Portland Shop Hop: A Common Thread

A Common Thread was next on our list after The Speckled Hen. This shop was definitely one of my favorites.

Things looked up when we saw this shop. Amanda had been here before and wasn’t impressed that time. Things had improved this time and we both found things we really liked.

The store is light and airy. The ceilings aren’t particularly high, but the shop feels large and open.

One thing I liked about the shop was that they had displays with the related products everywhere. Bag patterns were displayed near bag samples along with all of the hardware and supplies needed to make the bag.

As a result, I bought a bag pattern called the Crafty Carriers. I could see the design made up: the size, the height, everything. I thought it looked like a great design for carrying project materials around. Yes, I already have a bag for this purpose, but…

Yes, they had a lot of machines. In some shops this is annoying to me because it seems like machines take up more space than fabric.

I didn’t look very carefully at the machines, but saw that they had a big variety of machine accessories as well as the machines. I did look at the Janome feet. I was impressed by the selection. I almost bought a 1/4″ Acufeed foot with a needle plate. However, I looked back at things I had bought recently I switched to purchasing an ‘in the ditch’ Acufeed foot sans needle plate instead. It cost less and now I have a full compliment of Acufeed feet. I also now have no excuse not to get busy and quilt.

I noticed their Handi Quilter display, which includes machines, but also had longarm rulers nearby. Great marketing.

The machines did not impinge on the fabric and we had plenty of fabric choices to tempt us. I also liked it that the shop had put up different quilts and BOM examples near the machines, integrating the two parts of the shop somewhat.