Tag: Travel

I know I keep mentioning Rose City Originals. Finally, here we are with a review.

I visited Rose City Originals, a new shop in Portland when I was there last week. The business has two names and I suspect Rose City Quilts is a subsidiary of Rose City Originals. Not sure, but I saw the business referred to as both.

Fortunately, it is very close to where the YM lives, so I visited the shop after I dropped him off. Another incentive to drive to his part of town from where I usually stay. 🙂 I told the YM, Lil Sissy and my cousin-nephew that they now knew where to buy me gifts. 😉

I had a hard time getting a good photo of the outside. PDX had beautiful light that day. It was a mix of cloud and sun, but was really bright where the sun was shining.

As you can see, the space is on a corner and the building is triangular. I am curious to know what the building housed when it was built.

The inside space is huge with high ceilings. It is painted bright white and can house a ton more fabric and supplies. 

The shop has not been open for long, so it was slightly bare, but I expect the owner, Chris Marchini, to fill it slowly (cash flow management!). 

One thing I learned was that Chris started designing his own fabrics through a Paintbrush Studios program where anyone can design fabric. This is part of the Rose City Originals brand. I saw it on the edge of some of his fabrics. I didn’t check out the pricing for the program, but Chris said the designer had to buy hundreds of yards. He now has a contract with dearStella, so presumably, doesn’t have to shell out cash for his own fabric designs. One of the things about this story that I like is that Chris did a lot of stuff related to quiltmaking before he opened the shop. He sort of backstopped his business so it isn’t all quilt shop. The website shows online shopping, a quilt cruise and discusses his various other endeavors.

A lot of the fabric available is from Chris’ designs, which includes a lot of skeletons. I saw quite few Dia de los Muertos prints. I am very picky about which ones I buy and didn’t see any that fit the bill this time. 

The shop space is just so glorious! Big. Light. Open. I can’t wait to see how shop itself, but also the fabric choices, evolve.

The back wall, which you face when you walk in, also has fabric. The cutting table is across from the door and towards the front of the store with its wall of windows. I envy the size of that cutting table!

On all of the upper portion of the walls are quilts made from Chris’ patterns. I told you: lots of skulls! I asked about that and he said he loves Halloween and skeletons. Fair enough. 

Rose City has an Accuquilt cutting station. I didn’t inquire about the costs. However, I think it is a good idea. It brings people in. It enables people to use a machine that might be out of their price range.

I didn’t look super closely, but Chris has the electric cutters set up for use. Of course, there is a full selection of machines and dies that shoppers can purchase. 🙂

In the back of the store two longarm machines are setup for quilting customer quilts. They weren’t running, which made me happy. I sincerely dislike the noise even while I understand the need to provide the service.

I just like shopping in the quiet.

The classroom is also good sized, though still a work in progress. Tables are installed, mostly, but chairs and machines are on the list. 

The picture doesn’t show much of the classroom. If you enlarge it, you can see a bit. 

I really liked that pink cabinet. It was the display area for irons, wool pressing mats and other pressing accessories.

Rose City is light on notions, but they have quite a bit of thread. Some Aurifil, quite a bit of Wonderfil, Konfetti and Tutti. I am not familiar with the latter, but I am sure they work fine. 

Another Rose City Originals product was quilt labels. They are called Sweary Quilt labels and are quite irreverent. I bought one panel as I know I can’t put them on all of my quilts. I can put them on some, though.

I particularly like the one on the right, which says “call this a blanket and I’ll cut you”. I wouldn’t, but I can appreciate the sentiment. Up until now, I just give recipients the librarian glare.

I saw this quilt at the Rose City checkout desk. I bought another length of grey background fabric somewhere. With the grey fabric on my mind this quilt really ticked all the boxes for me. 

Chris said he used all scraps for the colors.

I realized, when I saw this quilt, that I just didn’t want to make another dot pineapple quilt like the previous one I tried to make. While I wouldn’t duplicate the one above, I do like the grey background. Why didn’t I think of that? I think I finally have the right inspiration to make that Pineapple quilt I have been thinking about.

I wasn’t excited much about shopping during my trip, but I did buy a few things at Rose City.

The Portland print on the left is what I used to make the ‘party favor’ pillowcases.

Rose City Originals & Rose City Quilts
6406 SE Foster Rd
Portland, OR 97206
Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday- 11am-6pm
Saturday- 11am-5pm
Sunday- 12pm-5pm
Phone: 971-201-8899
chris@rosecityoriginals.com

Mary took me to a new-to-me quilt shop called Stitched. It is a little hard to find, because it is directly behind an Army and Navy store! They have a big sign on the road so look for that when you visit, as well as the Army Navy store. The shop has its own parking lot so you don’t have to share with any Army Jeeps. 😉

Apparently, this is a new location for the shop. We drove there through Medford. I think Central Point is part of Medford or near Medford. If you look up “quilt shop medford” you will find the address and directions.

The sign says Sewing Works and Mary made a reference to “part of that brand”, but I have never heard of Sewing Works, so I looked it up. Apparently, the shop is now part of the organization. I am not sure if it was before, but the Sewing Works website is interesting and I like the name.

I am also not sure what this building was before – something like Medieval Times? Those gothic windows are definitely a unique feature I have never seen in a quilt shop. Isn’t it great how shops take over a space and make it their own?

The overall feeling of this shop was light and bright. The walls were very clean/white and there was a lot of nice light in the main, front room. The ceilings were very high, which, I am sure, helps.

This is a BIG shop. There is a new,or recently filled, area in the back that smelled new and with which Mary was not familiar. It provided a lot of space for more fabric, books and quilts!

The back room had a lot of fabric, Accuquilt dies and a few notions and books. They had a huge rack of the Fabric Cafe 3 yard quilt books. I haven’t tried one of these quilts, but I see the books more and more. I am not sure what the magic is about 3 yards?

There were a couple of cutting tables. I could see also that they were trying out different displays. The space is large and they have room to grow.

I might have seen a crib as p[art of a display at other shops before, but I don’t remember specifically. I thought the look was good. There is a lot of space for creativity using the crib as a center focal point, especially because a lot of people start quiltmaking in order to make a baby quilt.

The shop also had a longarm. It wasn’t running (thank you!), but that indicates s full service shop where you can get your quilts quilted as well. On the other hand, it could have just been another innovative display! I didn’t check the website very thoroughly to see if they run a longarming service.

The front of the shop has fabric and an extensive notions wall. For the most part, however, front of house is all things Bernina. Mary goes there for classes.  In the photo (left), you can see the way they continued the castle window theme at the top of the wall. Fun, huh?

I also wanted True Grips** for my Sheffield acrylic templates, but the shop only carried InvisiGrip**. InvisiGrip** is not a favorite, though it is ok if you have nothing else. YMMV.

One of the things I like about visiting shops is seeing the different items that are available. Mary told me, and I noticed, that Aurifil is not widely available.

The ‘classroom’ is small. It is an open space in the front of the shop and can seat about 6 people. I am not sure how I would feel knowing that I was in the middle of the sales floor and trying to learn.

I love the quilt to the left of the ‘classroom’.  It was quite vibrant in person.

There was a ton of thread and Bernina longarm supplies. I didn’t look much at them, but I am sure it is good to know about a location that has such supplies.

I bought some nice fat quarters. I couldn’t resist the rainbow selection. I threw in a couple of low volume text fabrics. As mentioned, it was hard to find Aurifil, but this shop had a small selection of Aurifil neutrals in the large size (not the cone) including my favorite Grey 2600. I also bought some Iron Off** for Mary, though I think the brand was Magic Iron Cleaner** or something. We got some goop on her iron and cleaning it was the impetus for the trip.

All in all, Stitched is a good shop I would visit again.

5104 Crater Lake Ave
Central Point, OR 97502

**Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this website.

No, I am not in Portland at the moment.

I never got around to talking about Sewcial Studies after I returned from Portland in the Fall.

I went with Cheryl and Amanda. Sewcial Studies is in Milwaukie on a cute little street with a variety of shops including a chocolatier and a bookstore.

Sewcial Studies, a very small store, describes itself as an ‘art and craft’ store. While we were there, a woman was learning how to make a shirt, or some kind of garment.

One side of the store (shown, left) houses supplies you can buy: fabric, notions, etc. The collection of items isn’t large, but everything is high quality and a little unique. The red table in the center of the photo really intrigued me. I couldn’t help but think it looked like a billiard table.

On the other side of the store is the class/lessons/sewing side. I didn’t take a good picture of the whole side, but you get an idea of what it looks like. There were 3-4 tables with sewing machines where people could sew. I was intrigued to see different brands, models and vintages of machines. While having the same machines would be good for troubleshooting, getting used high quality machines might be more cost effective. 

I really wanted to buy these pattern weights even though I didn’t need them. They were so cool looking and would have been great for shapes I needed to cut using a paper pattern.

They were on the pricey side, though, and I decided not to spend so much on an impulse buy. I don’t see them on their website so either they are too pricey to mail or I missed my chance.

One cool service they have are Open Sews. The charge is only $10/hour and they happen everyday the shop is open. You get to use their tools, machines, and get help if you should need it.

The coolest thing in the shop was their rivet press. I know I am obsessed with rivet presses right now, but this one was super cool the way it was embedded (inserted?) into an old sewing machine cabinet. OMG! Such a great idea. Also, the turquoise ‘plate’ is awesome. 

I don’t think the sewing cabinet top opens anymore, but it would be great if the rivet press could be stored inside the cabinet as well. I think the height prevents it. 

I wasn’t as focused on the store as I normally am, but I still saw enough to know that I like it. It is also a GREAT idea! I love the idea of dropping into to sew with others when it fits into your schedule.

Let me know if you go visit.

Tel:(503) 303-9143
suzanne@sewcialstudies.com
10835 SE Main Street
Milwaukie, OR 97222

Store Hours:
Sunday 12-5pm
Monday 10am-6pm
Tuesday Closed
Wednesday-Saturday 10am – 6pm

I have driven past this shop/warehouse many times on my way to and from Pioneer Quilts. This was the first time I stopped.

Pendleton is a wool manufacturer and for a warehouse this building/location was wonderful. It felt clean, warm and inviting.

The shop is not just a fabric shop, there are finished items for sale as well. I saw wool flannel shirts, throw pillows, blankets, ponchos, jackets, gloves, hats and scarves as well as a number of gift items, such as mugs, plates, trays, and rugs.

The company supports the National Park Service through a series of products they have been making for many years. They have a similar collection of products that support Native American causes.

There were also different types of craft kits and supplies. The shop had a fantastic selection of wool roving and felting supplies. I thought of getting some roving as I do like it for pincushions, Mega Pinnies and other stuffed projects, but ultimately decided to wait. I know they have it available for a good price, so I can buy it another time. 

There was an amazing quilt on display as well as a video showing the making of it.

One fun thing highlighted was that Pendleton Dry Goods Mercantile opened in Disneyland’s Frontierland in 1955. There was a video on the history of the company where this tidbit was included. I am not sure the shop is still part of Disneyland, but I sort of remember it from visits as a kid.

The shop sold wool yardage on rolls. It was wide, too, maybe 55″ wide. I didn’t look closely. The colors were great!  Julie bought an offcut to use in one of the Charlie’s Aunt bag patterns. The offcuts were $3 for a certain length or by the piece. I don’t remember, but very affordable and a great option if you don’t like the idea of thrifting for some wool.

This history video also talked about the Pendletones, a band which later became the Beach Boys!

I will definitely go back to this shop. I am glad I was able to take a look and could think about what they had to offer.

If you want to give back to underserved communities, think about selecting a holiday gift from the Chief Joseph or NPS collection.

Friend Julie already wrote about this shop. Take a look at her post to get a different view.

Pendleton Woolen Mill Store

8500 SE McLoughlin, PORTLAND, OR 97222
Tel: 503-535-5786

At Sew Creative, I bought a magazine that was part of this year’s Pacific Northwest Shop Hop. I am glad I bought it because it had the names and addresses of various quilt shops on our route. Julie read various parts of the magazine to me as I drove.

This shop, Paramount Sew & Vac, in Eugene was one of the shops of which I had never heard. It also would not have been on  my radar if it hadn’t been in the Shop Hop magazine. When I see ‘sew and vac’ I don’t think quiltmaking. Stereotyping, I know and I need to try and curb that.

We decided to stop here on a whim, on the drive to Portland, and were really glad we did. First, the place is HUGE, as in grocery store huge. This is the kind of shop we need in the Bay Area. Second they had a LOT: a lot of fabric, a lot of notions, a lot of Accuquilt, a lot of machines. It is well worth a stop

One of the things I was excited to see was Tula’s Graywork for the first time in person! I hadn’t seen it in person before. It was great to see it looks as good as in the photos online.

I ordered some from Pink Door and can’t wait until it arrives. I was sorely tempted to buy a bit, but controlled myself. I do wish Pink Door would send my order. Not sure what the hold up is!

I was thrilled to see so many machines and be able to look at their prices. I have looked a little online, but you always have to call or go into a shop to get the price. Yes, I am continuing to look for a new machine and I feel like this shop gave me some information I needed to move forward on the project. 

I had never seen a Grace Rebel machine before, but was excited to see the high harp.

Most people thing BIG harp, but after testing Cyndi’s Juki, I am enamored of a high harp. It is super helpful when making bags, especially if your machine ( like mine) does not have a free arm. As you can see it is a very basic machine. I wasn’t in a place, sadly, were I could test and consider machines, but this looks like a great second machine.

I was impressed to see the amount of Accuquilt dies and supplies that the shop had. I am sure I have never seen so many. I have been considering an electric Accuquilt, though haven’t taken the plunge. I was interested to see a smaller version, the Bolt**, which I hadn’t heard about. I also thought they had more dies than I had ever seen in one place before. I really like to have choices and seeing things in person makes things easier to evaluate.

The outside walls of the shop held the notions. A few were on the left hand wall as we entered. These were supplies for the Brother Scan & Cut. They were on sale for 40% off, so I took the opportunity to select a few things for my Scan & Cut. I had never seen these machines or supplies in a store and was excited. Sadly, there was a problem with the prices. The prices shown were not the original prices, but had already been marked down. They were more than I was willing to spend on ‘spec, so I passed them up. I need to get familiar with the Scan & Cut before I stock up. At least I know where they have the supplies now.

On the other side of the store were more conventional notions: rulers, needles, etc. These were all next to the Accuquilt dies.

Their main line of rulers was Quilter’s Select. I saw a number of sizes I hadn’t seen before, which was interesting. I don’t know if they are knew or I just have never seen them. They had Sew Kind of Wonderful rulers and a few others as well. I didn’t see any Creative Grids or Omnigrid rulers, which I thought was interesting. All of their solids were along the right wall under the notions. I didn’t take a look, so I am not sure what brands were available. 

I can’t stress enough how many machines they had! I was sort of overwhelmed with the number of brands as well. I would definitely go back to look at machines if I lived nearby 

This store is definitely worth a short detour, if you are in the area.

Apparently, the company has two locations. The other is in Salem, which I didn’t visit. You can email that shop at: paramountsalem@comcast.net

Paramount Sew & Vac

1015 River Rd
Eugene, Oregon 97404 
Phone: (541) 345-2100

Email: info@paramount-sew-vac.com

**N. B. : Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops, including their online stores, and other small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this website.