Tag: Oregon

On our way home we stopped in Medford at Cottage Quilting. This shop is not too far from Ashland, so it was the last shop on our way home.

The weather was awful. It was over 100 degrees when we stopped. I tried to find some shade for the car, but just ended up making us walk across the hot parking lot in the blazing sun.

You know what the non-quilting interesting thing was near Cottage Quilting? A grocery store sized Harry & David’s store! I have seen the catalog, but not a shop.

Fortunately, most of the world has air conditioning and the shop was nice and cool. What a huge shop! They took up two storefronts in a modern, one story mall. We were also fortunate to arrive when we did as they were closing the shop for a week starting the next day.

The first thing that happened was that the owner scared the living daylights out of me. He just popped up and welcomed us, which was nice, but unexpected. It was completely my fault, because I wasn’t expecting it. I have to say I was hot and tired from driving, so I wasn’t at my best.

The shop has TONS of various types of machines. After thinking about it, I think most of the shop is machines, though they have a fair amount of fabric, including the best selection of toweling (tea towel fabric) I have seen. They have a number of different colors. I bought some white for my SIL so she can embroider on it. I seem to do that whenever I go somewhere and find tea towel fabric.

I also liked the selection of notions, thread and rulers. Another excellent selection of both. I truly saw items I had never seen before including a small pair of Duckbill scissors.

The shop had more thread brands and colors than I have seen. I could definitely spend some money there if the shop were closer to my house.

The owner came up to us again and wanted to chat a few minutes after we had started to look around. This did annoy me. My mom can always be counted on to chat up new people, so I left her to it and continued to look at fabric and notions.

I would visit this shop again, especially with a list of notions and rulers I needed.

Cottage Quilts * Sew Creative Studio
1310 Center Drive
Unit A
Medford, Oregon 97501
Tel: 541-500-8071
Email: info@cottage-quilts.com
Hours:

Tuesday – Saturday
10 am to 5 pm

My friend Amanda took me to several shops when we stopped in Portland on our way home. One was called Cotton Cure. It was a GREAT shop. It didn’t have the most fabric, but it has a really good variety and the presentation was excellent.

The quilt shop was in an urban shopping mall type building.  Shopping mall is not quite the right term. It was an older (looking?) building. You had to go into the main door and down a hallway to find the shop. The shop was three rooms, two of which were full of fabric and supplies. LOTS of bag making hardware and supplies.

The first thing I saw was the new Heather Bailey fabric, True Kisses by Figo. It made me think of my grandmother’s living room curtains. The shop had a variety of different cuts – full yards, half yards, and fat quarters. I think they had wide backs as well. I didn’t take very good notice, so I am not sure. I really wanted all of this line and thought of the variety of pre-cuts, but I restrained myself. I can’t stop thinking about the line, however, so I may have to buy the whole line. I am slightly horrified at how much pandemic fabric buying I have done, so we’ll see.

That big green cabinet was full of bag hardware. I almost swooned! It is a really cool looking cabinet, though.

It wasn’t super convenient as the drawers were hard to pull out and push in, but each drawer had a different type or size of hardware. I would really love to have a shop with a such a wide variety that I could see. I feel the need to stockpile when I see hardware and I never seem to have what I need when I need it. Clearly stockpiling doesn’t work. Is there a shop owner out there who would listen to me and my crazy ideas?

That heart quilt is on their website as a PDF download called Tainted Hearts. It’s fairly appealing, though I am working hard not to buy more patterns until I make a few of those on my list.

While small, the shop had a great selection of floss. The rolls in the center are Eleganza – the brand that makes Sue Spargo’s floss/embroidery thread. As you can see the thread is not on spools. The shop also had a lot of the Dropcloth Samplers, which I had never seen before in person.

On the far right of the cabinets, the shop had other embroidery designs and another brand of embroidery thread. I neglected to see what the brand was. It is interesting that a number of quilting shops are branching out into embroidery.

They had a lot of thread as well, but some of it was across from the embroidery thread.

The other item was a large selection of wool felt. I bought a few scraps at Pioneer Quilts for my egg project. I talked about the eggs a little in my post called Handwork Week. Wool felt can get pricey, but Cotton Cure and Pioneer Quilts both have fantastic colors – not just the primitive folk design colors: brown, tan and taupe. Those are not my colors.

You can see the wool felt better in the picture, left. They really had a nice selection of colors. Not great for turquoise, but look at those pinks and purples! The yellows and oranges are pretty nice, too.

This photo shows more regular thread, too.

The waxed canvas is in rolls in the basket attached to the black & white plaid wall.

The second room had more bag making stuff and a ton of notions. The shop had a good selection of mesh as well as a variety of different substrates. I saw waxed canvas for the first time in person. I almost bought some, but it was on the pricey side. Since I didn’t have a project in mind, I passed (for once!).

They also had the Clammy rulers, which, again, I haven’t seen in person. I didn’t take a close look at the patterns, but the tool makes me think they had some of Latifah’s patterns as well.

Most of the shops I visited had Tula Pink’s Curiouser and Curiouser fabrics. I bought a little at Calico Creations, but didn’t keep collecting.

The two tier rack in the first picture above is their sale fabric. This may not have been all of it. I don’t know; this is what I saw. Regardless, it was good fabric. Not icky novelty fabrics or anything.

The shop also had a workroom. It was a well used room. I suppose it might be a classroom in non-pandemic times. At the moment they seem to be using it for prep and a place to just toss stuff. We all have those spaces, right? 🙂

They have a longarm, but I didn’t see any information about whether they longarm customer quilts or rent time on the machine. I noticed that their Juki sewing machine was set up so the operator could stand at it. I have always wanted to try that.

I definitely want to visit this shop again and I will add them to my list of online fabric shopping websites.

Cotton Cure
133 SE 2nd Avenue
Hillsboro, Oregon 97123
We use the same entrance as Balance Fitness, so look for their signage!

Hours:
Open M,W,Th,F,Sa 10am-4pm

Contact Us:
By Phone: 503-747-6115
By Email: thecottoncure@gmail.com

After 18 months, I am on the road again. I drove almost 1000 miles north to see my YM who has had two bouts of non-COVID illness in the last month. I needed to see him for myself – see that he was getting well, see that he was taking care of himself. Since he was the only one who was not fully vaccinated (though he is now), I felt confident in traveling.

I want everything to be like it was, though I realize it isn’t so I put on my mask and go forth in the new normal: looking at others wearing masks and seeing so many closed shops and restaurants.

On the way north, we stopped in Ashland, Oregon. It is a beautiful city and I took some time to venture to a quilt shop.

Sew Creative was crammed full of everything quilty: fabric, kits, patterns, notions, etc. I thought the shop was a tiny bit overcrowded and a little dark, but I liked the overcrowding because there was so much stuff! Also, it was a little dark because the walls had beautiful wood. Neither made me not want to go there again. I had to decide if I was going to visit again on the way back!

One of the things I saw (but didn’t buy) were a couple of interesting bag patterns. The shape of the bags were pretty normal, but they had some interesting detail. One had a diagonal pocket (like the shape I cut with the Simple Folded Corners ruler). It is in the middle of the counter in the photo. The other, which is hanging in the photo, right, has a scalloped top edge.

This section had some Figo Linen/Cotton blend fabrics that were a little like canvas. I bought two 2 yard pieces and plan to make some bags out of them. I have heard of Figo fabrics and seen them in quilt shop newsletters, but hadn’t seen them in person. Since this was the first quilt shop in which I had set foot in 18 months or so this should come as no surprise.

I also saw a large selection of books (photo left). They had about 3 full racks of books. I didn’t look closely at them, but I noticed several I have not seen at other quilt shops or had never seen. The shop had a GREAT selection of embroidery stitch books.

In the books photo you can also see a sample quilt. The shop had a number of sample quilts around the store. I am not sure if the samples were for classes. There was a straight list of classes, but there were no photos, so I’m not sure what types of classes they were and I didn’t ask.

This photo is looking from the back of the store towards the front window. You can see the beautiful wood on the ceiling.

There were several tables scattered throughout the store with various displays. Many of them held a project or kit. I didn’t look very carefully at the kits, but I did notice there was a huge selection, so anyone who didn’t want to make decisions was in the right shop.

I bought a couple of gifts and the shop staff was very helpful with them.

The back of the store was a little brighter. The ceiling was white and that helped. Don’t you love the black and white floor? I do!

There really was a lot of stuff in this store and looking at the photos, I realize how much I missed.  Most of the bolts of fabric by color were housed in the back of the store. I found some turquoise dot dash fabric. They had quite a bit of Philip Jacobs for KFC prints and I spent a long time looking at them and dreaming.  I also found a few red-violet prints to replace the ones I have used up.

In this photo, you can see how many patterns are available. There were a wide variety of non-quilt patterns. I saw placements, a number of different bags, some garments. I also noticed that many of the patterns were from designers I didn’t recognize.  I didn’t find it difficult to see the patterns, in terms of lighting. That is one of the things I enjoy about visiting quilt shops in different areas.

In the photo, left, you can also see the shelves of fabric at the back of the photo. That is where I found the dot dash fabric.

The other thing I noticed was the shop was very clean. I don’t know what they have been doing during COVID restrictions, but it looked like they turn over their stock quickly.

The grey stripes and the black stripes are the Figo fabrics. I am going to use the white, which I think is Grunge fabric, to redo my inspiration board. The Laurel Burch fabric will be a gift. The shop had a great selection of Kaffe fabrics. I bought that shell (?) sea urchin (?) print. I also replaced some of my red-violets.

I highly recommend this store. I will definitely stop again next time I drive through Ashland.

Sew Creative
Address: 115 E Main St, Ashland, OR 97520, United States
Phone: +1 541 482 1665

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.