Sharon’s was a surprise. We happened across it as we were preparing to go back to downtown Portland after visiting a few fabric stores. I wasn’t quite ready to stop looking for fabric. I was pleased that so many shops were open on a Sunday.
Sharon’s Attic: Moda fabrics and precuts
The first thing we saw when we walked in was a display of Moda fabrics, precuts and gift items. Yes, I was tempted by the V&Co ombre dots fat quarter pack and yard pack. I resisted, because I have some of the fabric at home already. The shop had quite a few fat quarter packs as well as jelly rolls. I walked around the display a couple of times even though I am not much of a fan of the Moda greige goods. I do like their designers.
Sharon’s Attic: classroom
Sharon’s Attic: classroom annex
Sharon’s Attic: longarms
The shop reminded me a bit of Always Quilting, except that it was tidier. Sharon’s was a really big store. There was a large classroom in the back and a space with two longarms, one of which was being used to quilt a quilt.
I saw a lot of possibilities for creativity, including a number of specialty rulers, embroidery supplies as well as a full selection of patterns, notions and, of course, fabric. There was also a well stocked book area. I was able to look at the new Kim Brackett book, Scrap Basket Bounty.
Sharon’s Attic: embroidery & stitching
Sharon’s Attic: notions
Sharon’s Attic: patterns
Sharon’s Attic
Sharon’s Attic: books
Sharon’s Attic Quilt Shop
2950 SW Cornelius
Pass Rd., Suite 100
Hillsboro, OR 97123
Ph: 503.259.3475
Email: ssrice991@integra.net
Web: http://www.sharonsatticquiltshop.com/
There were a number of things in Portland that I wanted to mention, but just didn’t fit in a post of their own.
Pittock Mansion, Portland
Mom and I went to the Pittock Mansion on Monday as a foil to shopping. It was a blustery day, but we avoided the worst of the rain by looking at the mansion. They have a butler’s pantry that I would love to have. The rain had stopped when we went out to the garden. One of the things I love about Portland, which were in abundance at the mansion, are the leaves. They are a million different warm colors and wonderful shapes.
Pittock Mansion sewing table
There was a sewing room at the mansion with an amazing table. I have never seen one before and think every sewist should have one. It would be great to have some of the sewing furniture companies makes small pieces like this. Some clever spaces for modern tools could be designed. Alternatively, the dividers could be reconfigurable.
Pittock Mansion Turkish smoking room ceiling
I also enjoyed the ceiling of the smoking room. The smoking room looked like another foyer. The information provided said that there must not have been much smoking, because the wallpaper and paint wasn’t very dirty.
Fabric Depot closed. We heard the saga from an artist friend who would buy a lot of her floss there. Abby Glassenberg has a post about it.
Modern Domestic display quilt
Modern Domestic display quilt
I visited both Modern Domestic locations. I wish I had bought some of the V&Co ombre black dot I saw at the Lake Oswego location, but I didn’t. I stopped at the Portland location hoping they had the ombre there, but they didn’t. I bought a couple of fat quarters for the Ring Toss quilt I am contemplating. While I was there I saw a couple of political quilts. I wonder if they were part of the Threads of Resistance. I don’t remember seeing these particular quilts when I wrote the review, but they may not have stuck in my mind.
I bought a couple of pincushions from the artist friend. They were to go to an art sale, but now they will go to my sewing room and I will enjoy them there.
We also stopped at the Crafter’s Warehouse. I was surprised at how large it was and how much stuff they had. I think it had more for sale than Michael’s. The store about four rows of fabric and for the first time, I saw a roll of 2.5 inch batting strips. The lady thought I would need two for a Jelly Roll Rug (yes, I am slowly gathering the supplies), but I just bought one and think I will cut strips from leftover batting for the rest. CW has 40% off coupons. I didn’t sign up, but I found one on the web that I used.
We also stopped at a place called Quilter’s Corner. It was a tiny shop, perhaps in Hillsboro, but it was closed (Sunday, I think) and had a sign on the door saying it was closing for good. Sad.
One of the things I do when I am in Portland is eat like a pig. There are two restaurants I can walk into and order anything I like without worrying I might get sick. I went to both. Amanda told me about a third, but I didn’t visit. Kyra’s Bake Shop in Lake Oswego is my favorite and I bought a supply of cinnamon rolls for my freezer. I ate a BLT on the spot followed by a maple glazed donut. The BLT was amazingly good. I also visited Petunia’s Pies and Pastries. It is a very cute cafe that makes gluten free and vegan food and baked goods. I shared a piece of the sour cherry peach pie and that was delicious. I also tried the rhubarb berry pie, which wasn’t as good.
Church on 12th in downtown Portland
Remember I said the leaves were gorgeous? They were.
Yep, I was in Portland last week to go with the YM to doctor appointment. While I was there I saw friends and family, went hiking, bought a pincushion, saw some artists, ate a lot of good gluten free food and visited a few quilt and fabric shops.
Mill End shop: quilting fabrics
The Mill End store is an all purpose sewing store. It is the size of grocery store, not small and cosy. There are two Mill End shops in Portland and we went to the one near Beaverton. It was big and focused mostly on fabrics for people making garments and household decor, I think. They had a big quiltmaking section, but the fabrics were not like the ones at quilt shops. Lots of novelty prints and not many familiar lines. Still, if you need Mickey Mouse or Spiderman fabric for a quilt, they had some. The people were very friendly and the atmosphere seemed to be good.
Mill End shop: cork grocery bag
There was quite a bit of non-quilt fabric. We all have to make some things with other fabrics (Halloween costumes, anyone?) and Mill End store has all sorts of garment and costume fabrics as well as upholstery fabrics and some scary looking machines that I assume cut upholstery. I was interested to see a cork grocery bag sample along with several different types of cork on bolts. I have only heard about cork from people who make Sew Sweetness bags. I have never actually seen bolts of cork in person. I didn’t buy any (have you seen my project list?), but I was sorely tempted.
Mill End shop: notions
There was a huge wall of notions, but nothing really special. I’d like to see a really nice display of zippers – lots of colors and sizes all in one place and organized. This shop had a lot of zippers, but I found them hard to access and gave up.
Mill End store entrance
The cashier area was large and well decorated for Halloween. I was there the few days after Halloween, but the decorations were still lingering. I did not feel crowded in this store.
Mill End shop: looking towards fashion fabrics
Mill End shop
Mill End shop: more quilting fabrics
Mill End shop: home decor fabrics
Mill End shop: quilter’s corner
Mill End shop: quilting fabrics
Attached to the Mill End store was a Monte Villa Sewing Center. This is part of chain, Amanda explained to me, where they sell sewing machines, accessories, embroidery thread and, in this case, Accuquilt accessories. I assume they sold the machines, too, but I didn’t see any. I bought a new mat for my 2.5 inch die as well as a pick to get the threads out from between the blades. I also picked up some bobbins.
Mill End Store
4955 S.W. Western Ave.
Beaverton, Oregon 97005
(503) 646-3000
Fax (503)786-2022
OPEN 7 DAYS • Mon-Fri 10-5:30
Sat 9:30-5:30 • Sun 12-5:00
I couldn’t go to Sisters without visiting local quilt shops. It’s what I do.
BJ’s Quilt Basket
The second one we visited was BJ’s Quilt Basket in Bend. Don’t worry, I’ll get to the Stitchin’ Post.
BJ’s Quilt Basket Interior 1
The shops in the area are LARGE and have a lot of fabric. BJ’s was no exception. The shops in the area were benefiting from the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show and all the related events, so they had extra staff and specials going on. They also had a cooler out front full of free water, which was nice. It was fairly warm, so it was a nice gesture.
BJ’s Quilt Basket Interior 2
I am not used to such large shops, so it felt a bit overwhelming. BJ’s had a section of repro fabrics, a section of 1930s prints, a few aisles of batiks, blenders (tone-on-tone) plus a lot of new stuff right up front. It was kind of shocking to see so much fabric in one place. Delightful also.
BJ’s Quilt Basket Interior 3
I was pleased to see a lot of batiks in the area. Near me, people eschew batiks even though they are lovely. BJ’s was no exception. The shop had tons.
I saw the Tula Pink dots and stripes at The Stitchin’ Post, but I didn’t buy them. I couldn’t resist a few bits at BJ’s.
They also had lots of Kaffe prints. I bought a few at each of the shops at which we stopped.
Julie and I did not have classes on Thursday. I highly recommend taking a day off from the intensity of learning when you are at an event like Sisters/Quilter’s Affair.
We got up at our normal 6:30 because of that crazy window, but had a leisurely breakfast, sat around a bit and then got ready before we left at 10:30 to go to some quilt shops.
The Stitchin’ Post
First stop was the Stitchin’ Post. It is a 7-8 minute drive from where we were staying. I would be thrilled if I had a quilt shop that close to my house. I’d be in trouble, but thrilled nonetheless.
Okay, the Stitchin’ Post is actually in Sisters, not in Bend, but I am calling this series of posts the Bend Shop Hop regardless. Bend “Area” is too long (take a look at that URL already!).
Stitchin’ Post Interior 8
We went into the Stitchin’ Post at least twice, but the Thursday visit was the day we planned to look around at everything. I think we might have been there closer to 4 times, but who’s counting?
Stitchin’ Post Interior 1
It is a gorgeous shop. Huge! High ceilings, bright paint, plenty of staff, lots of great fabric and samples. Prices were ‘normal’ – $12-13/yard. The stock was depleted early in the week and by Thursday, our shop hop day, it was hard to find things. Not horrific. It wasn’t like the shop was empty, but a lot of notions were sold out and their fat quarters were a bit thin on the ground. Still, I found plenty to buy.
Stitchin’ Post: Kaffe prints
The Stitchin’ Post had a gorgeous Kaffe corner. I bought a lot of Kaffe on the trip, though not as much as I could have. I will use one of the pieces to make a nightshirt.
Stitchin’ Post Interior 4
This was the first shop at which I saw the Tula Pink Dots and Stripes. They are gorgeous. Nice sized dots and stripes and interesting colors. I really wanted all of them, but the lines for cutting were daunting at times when there was enough to cut 24 half yards. You can see them in the photo above behind the dress.
Stitchin’ Post Interior 2
Stitchin’ Post Interior 3
Stitchin’ Post Interior 5
There was so much to look at in that shop! they had a lot of different fabrics, some of which I hadn’t seen before. I saw lots of batiks, which we don’t see here anymore very much.
There was a small section of household gifts – soaps, tea, mugs and some interesting pincushions. I wanted to get one for Julie, but I couldn’t while she was there and when I came back to get it, someone else had beaten me to it.
Stitchin’ Post Interior 10
Stitchin’ Post Interior 11
I looked at the yarn a lot on Sunday and, as mentioned, bought a couple of skeins to make another scarf. Since I didn’t bring needles with me, I had to buy needles as well.
Stitchin’ Post Interior 6
Stitchin’ Post Interior 7
Stitchin’ Post Interior 9
First Stitchin’ Post purchase
This shop is absolutely worth a visit. I had a great time. If you are in the area, head to Sisters and visit The Stitchin’ Post.
Stitchin’ Post purchases
The Stitchin’ Post is located at:
311 W. Cascade St. (Hwy 20/126)
in Sisters, Oregon
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 280, Sisters OR 97759 Phone: (541) 549-6061 eMail:stitchin@stitchinpost.com Store Hours:
Monday – Saturday 9-5 (9 – 6 in the summer)
Sunday 10-4
Saturday July 16 was the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. The show starts early in the morning with teams of volunteers, including the local fire department, hanging quilts from everywhere.
Oregon State Highway 20 is the main road that goes through town and that road, much to my amazement, was closed except for cross traffic in some places.
We packed the car (Julie did most of the work!) and parked near downtown at about 8:30 in the morning. This was a day for a lot of amazement. This time I was shocked and thrilled that we could find a parking place within a block of the first quilts available to look at. After that, we just wandered around looking at quilts, going where our feet took us.
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2018 -Stitchin’ Post
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2018 -Stitchin’ Post
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2018 -Stitchin’ Post
The Stitchin’ Post was decked out in all of its glory. The quilts on the front were just a taste of what was inside and on the side.
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2018 -Stitchin’ Post side view
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2018 -Stitchin’ Post side view
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2018 -Stitchin’ Post side view
We couldn’t resist taking photos of ourselves in front of the display on the side of the shop.
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2018 – Green House
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2018 – Public Clock
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2018 – Robot Art
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2018 – Stained/Leaded Glass Display
When I said the quilts were everywhere, I meant almost everywhere. They were hanging from buildings, awnings, sides of buildings, backs of buildings. There was other art on display as well. I’ve seen a robot like that before somewhere and may have even posted it here. I am a sucker for leaded glass and these were great. I also love public clocks and think there aren’t enough of them.
Sadly I only took pictures of individual quilts not the entire displays on walls. I’ll know better if I go again. People on Instagram posted a lot of photos, so take a look at the hashtag for a better view.
Construction again. I drew out some letters and started cutting them out of fabric on fusible.
I am pretty happy with the letters. I started out with a ‘J’ I found on the web. I wanted all of the letters of my name to be beautiful. I didn’t have an entire alphabet, so I extrapolated out from that one ‘J’. I used the slant and thickness of the letters to make up the other letters. I also used the stem of the ‘J’ to make one stem of the A. I don’t know if they are beautiful, but I think they are beautiful.
I wanted some, not all, of the letters on the overall piece to be beautiful.
First letters
Two names
Two names offset
I started working on the letters. And also the placement. The last day was much slower than the other two days. I made good progress, but the pieces were smaller and more detailed. I worked on the placement of the Jaye and the Anne. I thought my names would be the first two lines, then I realized that I was my mother’s daughter before I was anyone else’s anything.
Final placement for Jaye Anne
Fiddling with Mary
Adding Mary
I used fusible, ribbon and some zig zaggy trim for the various letters. Each group of letters required at least one ‘rewrite’.
I got the background done pretty sharpish when I got to class Tuesday.
Yes, this is the background. It is the essence of who I am. I guess. I am not exactly sure why this is the background.
The biggest problem with art quilts is construction. To achieve the design goal, the construction can be challenging. the background you see was pretty basic piecing except for the spot where the top of the M comes together at an angle.
For the moment, I am leaving the -v- for later. Rosalie said that she couldn’t see it, so I decided not to worry about it right at the moment.
Who Am I? grid in process
The next step was to get the ‘ladder’/grid motif appliqued on. I tried strips of fabric, but eventually landed on some ribbon that I have been saving for …something. This is the something. I laid out the ribbon where I thought they should go and looked. I moved them around and looked some more.
Again construction was an issue. The first piece, a piece of thick ribbon that looked like mosaic tile, went on like a dream. The next piece, which was much thinner would not go on. It bunched up, slid around and was generally a pain. I finally put batting on the back and sewed through the ribbon, the background and the batting. This is not ideal, because I have to worry about when to put a backing on and how to quilt it all again. Still, I was in class and had to make do.
Who Am I? grid
The grid, which is kind of like a second background, came out ok. The ribbons aren’t perfect, but they fit with my design.
I got back to my schedule and finished the ribbons by the end of day two. Next up: letters.
Monday started in bright and early with class. Julie, Kathleen and I all took the Rosalie Dace class. I signed up when Kathleen and Julie did because I was OBE. I really had no expectations.
This was a three day class with the title “Word for Word.” I brought some text fabrics and threw in some greys and a large piece of a dot print as well as some embellishments, ribbon and some fancy sewing machine feet.
This was one of the best classes I have ever taken.
Rosalie teaching
First, we talked. Rosalie showed us slides of art that included words. There were quilts (think about the Temperance movement), graffiti, one piece that depicted the words escaping a box and many others. She talked about creating and design. The talk went on for awhile, but the most helpful thing to me for my design was when the students introduced themselves. We had to say why we were in the class in one sentence. People talked about their names as well, but I can’t remember if that was part of the question or just evolved. One fellow student talked about how she had many names – nicknames, names she called herself or wanted to be called, names others called her. She has a long and girly name, so the permutations are endless.
Who Am I? piece
This got me to thinking about my name. My name has no nicknames. None. That made me think about my roles. Even if I have no nicknames, I have roles. I decided to use my roles as a basis for my piece.
This idea gelled into place so quickly that it was frightening. Because of the speed, i was really unsure of the whole concept. I talked with Rosalie about it and she loved the idea, so I went for it. Every staged gelled, so I just kept working.
I don’t agonize over my pieces constantly. Yes, I do agonize a bit , but in this case, I kept asking for a bit of feedback from Rosalie and moving forward.
I got the background almost done on Monday. My goal was to get the background done On Monday. I know that if I get a lot done I can continue when the class is over. I needed momentum.
I had only two more seams to go on Tuesday to finish the background.
We made stops at Granzella’s in Williams (mob scene with a great taco salad) and Dunsmuir (yummy lemonade), ending up in Klamath Falls for the night. We saw haze, but other than that we weren’t affected by the fires raging throughout California. If we had left a day earlier, we would have been stopped at the border by a fire that jumped the freeway after a girl with firecrackers started it. DH encouraged me to drive the entire way in one one long day, but that is too much sitting in the car for both of us.
We had a good night’s sleep and set off again. After a few errands, including having to wash the car (tons of ash), we got on the road. The car wash was hilarious. It was one of those U-Wash-It type places and we wash and rinsed the car with giants wands. We decided to make a detour to Crater Lake. It was on the way and we had plenty of time.
Crater Lake left
Crater Lake right
Julie had been there before, but I hadn’t as an adult. I might have been there as a kid. I don’t remember. Being summer, the place was pretty busy. We were still able to enjoy the amazing view. AMAZING.
We spent a good hour or more as t Crater Lake then stopped at a small diner in Chemult for lunch. No amazing taco salads and kind of a flare when I asked about gluten free buns.
Stitchin’ Post
We wanted to stop at some quilt shops on Bend, but time was short so went straight to the Stitchin’ Post to checkin for classes and get our packets. We did look around the shop, which is gorgeous!
Yes, I bought some yarn, needles and some yardage of a Philip Jacob’s print. It was getting late and we were tired. Our housemates were waiting and we still had a stop to make at the grocery store, so we left with our few purchase. We plan to go back and really inspect everything later.
Kathleen had dinner ready for the whole gang when we arrived, which was fabulous. The house is great-comfy and plenty of space. It isn’t too far from town or too far from the classes. We can walk to both. I looked forward to the week.
Boermas was the last quilt shop we visited and it was amazing. It isn’t exactly in Portland. It is about an hour and a half away in a quaint town called McMinnville. That day it was pouring rain and I had Mom drop me off at the metro station. I took the metro to the end of the line so Amanda didn’t have to drive all the way into the city to fetch me. It is a quiet and clean system and it was easy to take some time to write while I was riding.
Boermas Quilt Shop, McMinnville
Boermas Quilt Shop, McMinnville
Boermas Quilt Shop, McMinnville
Boermas Quilt Shop, McMinnville
Boermas Quilt Shop, McMinnville
Boermas Quilt Shop, McMinnville
Boermas Quilt Shop, McMinnville
Boermas Quilt Shop, McMinnville
It was probably the largest shop we entered, though Pioneer Quilts was close if not the same size. I think it used to be a downtown department store at a time when all the major shops were on the main street to make shopping more convenient.
The store was three stories. The upper story seemed to be offices and staff areas. We didn’t go up there. The basement floor was all sale fabric. They had quite a lot, though their minimum was a yard, so I only bought a piece or two.
The street level floor was full of fabric. The aisles were narrow and full, but the place was scrupulously clean and did not seem disorganized. I could have bought a lot more than I did, but I made quite a dent in their stock. They had a wide selection of fabric styles – from Cotton and Steel to Civil War, etc repros. They had a large novelty fabric section, organized by theme, as well as about two aisles of batiks.
We had lunch at an American diner sort of place that uses historic buildings to house their eateries. The food is diner style and the building is historic. We also visited a yarn shop. I didn’t buy anything there though I sort of regret a couple skeins of a grey yarn variegated with turquoise. It was a fun day.
The Portland region has an amazing number of quilt shops. I thought Pioneer Quilt shop looked creepy from the outside. From the outside, I kept imagining an old lady held captive and mute in the upper floors of the tower. The inside, however, was filled with GREAT fabrics and fun employees. I think, despite the creepy Grandma prisoner in the tower 😉 , this was our favorite shop.
The inside did not give me the creeps at all. The shop was an old farmhouse that had been transformed into an event center at one point. There is a disco ball still hanging over, what was once, the dance floor in the main shop. The building had all the trappings of an old house: kitchen, dining room, etc.
Pioneer Quilts: dining room
Pioneer Quilts: dining room
I believe they used the dining rooms (perhaps one used to be an old parlor?) for retreats and classes, but there was nothing going on the day we were there.
We went right when we went in a saw no people, just the rooms above and the sale fabric. We dutifully looked through it all and must have not appeared in the actual shop for so long that one of the employees came looking for us.
Pioneer Quilts: main shop
We were kind of disappointed with just the sale fabric, but that was quickly remedied when we got into the actual shop. The shop was bright and airy, well organized, had high ceilings and had fabric for everyone. They had a lot of fabric, a lot of which I had never seen. Bright and cheerful, Civil War repros, solids, a lot of different things. Ann, our friend from BAM who now lives in Lake Oswego, was talking about Marcia Durst fabric and we saw some here.
Pioneer Quilts: main shop view 2
One thing I liked was the wool felt. They had a ton of it. They teach classes, have really fine spools of embroidery floss and would allow me to switch out colors for brighter ones if I took a class. I checked out their website to look at their classes and they do something really interesting. They have sort of mini classes that teach just a few complicated stitches. One class includes Cast on stitches, Bullion, Drizzle and Double Cast on. These classes appear to focus on improving skills and really learning these complicated stitches. I would imagine students would have to take some sort of beginner class first. I’d like to see about taking a 1 day class there next time I visit.
I also found Renaissance Ribbons there. I bought a few yards to go with the pattern I bought at A Common Thread, Crafty Carriers. In stead of making a strap, I will use the Renaissance Ribbons instead. I had never seen these ribbons on spools in a shop before.
I would love to have a shop like this near where I live.
Pioneer Quilt Shop
3101 SE Courtney
Portland, OR 97222
503.654.1555
info@pioneerquiltshop.com
The third shop we visited was the Pine Needle Quilt Shop is in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The shop can be found in downtown Lake Oswego in what looks like a nice area in which to walk and shop. It is a large shop and had a lot of interesting fabric. It is also near Kyra’s Bakery, a completely gluten free bakery at which I could order ANYTHING off the menu without asking if it was gluten free. Fabulous!
Pine Needle Quilt Shop – front of store
The Pine Needle Quilt Shop is a large shop with lots of fabric. They could have crammed more in if they had tried even a little. I do know that inventory costs money. I was pleased to see a lot of fabric I hadn’t seen before. There were some large non-Philip Jacobs prints (see the blue watercolor print hanging up on the right of the photo?) that I really liked but restrained myself from buying.
Pine Needle Quilt Shop – middle of store
Pine Needle also had a very large selection of batiks, which I hadn’t seen in a shop in a long time. (I really think the MQG has done a disservice to batiks) There were a LOT of sample quilts. Not so many small projects, such as bags and gifts.
Pine Needle Quilt Shop – middle of store 2
The sample quilts were interesting. There were a variety of styles including easy, hard, different styles and colors. I thought the shop was a little dark, potentially from the chocolate wall behind the cash register, but there were a wide variety of colors of fabric. Yes, they had some of those Civil War repros, but a lot of other colors as well.
Pine Needle – Tuffet
I did see that they were having a tuffet class and I liked their example very much. The bottom of this tuffet uses a border print. I still want to make covers for my tuffets to change the look at different times of the year. This tuffet gives me an idea. I have to get back to that project – so many projects so little time.
The one thing I thought was a waste was the two large tables in front of the cash registers. They had half yards and FQs laid out very neatly next to each other. I thought more fabric could have been displayed there, but I am sure they know best. It was very easy to see the choices.
I was glad to go there and probably would visit again.
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.
A Common Thread: bag displays
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.
Crafty Carrier by Ellie Mae
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…
A Common Thread: machines
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.
A Common Thread: longarm ruler display
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.
A Common Thread: fabric area with displays
A Common Thread: front of store with displays
A Common Thread: machines to cutting area
A Common Thread: machines
A Common Thread: machines towards Handi Quilter
They are dealers for Bernina, Janome, Miele, and Handi Quilter. All in all a good shop. I would go there again.
Contact info:
5495 SW Sequoia Parkway, Suite 140
Portland, OR 97224
I went to Portland last week and had a very quilty time with Amanda. We made our own shop hop. Amanda looked up a bunch of shops and we decided which ones to visit together.
I had planned to spend more time with the YM, but he told me at the last minute that he was going on tour with the Wind Symphony and wouldn’t return until after I left. As a result, I invited my mom to come along and we had a good trip.
Mom spent a lot of time with an artist she met so I was free to roam local quilt shops with Amanda.
The first shop we visited was Holly Hill. It was closed (on a Wednesday?!? WTH!?) so we were only able to look in the window. Someone in the shop kept waving at a us and finally came to the door and said they were closed. We knew that, being able to read the sign. She asked us if we had checked their FB page and we said no. We told her that we had checked the web page and it was not up to date. Later, when we looked, she had had someone update it. I never check FB pages, do you?
Speckled Hen, Ore
The first shop we were able to enter was The Speckled Hen. The decor fits in with the name of the shop. There are a lot of chicken themed decorations. It is a small shop, but really crammed with fabric and quilty items. Sadly, a lot of the fabric was brown and beige – Civil War and repro type stuff. They had a good selection of chicken fabrics as well. The shop also had a good selection of non-brown 1930s and 40s reproductions as well.
She Sews Sea Shells fabric panel by Janet Wecker-Frisch
The shop did have a great line by Janet Wecker-Frisch called She Sews Sea Shells by Quilting Treasures. I liked (and Amanda did, too) the mermaid with the diving suit and would have bought a print with just that motif. Unfortunately, the diving suit was only on a panel.
There is something about the steampunk nature of the diving suit that was appealing. At this point in our adventure, I was trying to be reasonable about my purchases, so I didn’t buy any.
Decades of Style Flapper Apron
I didn’t buy any fabric, but I did buy a retro style apron pattern. I had never heard of the company before. I liked the style of the garment, though the pockets aren’t large enough. Also, the pattern uses really a clever layout for cutting. I can’t wait to try it and bought some fabric to make some gifts.
There were two ladies in the shop filling kits, I think. I am not sure the owner (I assume it was the owner) realized we weren’t retro fabric people, because every time we looked at a display, she told us the price and the designer, etc. It was kind of a hard sell that was somewhat useful, but also a little off-putting.
Speckled Hen, Ore
One of the things she mentioned was her sale on magazines. She mentioned Primitive Quilts, but also Simply Moderne. I was tempted, but I have a lot of magazines in my to-read pile, so I didn’t buy any.
I bought some gifts in addition to the pattern.
Contact info:
Speckled Hen Quilts
503-678-3368
25455 NE Boones Ferry Rd
Aurora, OREGON 97002
TUES-SAT: 10am - 4pm
Closed Sunday & Monday
Sharon’s was a surprise. We happened across it as we were preparing to go back to downtown Portland after visiting a few fabric stores. I wasn’t quite ready to stop looking for fabric. I was pleased that so many shops were open on a Sunday.
