worrying ribbon addiction. It is also where I go to restore my faith in independent retail. I get easily bored with twee craft emporiums flogging over-​priced tat with birds stuck on it. Patricia Ann is an oasis of unhip haberdashery.
Let me explain: I walk in and see shelf-​upon-​shelf stacked with plastic storage boxes. To say that the place is cluttered is an understatement. But it all makes sense to Patricia. She is sitting at her chair, normally reading the bible or knitting. A gas heater blazes away in the corner, filling the space with a cosy heat and a smell that reminds me of camping. I ask for a bodkin and she smiles, she puts down her bible/​knitting and locates the bodkin box. She then charges me some ridiculously low price, says «god bless» and I leave thinking «Woah, that was one cheap bodkin».
This shop sells all sorts of knitting and sewing paraphernalia. I think it is wonderful, but I do tend to get excited about things that other people think are a bit rubbish (I once declared Gossip Girl the «definitive TV show of a generation»). Go there at Christmas to stock up on ribbon — it is ridiculously cheap and there is a huge choice.