As mentioned the other day, we stopped in Ashland to visit Mary and rest in between driving to Portland. On our way out of town, we stopped at Sew Creative. The last time I was there was 2021. No masks this time. 😉
This was the first shop we visited on this trip.
The shop was pretty much the same as last time, though with new fabric and supplies. I enjoyed the people working there. They were cheerful and helpful.
The tile on the floor is very striking. It is easy for me to tell which photos are of Sew Creative! I have always liked black and white tile. I forgot they had it in this shop. The shop is STUFFED with all manner of fabric, patterns, notions and quiltmaking supplies.
The front of the shop was set up to invite a person in. They have a small selection of books. I noticed that many quilt stores are not carrying as many books as they once did. Thanks, Amazon.
The small garments were very appealing. I have one small great niece and was tempted to make her something. I resisted as we all know that will never happen.
They were in the process of changing displays, so the beautiful table was empty. I really like gate leg tables. The staff were cutting fat quarters, I think, in the back. You can see they had a free demo behind the table next to the check out desk.
An impulse buy when I was checking out was the All Pacific Northwest Shop Hop magazine. It isn’t pictured below for some reason and I loaned it to Mary. I am not going to make any of the projects. Too much green and brown and panels and trees. There were some good ideas in the patterns for settings, especially for setting blocks in the corners. I might be able to use some of them for the BAM BOM. The best part was the list of quilt shops. It wasn’t complete, but there were a lot of shops I didn’t know about. The one I visited in Albany with Mom was not listed, for example
On the other side of the patterns you see across from the table was a selection of fabric. Last time I found some linen/canvas bag fabric in this area. No such luck this time.
That doesn’t mean I didn’t see some appealing colors and motifs! LOL! I found some of the fabrics I bought at Family Threads on bolts here. There were also some nice greys, for which I am always on the hunt. There was soooo much to look at in this shop that I am seeing things in the photos I don’t remember from when I was actually there. There were quite a few people in the shop and that was a little distracting.
I love their notions. Sew Creative has a good selection and I saw that they had improved their selection of embroidery thread. This went with the wool felt I saw, I think.
The display piece on the left of the photo was crammed with various notions. There was a good selection of needles and I probably should have stocked up on the Chenille needles I use for hand sewing, but was too distracted to think clearly.
I was pleased to see some Creative Grids rulers I hadn’t seen before: a 18.5 x 12.5 inch ruler** and a 12.5 x 24.5 inch ruler**. The latter is called “The Big Easy,” which made me laugh. Neither of these are must haves, but recently I have thought they would be useful.
Sew Creative has a good selection of rulers, both small and large. They are largely Creative Grids, but I saw a few other brands as well. I saw a couple of the Jaybird Quilts rulers I used for the Journey to Nebula Sew-a-Long in which I participated a few years ago.
The shop also had quite a few scissors and different kinds of ‘sticking’ notions. I also saw a respectable supply of hardware, which made me wonder if they had bagmaking classes. I was somewhat fascinated by how much they were able to cram onto the turntables they used for notions.
I was also enamored of the patterns. I refrained from buying any as I have more than I would like to think about. There was a a really good selection of bag patterns.
I noticed quite a few of the Charlie’s Closet patterns. These are patterns that are shown in wool on the cover. I have thought of making the one I have with an old men’s suit or from a wool coat. I haven’t done it yet as I really need a hard wearing handbag and that means leather. I might try it though. Keep this in mind. It pops up later in the trip.
I also noticed jelly roll rug (see above) patterns popping up in several shops. I wonder if they are coming back around as a ‘thing’? I made one a few years ago and may make another. It is a good way to use up fabric. LOL!
There were a few quilt patterns, but the rack (shown left) showed more bag and other projects. There was a two zipper pouch that I liked. I didn’t buy it because I didn’t like the Triple Zip Pouch pattern I made. I do like the idea of a pouch with multiple zippers. I didn’t think I need to buy a pattern as I know Sew Sweetness has at least one. I also know that I made a couple of versions of such a pouch from an Aneela Hoey pattern. Still, I am always happy to peruse patterns and discover new designers.
The shop had several Block of the Month projects. The applique’ BOMs were hanging on the wall in the back.
The fabrics on the rack in the right front of the photo were Kaffes, Philip Jacobs prints as well as Marcia Derse fabrics. I know I said the shop was crammed, but looking at the photos reminds me of just how crammed it was with almost everything a quiltmaker could want.
Behind the notions was more fabric and a display of wool felt. I don’t remember seeing wool felt the last time I visited. I noticed the various pouches right away, but my mind needs a little time to turn over the implications.
Th back of the store held batiks, tone-on-tones and blenders. I am always surprised to see the rounders that hold fabric draped over bolts. It is a good way to see more of the fabric. I am just always surprised.
One of the things I found interesting was a class on using wool felt to make pouches. I think they also had some kits. This is something I haven’t thought about, but why not?
I am not as familiar with the properties of wool felt in terms of use, but I like the idea of not having to worry about the raw edges, as you do with quilting cotton.
The shapes of the patterns shown are interesting and I like the idea of being able to embellish the exterior more easily than with quilting cotton. I have been thinking about a wool felt piece for awhile and this display gave me some more ideas.
It would be so nice to have to quilt shop within a few miles of my house.
I found a nice grey background, though it is a little dark and some blues that are not turquoise. I might use the grey for the Morning Glory Quilt, though, as mentioned, it is a little dark.
I highly recommend this store. Mary is very lucky to have it close by.
Sew Creative
Address: 115 E Main St, Ashland, OR 97520
Phone: +1 541 482 1665
**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this website.