Tag: Quilt Shop

OMG! I have been to so many quilt shops in the last few weeks! It is really awesome. I don’t have a fabric hangover yet, but I’ll need to sew up a storm.

The Springville Quilt Barn is in the space once occupied by Kim’s Fortuna Fabric and Crafts. I visited the previous shop in 2010, but it only got a brief mention in one of my previous posts.  I don’t remember anything about it other than a shop was there. 

The Springville shop was crowded with fabric, books, kits, notions and was somewhat disorganized. It was not dirty and was filled with GREAT fabric. I enjoyed the discovery process. Everywhere I turned were colors and patterns I love. Jan Leonardo is the owner and she was very friendly and engaged with us.

The front of the shop gave us a taste of what was to come. As soon as we walked in we saw tons of fabric, books, kits, and notions. They were nicely arranged, in my opinion.

I think Jan had a lot going on. She was creating kits, serving customers, posting to her website and all the other things that go into owning a quilt shop business.

There were quite a few notions and I don’t really think I was able to take in all the fabric that was available. It was, mostly, organized by line and somewhat by designer as well. For example, most of the Tilda fabrics were near each other. I saw Tula, Tilda, some Kaffe (and my man, Phil), but lots of other designers as well.

One thing I noticed is that the shop has older prints from the various designers. For example I saw bolts of Tula Homemade there. Not all are listed on the shop website, so call if you need more of a specific print.

Of course, there were other bolts in that corner as well. I also saw quite a few panels in the same corner and in other parts of the shop. I am seeing more panels lately. Are they more popular or have always been popular and I just haven’t noticed them?

FQ packs were everywhere as well.

I loved the long rows of shelving filled with fabric bolts.

I bought some fabric for gifts, but I also bought a half yard pack of Tilda Bloomsville fabric that I have been admiring. The colors are super cheerful, though there are a few that are a little icky. I hope the colors I like will mitigate any ickiness.

The pack includes the flower prints only not the focus fabrics from that line. I think Jan put the pack together herself as opposed to it being a group assembled by Free Spirit or whichever company distributes Tilda. It was kind of an impulse buy, but I also bought a magazine with a pattern I am going to use for it. Perhaps I’ll start as soon as I get home now that the Green Strips donation quilt is in a good place.

Springville Quilt Barn
2045 S. Main Street
Fortuna, CA 95540
T: 707 496 3433
IG: https://www.instagram.com/springvillequiltbarn/
 

Kruusn is in Coos Bay and it was one of the only quilt shops we passed that was open on a Sunday. We actually went out of our way to find the shop, but it wasn’t terribly far out of the way and it was totally worth it.

The store looked like a beach house and when we pulled up I was afraid I was walking into someone’s living room. There were family members there living their lives, but it was definitely a quilt shop.

Kruusn was packed with fabric, bag supplies, patterns, tools and panels. I didn’t see many kits, but I also wasn’t looking. You see it all the minute you walk in. I found plenty to buy there.

The people were super friendly once we all warmed up. They didn’t try and hard sell me on anything, though one of the clerk’s extolled the virtues of rope bowls and showed us both the one she made and embellished with the moon and stars fabric we both bought.

There was so much to look at I had to go through the shop twice.

The front room had tons of notions and bag supplies. I had to stop myself from buying notions. They had so many different scissors and rotary cutters and lots of things I had never seen before. I took advantage of the selection to buy some gifts. 

I was really interested in how many ByAnnie patterns and supplies the shop had. They had the most complete set of zippers (all the colors??) I have seen. There were other brands as well.   I bought some interesting zipper pulls and some bag gifts for SueG.

They also showed us the ‘Glow’ rulers by Carolina Moore. These rulers light up and are rechargeable. They are also very pricey IMO. The 6×6 inch ruler is $58. They also had a 6.5 x 24 inch size that was $91 and 12.5 inch square that is $78. I am sure they are worth it and I will be buying one when my eyesight deteriorates. I didn’t buy one at Kruusn. This is why I like going to different shops. I like seeing all different things.

Kruusn had a nice selection of V&Co ombre fabrics. You can see them on the back wall of the photo, left.

Friend Julie spent a lot of time in there. I had to go find her at one point as I hadn’t seen her. It turns out she was checking the requirements for a quilt she wants to make and needed a specific ombre.

You can also see how every surface held something interesting. There were lots of charm packs and fat quarter/half yard packs all around the shop.

The other side of the ombre room held batiks and marbly looking fabrics, including some of the Tonga Treats. There were also A LOT of Kimberbell products.

There were a lot of blanks I have never seen, such as zipper pouch blanks. I also aprons, a variety – a wide variety – of interfacing.

There were things I rarely see in quilt shops such as Art Bin totes and pillow forms. It makes me wonder if they are one of the few shops in the area. If so, they are full service.

They had a respectable amount of everything, but not tons. The shop was full of a lot of different things. It is clear that they are supplying materials for pre-cut projects as well as the pre-cuts themselves.

First they have pre-cuts, as we have mentioned, but then they supplied books for using pre-cuts  and a variety of projects that use pre-cuts.

I saw a couple of projects using Bosal as well as patterns for a wide variety of small projects – bags, baskets and other gifts.

If you need a ‘Gnome for the Holidays’ quilt kit, this is your store!

This room also had a lot of pet fabrics. On the wall, left, is a fun dog quilt.

Next to the pets is a ‘soft book library’ with kits to make the books underneath. Also, they had a supply of Cutterpillar products, which I have discussed in a recent V&S post.

One of the most interesting things was a modern Necchi. I have never seen one of these before. I have also never heard of one. It turns out Kruusn is a Necchi dealer. That is novel! Seeing the machine immediately catapulted me back to the Necchi I own. As you know it was my great grandmother’s machine. I got it repaired a long time ago, but don’t use it for sewing.

The shop was worth visiting. They had a lot of fabric, charm packs, mini charm packs as well as an excellent section of tools and supplies. They have a rewards program where customers can earn a $10 gift card for each $200 purchased.

Kruusn Quilt Designs, Quilt Shop & Retreat Center
92772 Cape Arago Hwy
Coos Bay, OR 97420
T: 541-808-9972
E: lindamason@kruusn.com

We stopped in Newport, Oregon to see a BAM friend who moved there a few years ago. I have been wanting to drive down the coast and seeing her was a good excuse.

We spent the whole day on Saturday out and about including visiting Quilter’s Cove quilt shop.

This shop has a coastal theme, as do many of the shops along the coast of Oregon. I probably said that when I talked about the quilt shops I visiting back in 2015 such as Quilter’s Corner (still in business, but was closed when we went by Port Orford). The shop had a lot of batiks in blues and greens.

I was also super impressed with the number of Laura Heine patterns Quilter’s Cove had in the shop. If you want to see a Laura Heine pattern made up, this is the shop for you. I don’t know how many patterns are available but there were a lot of them.

I thought about making the Fish pattern as a gift, but I decided to hold off. I’d like to know how the process works. Also, I am not that interested in recreating something someone else designed.

I was impressed with the notions the shop had. They has a wide variety of tools. They had a wide variety of machine and hand needles. I also saw several versions of the Magic Pins**, and a whole line of rotary cutters. I didn’t see a lot of rulers, though they had quite a few Add-a-Quarter rulers**.

The most interesting thing was that they had Martelli’s rotary blade replacements. I never thought of where I would get Martelli blades if I decided to buy one of their rotary cutters. I have only seen them sold at quilt shows. I have no idea whether or not an Olfa replacement blade, for example, would work in a Martelli rotary cutter.

They displayed the fabrics in a way that was a cross between House of Fabrics and a quilt shop. It was an easy way to see what the fabrics looked like.

Quilter’s Cove
27 N Coast Hwy
Newport, OR 97365-3122
T:(541) 265-2591
W: https://www.facebook.com/QuiltersCove/
E: quilterscove@gmail.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.

Portland was getting too hot and I was starting to feel the itch to get home. Not seriously, because I love driving down the Oregon coast and looking at the ocean. It is such a beautiful color and the scenery is amazing.

We stopped in McMinnville after I saw the sign and told Friend Julie about Boersma’s. I remember it from when Amanda and I visited back in the beforetimes. Back then I thought the shop was awesome. It was even better this time.

AND they have a super cool sign. That windmill was moving when I took the photo.

The shop is housed in an old department store space. The store was three stories. The third story was an apartment. There were also classrooms, offices and staff areas on the second story. We didn’t go up there. The basement floor was all sale fabric. They had quite a lot and I found a good canvas for a bag there.

The street level floor was full of fabric, sewing machines and vacuum cleaners. 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 Tilde and Tula to Pacific Northwest forest and tree fabrics. I didn’t see many, if any,  Civil War, etc repros. I wasn’t looking for those, so they may have been somewhere and I didn’t see them.

They have upgraded their technology and have a cool kiosk you can sign up to be on their mailing list and get rewards. Rewards are accumulated through online and in person sales.

The online shop is good. I love their ‘What’s New’ section. It is called ‘What’s New Woo Hoo’! Isn’t that fun and hilarious? I am glad they have a sense of humor.

You know I love notions. I think I escaped this trip with no new rulers, but I did do a good survey of various notions selections in the shops. This shop had a nice selection including a lot of zippers.

This time I found the interfacings nook. I didn’t buy any interfacing, but they had a good selection.

This trip I seemed to be looking at ‘good ideas in quilt shops’. I am not sure why. Perhaps I will win the lottery and open the ideal quilt shop?

Boersma’s had patterns hanging in the aisles with fabrics. These seemed to be the free patterns that were released with the fabrics by the fabric company. I thought that was a great idea.

They had new sales and repair sections for both sewing machines and vacuum cleaners. I did not look at the vacuum cleaners, though I did see a long line of them in the basement. Perhaps they were repairs?

In the sewing machine department, I just took a quick look. Julie said they sold Janomes. Julie liked the chairs they had, which were also available for sale.

This shop is definitely worth a visit. It isn’t that far out of Portland, though it is a trek and you would need a car. If you are only able to visit one quilt shop, this should be it.

There is a McMeniman’s nearby where you can eat lunch, which would be a good break.

Boersma’s Sewing Center Inc
203 NE 3rd Street
McMinnville , OR 97128
Main: (503) 472-4611
Toll Free: (800) 822-7397
Fax: (503) 472-1831
info@boersmas.com

I visited Pioneer Quilts AGAIN! At that visit, I introduced Julie to the goodness that is Pioneer Quilts.

I did not take the full complement of pictures this time as you have seen the place a million times. I was going to use the creepy view of the building  from 2018. However, Friend Julie was kind enough to share her photos with me. She took different photos than I did and has already posted about the trip to her blog. I also visited in January of 2018, March of 2022 and January 2023.  I should have taken a photo, because the garden was beautiful this time. All the gardens in Portland are gorgeous. I keep taking photos of flowers!

This time I went into the holiday section first. I know I have looked at that section before, but not in as much detail. They have a Halloween room and a Christmas room.

I really loved the Halloween fabrics, but didn’t buy any. I tried to get  Friend Julie to buy some. She did a good job of resisting.

That center table has a fun Halloween witch’s hat pattern from Crabapple Hill Studios. I love their designs. They are so whimsical and fun. I think of buying them and making one of the series into a quilt, but then I realize how many other projects I have. I may do it, but it is pretty far down the list.

I did buy an interesting stripe from the Christmas room. It is broken up a little and the motif is that the ribbons are overlapping. It is cool.

The other cool thing I saw is that they had a display of patterns that relate to the fabric in that room.

I found that working on my EPP Ball #4 was a pain. The scissors I had in my Enigma pouch were not sharp enough to clip threads, so I bought another pair of Karen Kay Buckley scissors** and they are fantastic, of course.

I saw a really nice few through the connecting hallway from the holiday rooms to the main part of the shop.

You can see all the way down the hall to turn to the main shop. It is filled with quilts and fabric.

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

When we didn’t find a quilt shop in Scappoose, we headed up to Vancouver and visited Just for Fun again. The last time was in March of 2022. This seems to be the shop I visit when I don’t have something else to do or plans have gone awry. 😉

The shop looked much the same as before, though there was a class going on in the back. I am not sure what they were learning, but the class sounded like they were having fun.

Of course, the fabrics were different as well.

I realize now that it is interesting to visit quilt shops at different times of the year. This time of the year Halloween and Christmas were big. Obviously, you have to start projects for those holidays early, so it makes sense.

They still had the Kimberbell area in the front of the shop, but I didn’t notice as much Kimberbell embroidery as I remember from last time. I saw a lot more fabric related to Kimberbell projects, which I found interesting.

There is obviously interfacing and different types of products on which to embroider, so that ‘system’ of products was definitely there. I just don’t remember a lot of actual embroidery. Perhaps I missed it?

I noticed a lot more patterns and kits than I did last time.

Last time I noticed the samples. This time I noticed patterns and kits. I think kits are much more popular now than they used to be.

This image shows a lot of brown fabrics. This section was for nature type quilts.

They had the same angled shelves as last time. I still feel like I could see the fabrics pretty well. I think those angled shelves take up a lot of space. I wonder what you think about angled vs. straight shelves?

The shop also had a lot of bundles. I think they might wrap up fabrics that are ‘end of bolt’ into bundles. They had a couple of Guicy Guice bundles I considered. I really wanted yardage and they were out. I like the Guicy Guice fabric. The colors are magnificent, but I am not going through my fabric fast enough to collect that as well.

Just for Fun had a well stocked notions area and I picked up a few things for gifts.

I was interested to see the different sizes of Hot Rulers. I couldn’t think of a use for other sizes, so I didn’t buy any.

I am also always tempted by pre-wound bobbins. I have plenty of thread, so I resisted the urge.

I think I was tired after my gravel road adventure because I didn’t buy much. I did buy another fabric for the new Pillowcase Project and also some interfacing for another Midi Bag. I realized when I got home that I already had one I hadn’t used yet. Well, I’ll just have to make two of them.

Just for Fun
Address: 1503 NE 78th St, Unit 12, Vancouver, WA 98665, United States
T: +1 360 882 9101

My Quilting Loft is in Troutdale. I don’t know where Troutdale is, though we visited on the day that we also went to Knitted Wit and Feather Your Nest, so I know it is outside Portland. The inside reminded me of another shop I can’t quite bring to mind.

It is on the main Troutdale street and very easy to find. The main street also has a good coffee shop with interesting coffees and other drinks.

The shop is a bright open space with a carefully curated selection of fabric.

I really liked the front windows a lot. I would love a quiltmaking space with such windows even though I would have to protect my fabric.

They had a lot of fabric packs with 3 yards and 3 or 4 fabrics.

There were also a lot of patterns.

They were filling orders and when I asked about it, they talked to me about a live sale they have regularly.

One of the things My Quilting Loft has is their Pouch Club. This is a great idea to get people interested in making pouches and, ultimately, bags. Each month you get a pattern, a set of mini-charms or fat eighths and a zipper. The cost is $19.99. This seems like a good price knowing how much patterns cost. You can find all the information using the pouch option under the Subscriptions & Clubs page. The information doesn’t say whether they have a work session to help make the pouch or to answer questions. I also can’t tell if you can subscribe if you don’t live in the area. It is likely that they want you to come into the shop to pick up your kit.

I continued my hunt for pillowcase fabric for the nephew and found a couple of yards. I’ll use the tree fabric for the cuffs. The black fabric will be used for additional blocks I plan to make using my Orange Peel circle idea.

My Quilting Loft
253 E Historic Columbia River Hwy
Troutdale, OR 97060
E: Kristi@MyQuiltingLoft.com
T:971-292-2991 (during business hours is best time to call)

Amanda drove me down to Gresham to visit some other quilt stores. I added Portland to the post name for easier retrieval later, but Feather Your Nest is in a cute downtown in Gresham, Oregon.

The shop also has craft supplies, but looked like mostly quiltmaking and projects you can do with quilting fabric. I was amazed to see how many shops had umbrella project parts available!

Feather Your Nest had a LOT of notions. Every section was dedicated to a project or a type of technique. In that area were patterns, notions, supplies and fabric. It was a little confusing, but also a great way to capitalize on impulse buys.

One thing I heard was that she puts Odicoat on the umbrella fabric AFTER she puts the whole project together. This makes me feel better about my idea to try it on bags AFTER I make them. I have thought about it for awhile, but was concerned because Sara always says to put the Odicoat on the fabric before. The FYN owner/salesperson said that if you coat the fabric with Odicoat before the fabric won’t stretch. That makes sense and I am not sure why didn’t think of that before.

I bought some fabrics that I will use to make pillowcases. I have a nephew who just graduated from high school. He is not going to college yet, but I though he should get some pillowcases anyway. I will a use travel theme as he says he wants to travel.

As you can see, I also bought some steampunk sealife fabric. I thought it was funny, especially the octopus in the top hat. The Dia de las Muertos fabric will be used for gifts for a friend. I also bought a new pair of scissors for my Sew Day/Retreat bag. I looked on Amazon, but I wanted to actually see the scissors since they are ‘upgraded’ since I bought my last pair.

Feather Your Nest
130 N Main Ave, Gresham, OR, United States, Oregon
Tel: (971) 220-0936
E: feathered.nest97030@gmail.com

Bolt is a shop I have visited before. It is not in the same location. Since the last time I visited, a few years ago, they have moved twice. The last shop, on the same street, was tiny. This shop is much larger and has a lot more fabric. It is not specifically for quiltmaking, but they have quite a bit of quiltmaking fabric. I think they have more garment and bagmaking fabric and supplies.

I was pleased to see that the shop seems to be doing well.

The entrance to the shop was open and welcoming, but also sucked me right into the love that is fabric. This image gives you an idea of the size of the shop.

I immediately saw some canvas that I loved. I really tried hard not to buy it. I have a lot of bagmaking fabric already. See below whether I succeeded or not.

I was amazed at the amount and variety of notions they had. I only took a photo of one side of the display. There were also a number of other types of stitching notions to my right. The number of Sashiko thread colors they had was amazing.

In the shelf on the bottom (right) is a lot of interfacing.

I thought their book choices were interesting as well. I didn’t see the standard C&T books. Most of them were new to me. I really liked the idea of the Feel Something Make Something** book. I deal with stress and my emotions by sewing, so this is very apropos. I’ll see if they have it at the library and take a look before I buy it.

The section behind the books was home to most of the quiltmaking cottons. Closest to the books was a rack of toweling cottons. I was surprised and pleased to see so many different options at many of the shops we visited. I wish we had the variety in the Bay Area.

In the area behind the toweling fabrics were the other quilting cottons. I saw a number of fabrics that I had also seen at Sewlarium including the new Ruby Star.

I was pleased to see a very few Martha Negley vegetable fabrics. Unfortunately they had taupe and beige backgrounds. As much as I love Martha Negley, I don’t want those colors in my palette. Some of her fabrics had beautiful purple and aqua backgrounds and I long for colors to return.

The photo shows some wools, some bags and some solids.

There was thread, buttons and zippers on the other side of the shop.

Bolt also carried a lot of fabric on rolls. Some of these were various garment fabrics and some were other heavier fabrics. I know there was some canvas on rolls, too.

The button selection wasn’t as good as Josephine’s Dry Goods, but they had most uses covered.

I bought some fabrics to make some bags. Yes, I succumbed to the canvas! I am thinking I will use the Superbloom tote bag pattern. That could change as the fabrics would be great for a Poolside tote.

As you can, maybe, see these are canvas fabrics. The fabric on the left will be a bag for my aunt and the fabric on the right will be a bag for me. Perhaps I will solve my going-to-class tool tote problem. I have to think about what my aunt would like and would use. As for me, I still have the idea that I want to make a Sheffield tote for myself.

Bolt
2904 NE Alberta St.
Portland, OR 97211
503.287.2658

**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.

I know I talked about Sewlarium the other day, but Josephine’s Dry Goods (JDG) was actually the first shop we visited. In comparison to the other places I know in Portland, I am not sure where it was. I let Amanda drive and I just entertained her. 😉

JDG is described as a luxurious fabric boutique. This shop reminded me of the first shop, Satin Moon at 23 Clement Street, I visited in the City when I first started to sew. Both shops are not just quiltmaking stores. They are sewing stores with a tendency to specialize in garments and garment fabrics.

JDG had quiltmaking cottons, including some designs I hadn’t seen or colorways I hadn’t seen. One was Gardenia by Sally Kelly from Windham. Unlike many quilt shops, JDG did not have the whole line. I thought the border print was gorgeous. With a black bodice, this print would make a fantastic dress. The colors of the flowers were so vibrant and lovely.

Much of the fabric was on rolls, which I always find interesting. There were velvets, silks, a lot of Liberty lawn, linen – a lot of linen, suiting fabrics, some chiffons and all manner of other garment sewing fabrics.

A number of the garment sewing fabrics were set with a drape of fabric flowing off of them, the way House of Fabrics used to display fabric, but you don’t see in quilt stores at all. I think it shows the drape of the fabric. Not all the fabrics were displayed that way. I think they displayed the fabrics as required for the type of fabric. I think that shows a thoughtful owner or manager.

Just out of the photo, above, behind the fabric, was a couch where two men (husbands?) were parked.

This photo captures the front of the shop to the left of the front door. You can see some of the fabrics in the photo above from another angle.

You can also see some of the finer fabrics that were on rolls. The green in the top roll was amazing! It was a velvet, but not a thick one, so, perhaps, velvet-like. I would love a dress made out of it.

In the back of the photo, against the wall, you can see some silks and various Japanese fabrics. I think most were either silk or linen. Right in front of the leftmost wall display are the Liberty fabrics.

There really was fabric everywhere and there were also a lot of customers on a Thursday when we were in the shop. I was kind of amazed.

The photo, right, shows many more of the rolls of fabric. I thought that would be a good place to find some oilcloth that would go well in my dining room, but no luck on that front. I did see a linen stripe in teal that, in a different color, might be great for reupholstering my wingback chairs. Mom didn’t like the width of the stripe.

From where I was standing above, I could turn and see towards the front of the shop. This was an aisle of notions. The button case is on the right. It reminds me of the button wall at Britex before they moved. So many buttons! I was tempted to buy some crystal and rhinestone cluster buttons. I don’t have a project, so I passed.

In the back of the photo is a rack of garment patterns by independent designers. The way the patterns are displayed makes it hard to see the front of the pattern, which means it is hard to know what kind of pattern you are looking at.

The front of the shop has a nice big counter. I would LOVE a cutting table like the one they have.

They rip all of their fabric and that sounds always makes me cringe. I know why they do it.

Above the counter, probably for their website, they have a camera setup that looks pretty sophisticated.

I didn’t buy anything. I might have bought the Gardenia border print, but I didn’t have a project plan, so I restrained myself.

____________________________________

Josephine’s Dry Goods
2609 SE Clinton Street
Portland, OR 97202
P: 503-224-4202
Info@JosephinesDryGoods.com

As is my habit, I went out with Amanda to fabric stores while I was in Portland last week. She found some shops which we had never visited.

Sewlarium is a new shop in Portland. I visited twice, once with Amanda, once with Julie.

It has been open since January and is owned by a young man named Zachariah. That’s right! A YOUNG MAN. He said that he is active in all the local guilds and his business has been slowly growing.

One part of his business is quilting. He has a longarm and is getting more longarm clients as people get to know him. He got his longarm about a year before he opened the shop and is still building his skills. The longarming he does is hand guided edge to edge using pantographs. He practices a lot on charity quilts from local guilds. Zachariah has a relationship with other longarmers if someone needs more sophisticated custom quilting. It seems to be normal to have a longarm in a shop now. It seems reasonable that small businesses need as many income streams as possible

When we walked in, we saw patterns and notions. He had a whole rack of Elizabeth Hartman patterns. I don’t want to make her patterns, but I always enjoy looking at them. The ideas are so funny.  There were some I have never seen, such as Cats in Pajamas.

Around the patterns were a basket of toweling fabrics in various holiday motifs. There was also a display of Guterman thread. He also had some Aurifil in neutral colors near the cash register. Just out of the picture was a new display of new Ruby Star Society fabrics and some Alison Glass-looking fabrics from Moda right near the front door. Zachariah also had some notions near the front door.

I noticed that he had some of the Dropcloth Sampler kits on the wall with the notions.

There was fabric tucked everywhere, including under the cutting table. The fabric in the shop was very well curated.

Speaking of that, I saw a lot of the ‘Start to Sew’ and ‘Start to Quilt’ box kits around the shop. I think those kits might be related to EverSew machines which he also had in the shop. Full service!

I also saw quite a few panels. The second time I went in Zachariah was working on a panel kit making a monkey backpack. It was very cute.

I only saw one quilt kit (Tula Pink, of course).

Zachariah had good fabric. He had the new Ruby Star line, as mentioned, and most, if not all, of the Tula True Colors. He was also knowledgeable out fabric, which made me think he he has been quiltmaking for awhile, though I forgot to ask.

All over the shops we visited were Bigfoot. As you can see there is a panel hanging over the True Colors. This is just one of the various Bigfoot fabrics we saw.

Julie showed me some pre-made binding that actually looked cool. Aside from it not being washed, I think the pre-made binding would be a good option for some quilts. It would certainly save time.

I really liked this shop. It was open, clean and fresh looking. Zachariah was really friendly and chatted with us, but not too much.

The best thing about the shop was the wall of zippers! He had about 30 coils of #5 zippers on the wall. You could choose the one you wanted as well as the amount. It was fantastic. No online shopping required, though he does have an online shop if you are not in Portland.

He had a few zipper pulls, but I think he needs to stock up on a greater variety. I am sure that is in the cards.

The thing about these zippers is he said he was a bag guy, as in he enjoyed making bags. He lamented the fact that he has only a few bag patterns and no samples. I told him I knew he will get to adding more bags and more samples. I suggested having a Friday night bag club like the guild has after meetings. Poor guy has a lot on his plate so we’ll see.

I bought a few fabrics to make bags I have in mind plus some of his fabulous zippers!

Sewlarium
3236 N Lombard St.
Portland, OR 97217
Daily: 11am - 7pm
CLOSED TUESDAY
(971)400-0446

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.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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/