The Quilt Loft

The Quilt Loft, Albany, Oregon
The Quilt Loft, Albany, Oregon

The trip home from Portland started off slow. It took us forever to get out of the city, which I expected. it was Friday afternoon, after all, and people wanted to get away. I was a little surprised, though, since we left around 1pm. I thought that was a little early for people to be leaving the office.

What I did not expect was slow traffic all the way down I5. It wasn’t stopped, but we only went about 40-50 mph (~70 kph). Finally, I was falling asleep at the wheel and needed a break. We stopped in Albany, because it was close and looked large-ish. Mom was able to find a quilt shop there, which was a bonus. We thought we could, also, certainly find a coffee shop, but no such luck. Note to Starbuck’s: please put your *amn outlets next to the freeway not in some secluded Safeway.

Anyway, it was worth a stop. I had never been to Albany, Oregon and the shop was worth stopping to visit. It is a mile or two off the highway, but the Google directions were good and the downtown street, where the shop is located, had a lot of charm.

The Quilt Loft is a large shop, though the interior also came across as long and thin. It covers two storefronts and held a lot of fabrics.

The Quilt Loft, longarms in action
The Quilt Loft, longarms in action

I was VERY impressed to see four longarms, controlled by computers working away when we were there. I was told later that one of the staff was an excellent custom longarm quilter and was working back there as well. I was happy to see a shop helping people get their quilts finished. I am sure it is good for their cash flow as well.

The Quilt Loft, batting and notions
The Quilt Loft, batting and notions

The longarm area was in the back of the second storefront (to the left of the main door you see in the photo above). In front of the longarm workroom was the notions, books and batting area. I had never seen rolls of batting in a quilt shop like they had in the Quilt Loft!

I didn’t check to see what kind of batting they had. You can see that the do offer a few choices.

Next to the batting area were notions and some books. The shop had a few books, but not a large book area that I saw. The books were mostly scattered around the shop. One I saw looked interesting, Scrappiness is Happiness** by Lori Holt. I thought there were at least 5 quilts I would make out of that book. However, I wasn’t in the mood to buy books, so I put it on my Christmas list. I don’t see this book on their website, but I am sure you can call them and they will ship it to you.

I didn’t think they had a ton of notions either. I was surprised to see Quilter’s Rule rulers. I am not sure I have ever seen these for sale in a shop. If I have it was either a long time ago or I just don’t remember.

The Quilt Loft fabric
The Quilt Loft fabric

As mentioned, the shop had a lot of fabric. Much of it was new to me, though I did recognize the manufacturers. I didn’t see any Tula or Kaffe. I always find it nice to see new and different fabric.

On the left of the photo (right) was a new line of butterfly type fabric. The main, or focus fabric had words on it. I thought the French theme would make a good future bag for my sister, but there was no more yardage. I was only able to find a couple of fat quarters. I can make some small pouches or, perhaps, a small Kit Supply Tote with the amount I bought.

The Quilt Loft for Hallowe'en
The Quilt Loft for Hallowe’en

I wasn’t able to visit a lot of shops on this trip, but the ones I did visit were decorated for Hallowe’en. They had projects on the walls and appropriate fabrics front and center. The Quilt Loft was no exception.

I haven’t seen that applique’ pattern with the purple back and black silhouettes before. I thought it was interesting. It looked like all needle turn applique’, which will never happen in my house. 😉

Some of the more modern fabrics were near the notions and batting. I found quite a few Allison Glass fabrics in that area. The staff who helped me said they were flying off the shelves. I also saw some of the Judy Niemeyer samples that are so popular at the San Mateo County Fair. I was pleased to see a wide variety of solids and not all of them (if any?) were Kona. They carry a wide selection of American Made Brands solids, which made me happy.

The shop also had different substrates. I didn’t see a class schedule, but they must have garment classes as well.

The Quilt Loft classroom
The Quilt Loft classroom

The classroom was in the first/main building behind all the initial fabric you see when you first walk in. It was large. It has a mishmash of chairs, but there were some comfy looking office chairs. The room also had three large tables, so I think people could spread out.

There were some interesting projects hanging there. As I said, I didn’t see the class schedule, so I don’t know which were samples and which were decoration. Regardless, this shop had a lot of quilts hanging up which provided a lot of inspiration.

As is common in many quilt shops, there was a nice looking seating area in the front. I liked the design of the chairs. Partners could be comfy while their other half shopped. If it hadn’t been raining the light would have been good, so someone could sit there and do handwork as well. I don’t know if the shop allows it.

The Quilt Loft purchases
The Quilt Loft purchases

I bought a few fat quarters and one half yard of a new Alison Glass fabric. They had the full line of her new fabrics and I couldn’t resist just a bit of it.

I also bought that red and white flower print on the left. It is an older fabric. I had some and used it up. I decided to grab one last FQ.

Not that this is a different shop than the Quilting Loft in Seattle, which I reviewed in 2013. I haven’t been to Seattle in awhile, but the website for the Quilting Loft is no longer, so I imagine the shop is closed as well.

The Quilt Loft
405 First Ave NW, Albany, OR 97321, United States
tel: +1 541 928 7242
Website: https://www.evilmadquilter.com/

Hours: Sun Closed
Mon 10 AM–5 PM
Tue 10 AM–5 PM
Wed 10 AM–5 PM
Thu 10 AM–5 PM
Fri 10 AM–5 PM
Sat 10 AM–5 PM

Email: Info@QuiltLoft.com or Info@EvilMadQuilter.com

 

 

 

 

 

**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 blog.

Family Threads Quilt Shop

Family Threads Quilt Shop
Family Threads Quilt Shop

I visited Family Threads quilt shop in San Juan Batista before the Retreat. This is a great quilt shop. There was a wide variety of fabrics, lots of patterns, bag supplies, solids and good notions.

The shop was small, but they had a wide variety of fabric. They had many, many panels hanging around the upper part of the ceiling. This is only the second shop I have seen with so many panels.

Family Threads main room
Family Threads main room

The shop also had a lot of fabric. They also had a wide variety of fabrics I hadn’t seen. I saw a lot of novelty fabrics that I have only seen online. Now I know I can go to somewhere relatively nearby and actually look at some fabrics.

The bolts on the floor in the front were a wide variety of polka dots. You can see the main color. The dot colors were all different.They weren’t just white. Yes, I bought a couple of fat quarter packs.

In the photo, right, you can also see the panels mentioned above.

Family Threads main room
Family Threads main room

The isn’t exactly crammed, but every surface was well used. There are also a lot of different textures in the storage furniture. In the photo, left, you can see the interesting sides of the white shelf.

The shop had lots of pre-cuts and not just jelly rolls. The polka dots I mentioned above were all over the shop in fat quarter packs. There were different combinations, too. I saw some monochromatic packs in blue and others with a selection of rainbow fat quarters.

The shop had a good selection of notions as well. I was especially impressed with their selection of Creative Grids rulers. You can’t really see the rulers, which are behind the pre-cuts in the photo on the right. You can see a nice selection of some great fabrics in that same photo.

I was thrilled that I finally found a shop that carries Northcott solids. remember I discovered those at QuiltCon in 2016. I didn’t need any the day I was there, but I’ll go back and get some in the future. The solids room was also the shop classroom. Some people were sewing there the day we visited.

Family Threads bagmaking materials
Family Threads bagmaking materials

In the vestibule of the solids rooms was where they stored their bagmaking supplies. I was impressed with the setup. The drawers were labelled so it was easy to find different types of interfacing. You calso see straps and webbing stored. I liked this area a lot.

Family Threads patterns area
Family Threads patterns area

The shop had a LOT of sample bags and other small projects as well as a wide variety of patterns.

All in all, Family Threads was a great shop and I want to visit again.

Get a different view, though. Julie wrote a good post about what she bought, and the shop.

 

107 The Alameda, Suite D
PO Box 1203
San Juan Bautista, CA 95045

HOURS Mon-Fri 10-5, Sat 10-3, Sun Closed

Tel: (831) 623-0200

Website: https://familythreadsquiltshop.com/

Golden State Visit

Last week was super busy and one thing I did was visit Golden State Quilting. I mentioned the visit briefly the other day when I talked about the green for the Pantone Project. I am not going to do a full on Quilt Shop Review as I just did one in January and everything there was essentially the same.

Golden State Quilting purchases- August 2022
Golden State Quilting purchases- August 2022

As I said, they have really good fabric at Golden State. Parisville Deja Vu was not on the shelves yet, but they had an excellent selection of Tula Pink fabrics, really good Halloween fabrics, nice dots and a lot of other fabrics. My mind swam with possibilities. It was hard to resist, but I want to use up fabric. As I much as I love buying fabric, I need to use more before I buy more. I will say that the selection of tone-on-tones allowed me to choose one I needed for one of the beige/brown colors in the Pantone Project.

I decided that I will sew at least some pillowcases for my college bound nephews, so I checked out the Halloween fabrics and bought 3 different ones. The YM will get some that honor my grandcat, Marie.

I still love their selection of rulers. I thought about buying another Quilter’s Select ruler in a different size (I bought a 12×12 (ish) back in January), but decided to save my pennies for now. That brand doesn’t have the 4.5 x 8.5 size that I love – or at least Golden State doesn’t carry it. I think I will get a 6×12 inch version next. Perhaps that will be small enough for me to use more frequently. Julie bought a 4.5 x 4.5 to use for the Pantone Project and I am thinking that I may buy that size as well.

I am not in desperate need of Soft & Stable, but I bought a package anyway just to have on hand. I am thinking of getting Colleen to quilt some S&S for me so I don’t have to do that step.

I also bought some Emmaline frames, thinking I could use them for my Sew Sweetness patterns. One is completely the wrong size. The other is the right size, but has bent ends, so I don’t know if it will work. I can always use the frames.

We went out to lunch after visiting the shop and spent about 3 hours talking!

Friend Julie wrote a good post about the space/shop.

Last Happy Box

July 2022 (last) Happy Box arrives
July 2022 (last) Happy Box arrives

I am sad to say that Natalie is ending the Happy Box subscription due to supply chain issues. I am sad even though I don’t really need most of the things that come in the box. It was really fun to receive the boxes and see what was included. I really liked the make-up/skincare products she provided. I don’t often buy those types of things to try, but when I have them in my hands, I use them.

Happy Box: Opening box
Happy Box: Opening box

This month’s box arrived slightly smashed, but everything inside was ok.

The theme was strawberries. Natalie didn’t include an info sheet this time as I guess it wasn’t needed. Everythign was pretty self explanatory.

The first think I saw was a mini lunchbox. As you can see the front has a tomato pincushion with the little strawberry attached, so definitely sewing themed.

Happy Box: opening the lunchbox
Happy Box: opening the lunchbox

Everything was in the little lunchbox and the various items are all strawberry themed.

Happy Box: contents
Happy Box: contents

I am thrilled with the coin purse project, because I have wanted to try creating using the metal clasp frame, but have never spent the money to buy a frame.

The pen is a smelly pen, but it smells of some strawberry like fragrance, which I kind of like. I am smelling it right now.

The strawberry fabric in the middle is actually a microfiber cleaning cloth and the fabric on the left is the fabric for the coin purse. The card, as usual, will come in handy.

I look forward to seeing what Natalie comes up with next.

New Happy Box

Happy Box - June 2022
Happy Box – June 2022

I received another Happy Box. If I haven’t said it before these boxes do make me happy.

One of the things I like is the reusable  silverware set. I’ll bring that to work, so I don’t have to keep using one time use silverware. I also like the skincare care and makeup products Natalie includes. I would never know these things exist, so it is great to be able to try them out.

The Happy Box subscription is sold out for now, but you can be notified it it becomes available again. Consider getting one of your own. The Happy Box Mixer is still available which gives you the opportunity to try out the program. No affiliation!

Happy Box Contents

Happy Box
Happy Box

I have received three of the Sew Hungry Hippie Happy Boxes. You saw the Rainbow Pincushion I made from the first box. I really enjoy these boxes, partially because they are not 100% sewing supplies and partially because they are fun.

Happy Box Radical 80s
Happy Box Radical 80s

There is always a theme. This month’s theme is ‘Radical 80s’. Did people say ‘radical‘ in the 80s? I seem to recall they did. This month has some fun smelly erasers, which I remember my sister having in the 1980s.

Happy Box project
Happy Box project

The box also contains a boom box project. Boom boxes were big in the 80s. The nice thing about the projects in these Happy Boxes is that everything is there: fabric, interfacing, pattern, hardware, everything. You don’t have to think; you just have to sew. The project has some of the Ruby Star Society novelty prints with roller skates and boom boxes.

Happy Box candy, patch & miscellanea
Happy Box candy, patch & miscellanea

There is candy, too. From the other boxes, I noticed that it was candy with which I was not familiar, but always fun. This time it is Hubba Bubba chewing gum. I am not really a gum chewer, but Hubba Bubba and Bubblicious are the most fun gums to chew, because a person can blow HUGE bubbles.

The box also always includes a good card with a profound saying.

I won’t get these forever, but for now it is fun. I am two projects behind now that I have gotten the latest box, so I need to get sewing.

I noticed on Saturday that there were two left, so check out the Happy Box subscription and consider getting one of your own. There is also a Happy Box Mixer, which gives you the opportunity to get a box one time and see what is inside. No affiliation!

Quilt Shop: Just for Fun

Just for Fun quilt shop
Just for Fun quilt shop

This is a shop we visited when we went to Portland in March. For some reason, I never got around to writing about it.

When we had to leave the AirBnB, but before we could check into the hotel, we had some time to wander around the Portland Metro area. We happened to wander into Washington and visited Just for Fun in Vancouver.

Just for Fun: front of the shop
Just for Fun: front of the shop

In case you don’t know, Vancouver is not too far from Portland. I liked this shop. The people were super friendly – verging on too friendly, but just shying away from it.

They had an excellent selection of fabric, samples and a great notions area.

Just for Fun: Kimberbell area
Just for Fun: Kimberbell area

The shop wasn’t large and the first thing I did was look at the Kimberbell items. Do I have an embroidery machine? No. I don’t know why I look at the patterns and supplies all the time, but I do. The lady in that area was super friendly and very chatty. I had to work hard to get away from her.

Just for Fun: fabric shelves
Just for Fun: fabric shelves

The shop isn’t large, but they had an appealing selection. They did have the fabrics on those slanted shelves, which I don’t usually like. I did feel like I could see the fabrics pretty well, angled as they were.

I think they all the Kona solids, though i didn’t count.

Cha Cha Cha in Just for Fun
Cha Cha Cha in Just for Fun

This is where I saw the Birthday fabric from Sarah Watts of Ruby Star Society used in the Cha Cha Cha table runner. I didn’t do anything special except buy the charm pack and the pattern. Mine came out a little differently, but I still like it.

There were a number of good sample projects around.

I also found the Easter fabric at Just for Fun. As mentioned, I thought I would make masks for Easter, but then decided to make napkins.

Just for Fun: center of the shop
Just for Fun: center of the shop

I noticed the shop had a kind of pastel-ly vibe. That is probably not true, but that was the impression I got. Perhaps there was a larger selection of light fabrics? Or there were just Easter fabrics in profusion, which are typically pastels.

Above where the people are standing (photo left) you can see some panels. They had a nice selection of panels. Mom bought one or two for  future baby quilts.

Remember when I talked about Golden State’s new space and the longarm machines? I have no problem with any shop dedicating space to longarming, but the noise breaks my concentration. Just for Fun had two or three machines as well. Those machines were in a corner of the space and blocked with doors from the retail space. Customers could look into the space and see the longarms running, but not hear them. It was GREAT (no photo, sorry).

Just for Fun: purchases
Just for Fun: purchases

Just for Fun
Address: 1503 NE 78th St, Unit 12, Vancouver, WA 98665, United States
Phone: +1 360 882 9101
Website: https://www.justforfunquilting.com/

 

Pioneer Quilts Again

I was fortunate that Amanda had some free time and we were able to hang out a little. Of course, we went to quilt shops. I didn’t have a whole day to spend as I was working while I traveled.

Pioneer Quilt Shop - Creepy View
Pioneer Quilt Shop – Creepy View

We definitely made time to visit Pioneer Quilts again. I wrote about it a little while ago. The shop had refreshed fabrics and had moved some things around in the lobby area, but was otherwise the same great shop. I looked for ideas for the wool felt I bought last time. I refrained from buying more wool felt, though I was tempted.

I saw some pincushions I could make and also some table runners, though they used black as a background (patterns from Primitive Gatherings).  I don’t want something that dark or folk-arty, which is why I was thinking of buying some wool felt yardage. I didn’t as I got the idea to cut overlapping ovals (or another another shape) from what I have and putting them together to make a table runner for the buffet. I’ll check the wool felt I have at home and see if I can make something large enough with the wool felt I have.

I never noticed the door handles before, but they were beautiful. I took a picture thinking that I might be able to use some or all of the design for something.

Pioneer Quilts purchases 2022
Pioneer Quilts purchases 2022

I also bought a few things, including a new Yoko Saito bag book. The shapes of her bags are amazing! Look at that one on the cover! The ribbon is another Renaissance Ribbon that I hope to use the ribbon on another bag soon. Pioneer Quilts was the first place I saw that type of ribbon in person.

The pinks on the bottom right might be great for the Friesian Pouch with those great pink zippers, especially the circles. I have some of that fabric in a different colorway. I haven’t seen that colorway before.

 

 

 

Pioneer Quilt Shop
3101 SE Courtney
Portland, OR 97222
503.654.1555
info@pioneerquiltshop.com

Green’s Sew & Vac

Green's
Green’s

We stayed with Mary in Ashland overnight on our way to Portland. This area is a quilt shop mecca, but I want to use fabric not buy much more, so I had to balance my love of quilt shops and quilt shopping with my bursting fabric closet.

Green's - Bags with patterns
Green’s – Bags with patterns

Mary directed us to Green’s Sew & Vac, which is a sewing machine and vacuum sales & repair shop with a HUGE selection of bag supplies and 2000 bolts of fabric. They had one of the best selections of bag making supplies I have seen. They also had bags made up – A LOT OF BAGS – and hanging near the patterns, so shoppers could see what the bag looked like and how big it would be. I liked this store even before I talked to Vickie, the owner/operator of the part of the store where the bag making supplies lived.

Green's - from left to right
Green’s – from left to right

I didn’t pay much attention to the machines, but I saw Janome, Babylock, and Bernina for sale. I think that one in the front is a M7 Continental. I am still enamored of that machine, but can’t buy it now. There was also a whole room of vacuums, which I didn’t explore.

Accuquilt display
Accuquilt display

The shop has so many different aspects. The first thing I saw was a 70% off sale of Accuquilt. You bet I looked at what they had. One thing they that I would have bought in a second was a die for a bowl cozies. I still want to make bowl cozies as gifts for DH’s cousins. Sadly, it was only for the Accuquilt Big not the Accuquilt Go!**, which I have. I might have been tempted to buy an Accuquilt Big, but they didn’t have one. Probably a good thing. I don’t have anywhere to store it at the moment.

Green's fabrics
Green’s fabrics

In terms of fabric, they had a good selection of quilt fabrics, but also more canvas and heavier weight fabrics like canvas than I have seen at other stores. I didn’t see any of the Echino canvas like I bought in Ashland at Sew Creative last year.

They don’t consider themselves a quilt store, which Vickie made clear to me. They consider themselves to be a bag making store. I think that is a good business model as there aren’t a lot of stores that specialize in bags. They had a lot of quilt-adjacent supplies and the fabrics could, mostly, be used for quilts as well as bags and other projects.

One thing I saw was a lot of embroidery supplies: Kimberbell**, thread, interfacing and things on which to embroider such as tea towels. I didn’t recognize the interfacing brand and I wasn’t in the market so I didn’t investigate.

Bag making supplies
Bag making supplies

Some of the bag making brands available were Sallie Tomato, Emmaline and ByAnnie. I haven’t actually seen Emmaline in person before, so that was a mini-thrill. The shop carried a lot of hardware, much of it I had never seen in person. I was thrilled with what I saw and wanted to buy everything.As you know, I like online shopping, but there is something special about seeing bag hardware (and fabric) in person.

They have just started this part of the venture, Vickie said, so are adding supplies slowly.

One of the bonuses at this shop was their YouTube page where Vickie has a live session, called “How Vickie Does It”, every Thursday. She told me that she focuses on bag making in these sessions.

Green's purchases
Green’s purchases

I bought a couple of things. I am not going to embroider on the tea towels. I am just going to use them in my kitchen. They are perfect for my decor.

I bought the small triangular pieces. Sadly they didn’t have the corresponding lobster clips.

Green’s Sewing & Vacuum Center
1017 Knutson Ave., Medford, OR
Tel: (541) 779-3411
https://greensdirect.com/
https://readysetsewclasses.com/
No masks required

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops. However, I use 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 blog.

Golden State Quilt Shop

Golden State's new space
Golden State’s new space

I have been wanting to stop by Golden State Quilting and look at their new space. They moved a few months ago. Since I almost never go anywhere on the weekends (when else would I sew?), I haven’t had a chance. On the way back from lunch and shopping with Friend Julie, I stopped off.

First, I checked to see if they were open. Some quilt shops are closing at 3pm now which is very inconvenient. A point in Golden State’s favor is that they are open normal hours, mostly 10-6. I followed Google’s directions there and found the old shop no problem. Fortunately, I had read that they moved only a few doors down from their new shop. Eventually I found it. The new shop is about 6 spaces and across one parking lot ‘street’ to the left of the old space. For some reason, I imagined it being to the right.

The corner space means a lot of light. That is good for choosing colors and makes the shop nice and bright.

Golden State's Kaffe selection
Golden State’s Kaffe selection

One of the reasons I went there is that they have a great selection of Kaffe fabric and I wanted some Shark’s teeth to use to make one of the Reiko  Washizawa bags. I think I mentioned it the other day. I found the Shark’s Teeth, but when I was about to get it cut the bolt looked like the teeth were blue. They were, but one of the shop ladies found the black and white for me.

I thought the Kaffe offerings were a little thin, but with all of the supply chain issues, I can’t really complain. I think I also visited right before the new collections are set to be released. They did have a Kaffe puzzle that I was tempted to buy. I restrained myself since I value my hand sewing time right now.

Golden State's notions
Golden State’s notions

The shop has an excellent selection of notions, except thimbles. I have about 3 thimbles, but really only like two of them and wanted another as a spare. I am going to have to go to a fancy quilt show sometime and get one. I wonder when that will be?

The whole corner under the chicken wall hanging contains notions. That free standing rack in the middle is all rulers. I almost swooned. I love a wide variety of notions. To the right is a variety of interfacings and other miscellaneous notions.

Golden State's selection of Quilter's Select tools
Golden State’s selection of Quilter’s Select tools

They also have quite a good selection of Quilter’s Select rulers and tools.

If I had had a gift certificate to Golden State, I might have bought another ruler or the rotary cutter, but I didn’t so I didn’t buy anything from this display. I am very partial to my OLFA squeezy rotary cutter**, but I am also interested in trying the Quilter’s Select rotary cutter.

I tried the new QS ruler I bought the other day and am pretty happy with it. It doesn’t move once you put it down BUT I also can’t slide it around to get it into the general area before the precise positioning like I do with other rulers. That’s a change. I probably would like a QS 4.5 x 8.5 inch ruler, but I didn’t see one, so I’ll stick with my Creative Grids 4.5 x 8.5** version.

Golden State towards the front
Golden State towards the front

Golden State also does longarming there. The machine was going the whole time I visited and that got on my nerves a little bit. This photo is taken from the entry to the Kaffe room/classroom area looking towards the front of the shop/the corner window. They have the longarm set up in the front of the shop to the left of the front door.

Golden State: from main windows twds Kaffe room
Golden State: from main windows twds Kaffe room

Near the cash register I saw some frames. These are similar to the ones I have used for the Retreat pouches and were the Emmaline brand. I have heard that bag frames are a little hard to find lately. Though I have enough for a few more bags, I bought a couple of the small Retreat bag sized. I’ll have to see what other patterns with which they can be used.

Next to the front door was a variety of different solids and tone-on-tone fabrics. Also, right in front of the front door was new fabric including Tula’s Daydreamer. I bought a couple of half yards for the La Pass project.

Golden State: near cash register
Golden State: near cash register

One thing about the shop is that they have a full complement of supplies. In addition to the items I have mentioned above, they have a couple of different design wall fabrics, different sizes of cutting mats and even some gifts.

You can see some thread displays in the background as well.

Golden State: some novelty fabrics
Golden State: some novelty fabrics

I was also impressed with the number and variety of novelty fabrics. Some were not to my taste, but in contemplating another college pillowcase project, I will need some. Looking at them is always better than ordering online for these types of fabrics.

One of the ladies there has a sharp tongue. I have had run-ins with her int he past, which is one reason I haven’t been there in a long time. She was, again, sharp this time, but I was a little more patient this time. I keep thinking that COVID has us all on edge and gave her a break. Very unlike me, but I guess we all evolve. Also, the shop is big so I could get a little space from her if needed.

January 2022 Golden State Quilting purchases
January 2022 Golden State Quilting purchases

I know I showed what I bought the other day, but here is the stuff again. Everything has been washed and pressed and put away.

All in all, I liked the variety of fabrics and notions. I didn’t really see books or magazines. I must have missed them.

 

 

Address: 2435 Winchester Blvd, Campbell, CA 95008-4801

Phone: +1 408 866 1181

Hours: Closed · Opens 10AM 

Masks required and hand sanitizer is available at the door.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nota Bene: I like my OLFA squeezy rotary cutter**, because when you loosen your grip, the blade retracts. You don’t have to do anything to make the blade safe. I wish more rotary cutter designers would take this into consideration.

 

**Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops. However, I use 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 blog.

Wooden Gate Quilts Again

Wooden Gate - New Location
Wooden Gate – New Location

I have visited Wooden Gate Quilts out in Danville many times. The store was small, but had really good items and great fabric. They crammed a lot into a small space. I first talked about it in 2010! It is great to know that the shop has been there that long.

Mom and I have a routine when we meet. We meet at Starbuck’s since traffic is unpredictable, then go to the quilt shop, then have lunch at the gluten free cafe. When we got together the other day, the only thing that worked was Starbuck’s!

We chatted for while at Starbuck’s, then headed over to the quilt shop. It was GONE!! I couldn’t believe it. Fortunately, my phone came to the rescue and we found that it had just moved. We rearranged and headed for the gluten free cafe. Closed. 🙁 They are now only open Thursday-Sunday. I checked, but missed that tidbit. I had planned to pig out on GF pastries, so was disappointed. We went and got GF pizza. It was good, we could eat inside and the place wasn’t crowded. It was a longer walk than Mom had planned so she skipped the quilt shop and I went looking for it later.

Wooden Gate: fabric shelves
Wooden Gate: fabric shelves

The inside of the shop is just how I would decorate: bright white everything with the fabric highlighted.

As you can see the shelves were 3 high, which I thought was not too tall, but provided a lot of space for bolts. All of the shelves were full, but I didn’t think they had tons of the fabric.

Wooden Gate: fabric shelves
Wooden Gate: fabric shelves

I liked the selection, which included some of the new Tula Daydreamer line. The shop used to have a good selection of Michael Miller solids (Cotton Couture???), but I didn’t see them this time. I think they might have switched to Bella solids.

I wanted to buy some neutral charm packs to make more half triangle squares for Peggy, but no such luck. I’ll borrow SIL’s 5″ die and cut some myself. I have plenty of white, which should surprise nobody.

Wooden Gate: front of the store
Wooden Gate: front of the store

I think their notions area is a little smaller than before. Still, they had great notions. They have all of the Quilter’s Select tools by Alex Anderson- rotary cutters in two sizes and a variety of ruler sizes.

I thought about buying one of her rotary cutters to try, but it was nearly $60. Well worth it, I am sure, but too much for me to give it a try. I have plenty of rotary cutters and am happy with my squeezy handle cutter**. I’ll look for deals. You never know.

Wooden Gate: front of the store
Wooden Gate: front of the store

The lady working told me they have twice the space. I believe it. The shop had a classroom before, but this one was nice and big. My back is to the class in this picture, so you’ll have to go visit the shop to see it.

I think the floors were the same as in the previous location. I don’t know that I would choose them, but I think they add warmth and keep the white walls and shelves from being too stark.

Wooden Gate: cutting table
Wooden Gate: cutting table

They had a large cutting table before and this one might be the same. I didn’t buy any fabric (have you seen my statistics? Abysmal for 2021!!) though I covet that cutting table. If I had space, I could cut more than one project at a time, have a place for scraps, etc.

Wooden Gate Quilts -purchases
Wooden Gate Quilts -purchases

I only bought a couple of things, including a new thimble to try. I couldn’t find any of the light grey (Aurifil 2600) when I made a purchase at Pink Door‘s sale. I saw the right color, so I picked up a spool.

The shop is in a mall called The Livery. The mall or group of shops has beautiful old trees, which enhances the appeal. Parking is good.

Wooden Gate Quilts
310 Sycamore Valley Road 
Danville, CA 94526

Phone Number: (925) 837-8458
Email: debi@woodengatequilts.com

Masks are required in the shop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item 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 blog.

SuzyQuilts Ultimate Guide

SuzyQuilts wrote an ultimate guide to the best fabric shops. During a recent work meeting where I was invited as a courtesy, and also where I understood nothing, I glanced through the fabric at some of these sites. I had a couple of thoughts that I thought I would share.

I was surprised that I had only heard of a few of these online stores and shopped at only one or two.

Hawthorne Threads: sample color trends
Hawthorne Threads: sample color trends

I am not sure if it is these particular shops, but I noticed that colors are becoming less clear – I wouldn’t say murky, but definitely more into the mustard, apricot, mauve, mint, blue grey, rose, cream, etc. As you can see from my quilts, I like bright clear colors. Way too much brown for me in current fabric lines.

Still, there was a lot of fabric I found that I would buy. (I stayed away from the checkout carts!).  Animals seem to be still on the fabric menu. There is also a wide variety of ginghams – big checks, small checks, more white, less white and LOTS of colors.

It is interesting to see the personalities of the shops based on the colors and the variety of products.

There wasn’t as much Tula as thought there would be. Perhaps I am just immersed in Tula at the moment.

Sewing Arts in Santa Monica has a great and interesting line of thread gloss. I have heard a lot about Robot Mom in the La Pass BOM group, but her store is closed for the moment, so other thread gloss lines and thread conditioners are catching my attention.

I know we all have our favorite stores. I would add Fabric Party, Hawthorne Threads, Pink Door, Stash Fabrics and DIY Addict to the list.

Go shopping! 🙂

Cottage Quilting

Cottage Quilting
Cottage Quilting

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.

Cottage Quilting - June 2021
Cottage Quilting – June 2021

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.

Cottage Quilting - June 2021
Cottage Quilting – June 2021

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.

Cottage Quilting notions - June 2021
Cottage Quilting notions – June 2021

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.

Cottage Quilting - June 2021
Cottage Quilting – June 2021

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

Cotton Cure Portland

Cotton Cure Sign
Cotton Cure Sign

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.

Cotton Cure: entrance and True Kisses
Cotton Cure: entrance and True Kisses

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.

Cotton Cure: bag hardware cabinet
Cotton Cure: bag hardware cabinet

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?

Cotton Cure: hearts & floss
Cotton Cure: hearts & floss
Cotton Cure: floss detail
Cotton Cure: floss detail

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.

Cotton Cure: thread, cows & wool
Cotton Cure: thread, cows & wool

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.

Cotton Cure: wool felt & thread
Cotton Cure: wool felt & thread

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.

Cotton Cure: workroom
Cotton Cure: workroom

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

Quilting Foxes, Sedro-Woolley, Wash

Isn’t Sedro-Woolley a funny name for a town? I looked up the history and I guess Sedro-Woolley is better than the original name of the town, which was Bug, because of all the mosquitos. Regardless of the name, we still visited Quilting Foxes. The name makes no difference to me when there is fabric involved. I suppose the shop is in the old downtown area, though I don’t really know. It seemed like an old downtown area.

Cascade Fabrics front
Cascade Fabrics front

When we arrived, I was surprised to see two fabric stores right next door to each other. Cascade Fabrics has, apparently, been in business for 40+ years. It is more of an old time sewing shop. It had clothes patterns, fabrics on rounders and all the notions for sewing clothes. My Mom said it reminded her of an old Woolworth’s store like she visited when she was a kid.

Quilting Foxes front
Quilting Foxes front

We went into Quilting Foxes first. I had a bit of a fabric hangover from the abundance at Calico Creations, but powered through. This shop was really different than Calico Creations. It had fewer bolts and all the fabric was on shelves. I saw a number of fabrics I liked.

They had a large number of bolts from the Dit Dot Evolution line and I thought for sure I could get the grey I have been wanting. Once I got the bolt up to the counter, the grey had a brown tinge to it, so I passed.

Quilting Foxes: front of store
Quilting Foxes: front of store

The shop had a lot of Japanese fabrics and supplies. There were tons of indigo fabrics, books from Japanese authors, and Sashiko supplies.

The shop also had a lot of other stitching and embroidery supplies. They had the full line (or close to it) of Sue Spargo’s Eleganza Perl cotton. I almost swooned! I need to find a project where I can use the thread I have. The BAMQG Improv quilt isn’t cutting it for me.

Quilting Foxes: book wall
Quilting Foxes: book wall

The books which tempted me were bag books by Japanese authors. One was by Akemi Shibata called Sew Beautiful Quilted Bags**. I can see where one of these bags would take months to make. The embroidery and applique are exquisite. I would never do that work. What I love about the bags is the shape. The same is true about the Yoko Saito book** I bought recently.

I liked this store and would have bought more if I didn’t have such a fabric hangover from Calico Creations.

Quilting Foxes Quilt Shop & Gallery
822 Metcalf St
Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284
360-399-0324
shop@quiltingfoxes.com

 

 

 

 

**I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item 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 blog.