Travel – Page 7 – Artquiltmaker Blog

Checked Out Quilts & Vendors (Quiltcon Day 3)

Another quick post to keep you in the QuiltCon loop.

Today was our day to look at the rest of the quilts and vendors. There weren’t a ton of vendors (PIQF has more), but the vendors did have interesting stuff and there was lots of free stuff – fat quarters and charm squares. It was kind of fun, but also somewhat overwhelming.

First, we looked at quilts. As usual there was a lack of understanding of what the judges were thinking.

One I liked was Phoenix by Anne Sullivan of Gaithersburg, Maryland (@playcrafts). Anne gave a lecture to BAMQG at some point in the not too distant past about color.

Colorfall by Timna Tarr of South Hadley, MA (@timnatarr) was very interesting. I really liked the quilting on this piece. It did not distract from the overall design and fit in very well.

Drip by Suzy Williams, Chicago, IL, (@suzyquilts) was one of my favorites. I think it was because of the colors. I saw it from across the room and it caught my attention. I am dying to make a quilt that invokes such a sense of calm.

Falling by Kathy York of Austin, TX and the Austin Modern Quilt Guild (@kakiyark)

Falling by Kathy York of Austin, TX and the Austin Modern Quilt Guild (@kakiyark)- detail

Falling by Kathy York of Austin, TX and the Austin Modern Quilt Guild (@kakiyark) was another favorite. The balance is good. The colors work well together. The design isn’t too fussy or complicated. There is also repetition with variety. That little bit of handwork adds something, but not a lot. I love it and am inspired to make something just as fantastic.

I also really liked Cog by Emily Cier (@cpatchwork). I have always wanted to make a Jack’s Chain quilt. This is the same pattern except in Jack’s Chain the squares are replaced by 9 patches.

I love the addition of the trees in Putting on the Glitz by Tami Levin of Sunnyvale, Calif. (@lemontreetami). The colors used to imply the trees are perfect on top of the Michael Miller challenge quilts.

There were some quilts I wondered about, but there were many, many more quilts that wee really interesting in some way. I did wonder about the size of some of the quilts. I thought modern quilts were supposed to be utilitarian? The small quilts, unless they were large mug rugs, did not seem to be utilitarian to me.

One of the good things about the show is that it wasn’t just about looking at quilts and buying stuff. There were manufacturers there who were not there to sell, but to market their newest lines and concepts. A couple of the manufacturers were also working with attendees to make donation quilts.

Kona's new Color of the Year activitiy — Kona’s new Color of the Year activitiy

Kona’s new Color of the Year, Highlight, was the theme of the booth. In addition to all the Highlight quilts being shown, they had a color activity where you could design your own palette around Kona’s new Color of the Year. Julie created her own palette and we both received FQs for her trouble. 😉 It might be interesting to work with.

Timeless Treasures was making a donation quilt in their Dear Stella booth. We didn’t have a chance to stop and make a block, but we did take some time to post a selfie so we could possibly win a pack of FQs. I posted the goofy selfie above!

Victoria Findlay Wolfe told us about the donation quilt that Marcus Fabrics was making to provide additional funds for ALS research. We needed to sit down for a minute, so we stopped there and made some blocks. We met a fellow class member from yesterday and chatted with her about her guild, the Omaha Modern Quilt Guild.

I made two blocks and we have some pieces from the class that we can use to make more. The blocks are hand pieced and I have stuff to make more with me. I hope to find the time to do it. You know how much I support efforts make donation quilts. The fabric is the new Victoria Findlay Wolfe Manor House line. Julie and I bought a layer cake and will share it.

Finally we took some time to look at the vendors. There weren’t as many vendors as I expected, though others have said that there are twice as many vendors as last year. I loved seeing new and interesting fabrics (not the old stuff vendors bring to PIQF) and fun prints. I was also pleased to see Sizzix, Accuquilt, several machine manufacturers and small fabric stores like Crimson Tate.

I was thrilled when Coral messaged me asking to meet up. We met at the Marcus booth, because we were still working on our donation blocks. She was a sport in that she was willing to meet us there so we could finish. Coral is a lovely person who is a Bay Area native, but now lives in Canberra. We chatted for a few minutes, then she needed coffee and we needed to get back to our vendors.

It is fun to meet people I know from Instagram and Twitter.

I decided to look for some fabrics that I could mix in with my Timeless Treasures background for the VFW quilt. I won’t have enough of the original background and I want to make the design more interesting and the quilt larger. I took a piece of my fabric with me and compared it to various solids that were available. The above were some of the good choices. I also want to take a look at Moda Bella Seafoam and Moda Bella Big Chill. They look like they will work. I want the solids to blend, though, and not to stick out too much. It is a difficult problem because the TT fabric I used has a lighter fabric overlaid with a darker fabric.

All in all we had a fun time, met some nice people, saw some great products and quilts.

I Took a Class (QuiltCon Day 2)

This will be another quick post about my adventures at QuiltCon.

Today I was in class with Julie and Kathleen all day. We were pleased Leona was there as well. We took a class called Pies & Points from Victoria Findlay Wolfe.

Short version: she is a great teacher, I learned a lot want to buy a Sizzix Big Shot Pro. 🙂

Longer version

The class was called Pies & Points and is an updated version of a variation on the Drunkard’s Path. This pattern was popular several years ago and was called Snails Trails or something like that. I’ll look it up when I get home (if I remember). I have always wanted to make a quilt like this, so it was the perfect opportunity.

Victoria Findlay Wolfe is a great teacher and if you have the opportunity take a class from her. She was very clear. She was supportive and didn’t try to have us accomplish too much in one day. She was available, was walking around the room offering assistance and seam ripping services. VFW was also accessible and made the project accessible. She was pleasant and funny and very human. I liked her very much and want to be her BFF. She also wore leather capri pants, which were super cool.

I am not a project class person. This class kind of bordered on that type of class, but was full enough of technique that I could apply to other projects that the class worked for me. I could work within certain boundaries, but still spread my wings.

She gave a little bit of information and the Sizzix people passed out the Pies and Points die to us. We each got our own!!! I didn’t know that was going to happen and it was useful as well as exciting.

About this time, one of the QuiltCon people came in and announced that Victoria’s quilt, Mr. Swirly Bones, won Judge’s choice! We all clapped and she was very excited.

VFW showed us how to cut using the Sizzix and then how to sew the curved seams and then we got busy cutting and sewing. You can cut a lot of pieces at once, but there is still prep time for using the Sizzix. Without my normal setup, it took time to get the pieces cut.

I had a bunch of pieces cut and ready to sew, but wasn’t able to sew much before lunch. Right before lunch, I was able to sew one seam and that made me feel better.

Lunch was two hours. Very civilized IMO. We brought our lunch so wolfed it down and then went to check out the vendors and some of the quilts. There were not as many vendors as I expected, but there were manufacturers at the show giving away prizes and showing off stuff, but not selling.

The whole feeling of the show area is so light and airy. Everyone seems cheerful and there is very good energy. People seem excited to be there. I love that.

We looked at the vendors – more getting the lay of the land than shopping – and started to look at the quilts. After 1.75 hours it was time to head back to class and to sewing.

I got right down to business and started sewing. I had a lot of little pieces to sew together, but the first seams to get the middle arc were all straight seams. Once I got a few of the arcs done, I started making quarter blocks.

The class was supplied with Sizzix machines, rotary mats, rulers and cutters, irons and sewing machines. The sewing machine I was using was a Juki electronic machine. I wrote down the model, but am too lazy to go look for it. I’ll post about it later. It is a little disconcerting to use a different machine. This one kept lifting the presser foot every time I stopped the machine. It made it really hard to line up the edges of the curved seams. There was a Juki lady, Chris, who was there to help with machines and she changed a setting so I didn’t have to deal with that. I could probably learn to use that feature, but for one day I didn’t want to deal with it.

Without too much pain and suffering I made a whole block. I planned to put them together in her Snail Trails arrangement.

Snail's Trail layout — Snail’s Trail layout

Snail's Trail layout-detail — Snail’s Trail layout-detail

After working on the one block and looking at the options I had chosen for myself, I decided to make some of the other parts and mix it up a bit. No photos of that to share yet, but soon.

I want to work some more on this piece. I may add some different backgrounds to add interest (my idea turned out to be more boring than cool looking) and because I only have about a yard left and I’d like to make a larger quilt than a wall hanging. I also have the Sizzix problem. I do not have a Sizzix. There a few reasons I am not buying one, but the most important is that I have no place to put it. It is a desktop model and it stays out on a table (desk, worktop, etc). This is problematic since I have to cut more pieces for the quilt. I hope one of the local shops has one to rent and, perhaps, I will buy one at some point. I can also make templates and cut the pieces that way, though …. bleah.

Julie rested after the class and I walked around the show a little bit more. we went to a Brazilian steakhouse for dinner. They bring all different kinds of meat around and you can take what you want. It was a little bit on the pricey side, but extremely tasty. I was a little protein deficient, so it was just what the doctor ordered.

One of the projects was posted on Instagram. I didn’t take a lot of pictures of other students work 🙁 , but I did take a few.

You can see some of the options available in the above blocks. My latest block has the pieced center like Stacy’s bottom block.

Quick QuiltCon Day 1

This will be a super quick post, because I wasn’t planning on writing anything else today, but I feel inspired.

This is the first really big quilt trip I have made since we went to Houston in 2014.

Julie and I drove down to Pasadena and it was amazing to see the green-green hills. We arrived at about 4 at our hotel. We didn’t have to drive through the whole of LA, which was nice, but the traffic on the 210 was bad enough so we were both done with it by the time we got to the hotel. We checked in and sprawled on the beds for awhile until it was time to go and register. By this time it was raining (yes, raining!) and it was dark, so it was a challenging drive: rain, dark, unfamiliar territory. Julie was a champ and got us to the convention center in one piece.

We ran through the rain (my feet got soaked) to the entrance and there were more than a few people milling around.

We registered and I was told to get a bag. I went and got a huge bag filled with stuff: mini charms, batting samples, a Soak sample, a magazine and other stuff. I was surprised and pleased. It turned out that the first 1,000 registrants got a gift bag. Nice!

We also saw Kathleen right by the registration desk!

After chatting with Kathleen and a couple of people she was talking with (one-Jennifer Moore- has a new blog sewingreport.com ), we went to look at the donation quilts. They were great and we did see the BAM quilt!

The top left is my favorite, but they were all awesome.

I was also really excited by this quilt, which has great quilting.

I was able to find the BAM donation quilt and was excited about that.

The exhibit hall, etc is not yet open and these quilts were just a little teaser.

We went to Trader Joe’s and got some stuff for dinner and lunch tomorrow. It is pouring rain outside and I need to get some sleep. I am looking forward to tomorrow’s class.

Have a great day!!!

Oroville Quilt Shops, pt.4

I know you must be exhausted by all of these quilt shops. I know I was by the time I got to the Rabbit Hole. I almost bailed on this shop, but since it was on my way I decided to stop in. Definitely worth the stop!

The last shop I visited was called the Rabbit Hole and the name was very apt! As I went into each room in the shop, I found another behind it. As I said, I was tired by the time I got to this shop and couldn’t focus as well as I would have liked, but I could focus enough to see that they had A LOT of fabric.

Rabbit Hole - fabric and panels — Rabbit Hole – fabric and panels

They also had a ton of panels, so if you are looking for panels, give them a call or stop by. Those flower panels might make an excellent One Block Wonder a la Pam’s piece and my Peacock. I couldn’t believe how crammed this place was with different types of fabric – lots of quilting cottons, certainly, but also net mesh, wool, etc. As you can see on the photo, they have a lot of patterns as well.

the Rabbit Hole -Novelty Prints and Stripes

I was impressed with the number of novelty prints and stripes. It made my head swim with the possibilities of pillowcases, but I reined myself in and turned away from them. I still have a few pieces of Christmas fabric I can use to make pillowcases.

I didn’t recognize a lot of the fabric, which tells me that they have a different eye than I am used to seeing. This is probably why this shop is successful with another shop a couple minutes away.

The Rabbit Hole - Novelty prints — The Rabbit Hole – Novelty prints

You can see how large the room is and this is just one of about 4-5 rooms of fabric.

Cutting tables were scattered throughout the shop. The one in the phone (right) was in the very back of the store. I was a little surprised to see as nobody was in the shop except for me. I learned the reason for its placement when a large group of people (yes, there were some men!) came in the shop and filled the place with chatter and laughter. I had been there about 15 minutes and was wondering how much fabric they could move. I had my answer!

The Rabbit Hole - 2 rooms at the front — The Rabbit Hole – 2 rooms at the front

I think the newer fabrics were in the front of the shop. These rooms were small and there were several bolts of Asian style fabrics as well as projects made with them. The second room (through the doorway in the above left photo) also had baby style prints – soft colors, Minkee (or similar).

The Rabbit Hole - longarm room — The Rabbit Hole – longarm room

The shop also had a longarm and that room was not free from fabric either. A lot more panels were hanging in this room as well.

I headed out after this shop and went back to the hotel and to my Political Wifery duties. It was a somewhat rainy day, but it made for beautiful clouds.

See part 1 of this travelogue.

See part 2 of this travelogue.

See part 3 of this travelogue

Oroville Quilt Shops, pt.3

The Morning Star ladies suggested that I go to Chico to the two quilt shops there rather than all the way to Colusa. They said that the shop in Colusa was great, but that it was about an hour away and I would have to travel almost an hour to get back to Oroville. Chico, on the other hand, was about 20 minutes away and on my way back to Oroville.

I was started to have enough of visiting quilt shops, but wasn’t quite ready to give up, so I took their advice. Sorry, Colusa! Another time.

Cathy's Sew & Vac / Honey Run — Cathy’s Sew & Vac / Honey Run

The first shop I visited was called Honey Run Quilters. I have seen this shop’s booth at PIQF and their shop is even better than the booth. The funny thing about the shop is that it is in Cathy’s Sew & Vac. I have never seen a larger Sew & Vac type shop. This place was the size of a Walgreen’s! Tucked inside was Honey Run. In addition to Honey Run, sewing machines and vacuum cleaners, the Sew & Vac sold barbecues! You could keep your male companion busy looking at those babies while you shop! They also had a ‘husband’s couch’, if your man isn’t into grilling.

Outside Honey Run were the sale fabrics which were comprised of 3 long aisles of fabric on racks 2 bolts high. These were good fabrics, too, not old crap. They ran about $5/yard. They also had notions, thread and needles outside the actual Honey Run shop.

Inside Honey Run, the shop was PACKED with fabric. All kinds of fabric. I was told upon entry that they were having a 25% off sale. Either I scored a bonus or was doomed. 😉

I passed up a lime green flower print from Philip Jacobs, but picked up some low volume prints. I have more than the Carpenter’s Wheels on my mind, I think. I am cursing myself for skipping my man Phil’s flower print, but what can I do? I will use the print on the right in a bag, I think. We will see.

At the checkout counter, I asked if I could take some photos and gave them a card. The woman at the counter asked if I teach and I told her that I teach and suggested the Renewed Jelly Roll Race quilt. I have no idea if that will come to anything, but I was very flattered to be asked.

I could have bought a lot more. I liked the shop and would definitely go there again. They had great fabric and I would love to go to that shop again. It is so out of the way, I don’t know when I will be by again.

Address: 2418 Cohasset Rd, Chico, CA 95926

Phone:(530) 342-5464

See part 1 of this travelogue.

See part 2 of this travelogue.

CQFA Retreat

The CQFA Retreat was back to its normal last weekend of January timeframe. I was so pleased to be able to attend again. I know I went in May, but the last couple of January retreats, I wasn’t able to attend. I love January and quiltmaking in January is the best.

Short description of the weekend: it was fabulous.

I drove down with Kathleen, after convincing her that joining CQFA and going on Retreat would be a good idea. She drove over the mountain in her giant truck, so we drove down to the retreat in style!

People trickled in throughout the day and by evening the room was full.

When we arrived, we were disappointed to find Rhonda unable to attend! She was suddenly taken ill. Since she organized everything, it was a big disappointment for her as well. She felt much better on Saturday so her husband drove her up and we were all thrilled to see her.

There isn’t a restaurant in the hotel, though they do have a continental-plus breakfast, so we had to go out for meals, though there were plenty of snacks available. Julie and I went to our traditional Mexican place on Friday night. Kathleen joined us. Some of the ladies decided to get pizza delivered and were shocked when two GIANT pizzas arrived.

These pizzas engendered much hilarity because of their 24″ size. The order taker was surprised, justifiably when we saw them, that the ladies were ordering two. Those pizzas fed people on and off throughout the weekend.

Much Work was Accomplished

I did not bring my design wall this time. The new one purports to be portable, but it is heavy and I didn’t feel like dragging it along. I wanted to quilt various projects that are piling up anyway.

Maureen helped me with my Peacock quilt and that is ready for me to piece and put together.

Maureen also finished her CQFA improv round robin piece that was made at a meeting last year.

Nancy came and went, working on her handwork and chatting with us all.

Angela worked on Reversible Box Totes and they were really great. She used some quilting cottons and some fabrics from FabMo as ’embellishments’.

Julie cut out a new king sized project using Kaffe Fassett fabrics that will be fantastic. You know I love the Philip Jacobs prints in the Kaffe Collective and many of her fabrics were designed by my man, Phil.

Rhonda's Zipper Pouch — Rhonda’s Zipper Pouch

Rhonda worked on nesting zipper bags that will be gifts. She used some Alison Glass fabrics, similar to the ones I used in Field Day Zipper.

Jennifer put the beginnings of a piece together for a show where the theme is ‘Turmoil’. It is made from purples and violets and I look forward to seeing it when it is finished.

Sue also made zipper pouches similar to those from the one of the first BAMQG retreats. She was also making gifts and brought her serger along to do the finishing.

I was very pleased to get to know Carol, a new-ish member, better. We sat across from each other at dinner on Saturday and I found that we have similar ideas about quiltmaking classes. She brought the quilt (left) to finish the binding and the sleeve and was beavering away at it when I arrived. The front of the quilt was a big mystery as we could only see the back as she sewed on the binding. We were all stunned and thrilled when she showed us the front. It is gorgeous. Simple in a complex kind of way. It fits in very well with the group as well as ‘modern’ quiltmaking sensibilities. Kathleen, Gerre and I started talking to her about also attending BAMQG.

Gerre sat in the corner and worked on her gorgeous handwork.

Dolores, who normally sits in the corner, came out from her lair, sat across from Maureen and worked on a couple of pieces that are intended for upcoming shows. One included an amazing amount of turning under raw edges and was done in purples and violets.

Bron sat in Dolores’ corner and worked on a gift quilt made from squares and pinwheels. We had a group discussion about borders, pieced and plain as well as the size of the borders.

Jan came and she was working on some pieces for her job at Curiodyssey. I didn’t get a good look at them, I am ashamed to say.

Kathleen's City Sampler Blocks — Kathleen’s City Sampler Blocks

Kathleen worked on her City Sampler blocks and made some good progress, especially after Gerre helped her with the quarter inch foot.

All in all it was a very collegial and productive weekend. Kathleen pointed out that the group is very supportive, which I knew in my heart, but had never articulated. It is true!

Oroville Quilt Shops, pt. 2

Debbie's Quilt Shop front — Debbie’s Quilt Shop front

The next quilt shop I visited was also in Paradise. It was called Debbie’s Quilt Shop and it was around the corner from Morning Star Quilts. The Morning Star Quilt ladies encouraged me to visit.

Debbie's Quilt Shop: 30s Corner — Debbie’s Quilt Shop: 30s Corner

This shop had a very traditional bent to it. In addition to the Civil War type repros, I saw a nice selection of 30s fabrics. They had just gotten some fabrics that looked very mid-century modern. The lady helping me was trying to find a pattern with which to use them. The shop was not really my style, but there was a healthy selection of solids and brights as well, so I found a few things to pick up.

The shop was small, but well stocked with every thing needed for a variety of projects. There were a fair number of BOM offerings as well as patterns, books and samples from both. They had a number of paper piecing patterns, classes. Their strength was the lady helping me. She was very friendly and not in an obnoxious way. She said that she and the owner of Morning Star work together to keep their inventory different. I would guess they do that so both can stay in business. I like it!

Address: 6455 Skyway, Paradise, CA 95969

Phone:(530) 877-8458

See part 1 of this travelogue

Oroville Quilt Shops, pt.1

The travel for NSGW with DH is starting up in earnest now. We spent the weekend after my birthday in Oroville at the Discovery of Gold event.

DH had board meetings. I visited quilt shops. 😉

"Oroville" Quilt Shops — “Oroville” Quilt Shops

The first thing I did was search Google when I got to the hotel. My search was (without quotes) “quilt shops oroville ca”. I was thrilled that I found quilt shops, but confused that none of them had towns listed. Could that mean there were a ton of quilt shops in Oroville mere steps from my hotel?

Too good to be true. There were no quilt shops in Oroville listed in the Google search results. All of those listed in the box (image above) were in different towns. I found one called Mary Jane’s, but I couldn’t actually find the physical place and all the images seemed to be bedspreads so I didn’t go and don’t know what that was about.

I decided to visit three shops. The driving would be about an hour. Sadly, no other NSGW wives seem to be interested in quiltmaking so I am on my own in these endeavors. Two of the shops were in Paradise and one was in Colusa. There were a few more in the surrounding areas, but I thought three was enough was enough to visit in one day.

As soon as I saw DH off, I headed out. It was raining, but not too bad and the drive was easy. I did make on wrong turn, but got to the first shop with no problem.

Morning Star Quilt Shop

Of all the shops I visited, this was my favorite. The samples and the fabrics on offer were my style. I wasn’t expecting much when I got out of the car, except to get out of the rain, but I was very pleased. The place was big, bright and airy and the ladies were friendly. The store was also clean – to the point of gleaming!

I remembered that I saw them vending at Quilts in the Garden in Livermore a few years ago.

I saw a lot of organization in that store. There wasn’t stuff laying around and very few bolts of fabric just around. Of all the samples they had on the walls, each one had a tag that said that there was a kit available. I am not a fan of kits, but many people are and they are great for stores. Also, most of the fabrics seen in the samples was still available. I didn’t ask whether they took down the samples when the kits and fabrics were no longer available but it seems like the kind of place where that practice would be standard.

There were other samples besides quilts as well: little girl dresses, pillowcases, embroidery and wool felt projects.

The embroidery projects were very intriguing. The ones that really caught my eye were from Crabapple Hill Studio. I actually don’t know if the shop had other brands’ embroidery designs. I don’t really do embroidery so I really just glanced at these. After I got home I looked at the Crabapple Hill Studio website and the designs really make me want to do embroidery. There is a sense of the traditional embroidery designs that we learned needlework on as children, but with more color and a little more whimsy. The pattern shown as an example gives you an idea of the style.

Morning Star Quilts: Front to back view / front of store

Morning Star Quilts: Back to front/ front of store

Morning Star Quilts: Purse hardware, notions/ front of store

The front of the store had batiks and bags. I know that sounds great, but they also had fat quarters and Aurifil. 😉 Morning Star Quilts had organized their batiks together in the front of the store. On the other side of the front of the store were purse and bag patterns as well as bag hardware. I was impressed at the number of bag patterns and equivalent samples.

That was something that Morning Star did really well: patterns with samples. I mentioned this along with kits above, but it was impressive how well this was done. The color sense was also excellent. I loved the fabrics they used in the way they put quilts together.

They had a small curtain in the window, which was a light diffuser. I didn’t see a pattern, but I liked the idea. You can see it in the photo directly above in the upper left hand corner.

I saw a long arm, but I don’t know if they rent it out or if they do long arm quilting for customers.

You can see a lot of embroidery floss behind the longarm. Some of this is Cosmo, which I have never seen in that quantity before. I was thrilled and it was very hard not to buy it all.

Nobody was sitting in this little seating area, but it is cute and this was the area where they had wool felt patterns and supplies.

You can also see the light diffusers in the windows at the top of the photo.

I would recommend that you visit this shop if you make it to Paradise. Definitely go out of your way to visit this shop if you are anywhere nearby.

Morning Star Quilt Shop

Address: 43 Pearson Rd, Paradise, CA 95969

Phone:(530) 876-3243

Quilt Shop: Windy Moon #2

On my Reno trip, I also went to Windy Moon Quilts #2. They have two locations and we went to the newer one, which is located in an old school building in (or near, maybe) Sparks, NV.

The shop was packed. They had a lot of fabric, notions, tools, kits, thread -everything. The shop is also a Bernina dealer and does repairs.

The shop really had an amazing amount of items available for purchase. Some of the stuff was a little hard to see because of how much there was and how it was displayed. Despite the layering of materials, I found quite a bit of nice stuff to buy. Dots. They had great dots. I thought I had them all, but no.

I also liked the pillowcase kits they had. Very elegant fabric combinations. They ran about $12.99.

I thought the color the walls were painted was nice in this context. I can see where it might make me a little sick if it were the color in my office or in a school classroom.

The shop had lots of great light because of the large windows and that was true in the big classroom as well.

The classroom was large and had a number of class samples on the walls. We were able to walk around and look at everything, including covet yardage from that stack of greys on the table.

The classroom looked comfortable to learn in and not too crowded.

One of the things about the shop residing in an old school building is the great molding. I love that thick, white molding around the windows and the doors.

They had a lot of samples, which was fun to look at. Not everything was in one style, which was nice.

Contact:
Address: 406 Pyramid Way, Sparks, NV 89431
Phone: (775) 870-4031

Reno Quiltmaking

I visited a friend last weekend who now lives in Reno. Aside from quiltmaking, she has the most adorable, sweet and smartest dog ever. She makes me want to get a dog. If I could clone this dog, I would.

We went up a day early, Saturday, because snow was predicted on Sunday and we didn’t want to drive in snow. This cut off my time at the machine, but we spent time indoors working on projects, so it worked out, mostly.

The drive up was fine. There was a bit of traffic and people driving kind of crazily, but otherwise the roads were clear and dry as was the sky. We stopped in Auburn for lunch. I have been to that town a few times with the Native Sons, so I knew were to eat. I didn’t expect parking to be troublesome, but it was a pain. We got some steps in.

We arrived in Reno at about 4:30. We settled in, were given a house tour and then went off to dinner with Mrs. K and Kristen. The restaurant was a bit New Agey. The food was very tasty and they had a lot of gluten free options. It was a few doors down from a GF bakery, but it closed for the evening before we could visit. I had Chicken Picatta, something I normally can’t eat at a restaurant, and I enjoyed it immensely.

The best part was visiting with friends. I don’t get to see Kristen that often and she is a lovely person. Kathleen was able to get to know Kristen and get to know Mrs. K better. We were able to catch up on what was happening with everyone. Very fun dinner.

When we got back, I set up the cutting station on Kathleen’s kitchen island, which is the perfect height for cutting. I basically parked myself there for a day and a half and cut out bags. I have a number of bags on my To Do list and I was able to cut a few of them out. It seems like something that should be easy and quick. Not. The bags have a lot of pieces. I also had to cut interfacing as well as press it on to the fabric pieces. It took forever. I am pleased, though, because I now have 3 bags ready to be sewn and I know the hard part is over. They are gifts so you will see them after the recipient sees them.

Mrs. K's sample t-shirt block — Mrs. K’s sample t-shirt block

Sunday, Mrs. K came over and we all stayed in and sewed while the weather gods poured snow and rain on the landscape. Mrs. K has a t-shirt quilt to do for her DIL and needed our help. You know those situations where you just need to talk through a process with people? This project was one of those situations.

This quilt was a little different than the YM’s t-shirt quilt in that she wanted to keep the collars of polo style shirts on the quilt. We used all of our brains to puzzle out the best construction methods. We decided on cutting off most of the shirt, but leaving the back and adding a rectangle of quilting cotton to the top to make the block rectangular. The shirts are stabilized with ShapeFlex. By the time she left she had one block mostly done and a plan to do the rest.

Kathleen's pattern test — Kathleen’s pattern test

Kathleen was pattern testing so we ran up and down the stairs quite a bit so she wouldn’t feel sad and lonely. Also, the ironing board was at the top of the stairs.

I helped Kathleen a bit with the HSTs as there were a lot of them. We stood at the cutting area and trimmed them together. I used my fabulous 4.5″x8.5″ Creative Grids ruler and really churned out the trimming.

Julie worked on the handstitching for her Christmas quilt. The giant Christmas quilt. She is the fastest binder I have ever seen. She bound that giant quilt in about two days. I was in awe.

Mrs. K's Cutting Corners Quilt — Mrs. K’s Cutting Corners Quilt

Mrs. K also brought the quilt she made from the Cutting Corners ruler. I REALLY like this quilt. I got that ruler for Christmas and, after seeing the quilt in person, am determined to try the ruler.

We tried to visit a cheese shop, but it was closed on Mondays. We went to two quilt shops, Windy Moon #2 and Going Batty, which you will find reviewed elsewhere in this blog. In between the two quilt shops we went to lunch at Sup. It is a soup place and was packed but had very good GF food.

We also got to meet Kathleen’s grandsons. It was short but sweet and fun to be around boys again.

Eventually, we went to the bakery mentioned above and bought GF cupcakes. I was so excited at being able to walk in and order a cupcake. It ended up being a huge disappointment. When I finally sat down to eat the one I bought, it was virtually tasteless. 🙁

The trip was good. We had fun. I got some prep done that needed to be done and now we are on to the holidays.

Quilt Shop: Going Batty

I visited Going Batty last Monday while I was visiting Kathleen in Reno. It is a clean and new looking shop in a strip mall. It is large with a variety of products and is a Bernina dealer.

I was looking for my favorite ruler (Creative Grids 4.5″x8.5″ – CGR48), because Kathleen really needed this ruler. Actually, everyone needs this ruler. It is really great for trimming. They had a good selection of rulers, but, sadly, not this one.

The shop did have the Quick Curves Ruler and several patterns using that ruler.

One of the things I really liked about the shop was the sample quilts on the walls. They had one quilt that made me want to go out and make a Feathered Star. The Feathered Star quilt is a Marsha McCloskey pattern called Star of Chamblie and it looked so great in all solids with a bright white background. Sadly, the photo I took was blurry. 🙁

The other quilts on the walls were just as great. There is one quilt that I have seen in other shops. It is a Block of the Month called Color of Love. It reminds me of the Star Sampler. I am tempted to make the BOM just because I like stars and I like the varying sizes of blocks. I do wonder how many star quilts I should make.

I was kind of amazed at the sewing machine and furniture display at the shop. the entire front of the store was full of all the best Berninas available. The furniture was sewing machine furniture and it was gorgeous. Some of it wasn’t very useful (sewing machine cabinet with a round flip-out table-WTH?), but the items I saw that I would buy were gorgeous and useful. One was a cutting table with a few drawers and an open space at the top. On top was a cutting table with sides that flip up to make it the size of a very large Olfa mat.

I liked the fabric, too, though they didn’t have tons. They had a respectable amount, but not tons. There was some modern stuff, but not tons. The shop didn’t seem to have fat quarters for their bolt fabric. Usually that means they only have FQs for end of bolts, but I didn’t ask, so I don’t know. GB also didn’t have very many pre-cuts. I wanted some more of that Zen Chic background mini-charms, but couldn’t find them. The shop had a few pre-cuts, but not many.

The displays were really great and the shop was light and airy. They had an up to date system for checking customers out, though it was a bit slow when we were there. The shop offered Bernina service and sold the new-ish Bernina longarms. This shop is definitely worth a visit.

Contact the shop:

Going Batty
9744 S Virginia St, Reno, NV 89511
(775) 351-2424

Fabrications Quilt Shop

Here is irony: the last time I went to this shop was when the Young Man was a baby. He was in some kind of carrier or sling. I went last week on my way back from dropping him off at college.

This is a small shop, but it is right on the main square of Healdsburg and it is crammed with fabric. I found a few pieces that will work for the Improv quilt.

By this time I was getting into the fabric equivalent of a diabetic coma, but it was fun to stop in this shop and realize how close it is to me (about 2 hours) and worth the drive, because there are other nice shops and good places to eat nearby.

There were two people working and they were watching us the whole time, but they weren’t unfriendly. I meant to ask about the local quilt people around, but I forgot. I wondered if this shop was mainly visited by tourists or if there was a thriving quilt community. Oh well. Next time.

Forget Me Knots Quilt Shop

This store is RIGHT next door to an ice cream shop. Kids and spouses can have a nice time there while you browse. 😉

This shop has a lot of panels and kits. A LOT. The panels are great and I bought a couple to make Thanksgiving decorations. I had better get on it!

They had fabric, but not the tons that other shops had. I bought a few pieces.

The store has a lot of gifts, which is what tourist town shops have and that was great. Some of the fabrics were novelty sea related fabrics, which I had never seen before.

The shop also had a lot of interesting patterns.

I think the strength of the shop was really the panels. They had lots and lots of panels, especially in the Thanksgiving realm (it is nice to see that some retail isn’t going straight from Hallowe’en to Christmas!). I bought two panels with which to make some Thanksgiving table runners. Am I trying to fill my time now that my YM is gone? Probably, at least mentally.

Thanksgiving, as you may remember, is ‘my’ holiday in the family. Lately, I have been feeling a bit of a slacker, because I really don’t have any Thanksgiving decorations. One of my SILs sends a flower arrangement every year, which is the sum total of my decorations. I have wanted to make napkins, but the thought of sewing 24+ brown and beige napkins makes me run away from the sewing machine screaming. When I saw the panel with the pumpkins and gourds, I could imagine having it in my house. The colors are a little brighter than normal Thanksgiving colors and it isn’t boring. It is also a bit arty. It also doesn’t need much piecing, so almost all I would need to do is quilt it. STOP laughing! 😉

The one panel will make two table runners. I might piece the leaves to the end of one to make it a little longer. They are supposed to be coasters, but I am not making coasters as we have about 30 sets of coasters. We will see.

I set up three tables at Thanksgiving and I don’t want the ‘kids’ table to feel bad, especially since they usually don’t get china, so I bought another panel for them. What I will do with this one is cut off the smaller panels and sew them together in a long line, then quilt it. If I have time, I will quilt the wreath and make it into a table mat for the coffee table.

These panels are already washed so there is hope for me to finish them.

Like some of the other shops Forget Me Knots was participating in the Row by Row Experience. The lady helping pushed us hard to get the kit. Not my jam so I resisted.

They had a lot of notions, a large classroom and generally a large space. I found this store to have a lot to look at and it took me awhile to figure out that there weren’t as many fabric bolts as I originally thought.

I liked this shop. The lady was friendly, they had fabric and notions I hadn’t seen before and the location was convenient. Look for the ice cream shop. It is huge and that is what we noticed. The quilt shop is in a large building, but they need better signage.

Location: 640 2nd St SE, Bandon, OR 97411
(541) 347-9021

Fat Quail Quilt Shop Again

I have visited the Fat Quail Quilt Shop before. The last few times DH and I have driven to the North Coast, we haven’t stopped. Absence makes the heart grow fonder? As Mom and I drove south from Portland it turned out to be a good place to stop for a stretch. Laytonville is a small town after Leggett and before Willets as you drive south on Hwy 101.

When we visited several ladies were having a sew-in. The ladies were sewing away on their own projects and asking for advice as needed (by their own words). I was glad to see that they were there. Those small towns look so small, I always wonder how they can support a quilt population. My mom and I discussed this quite a bit in the car and her theory is that crafts are popular because of the lack of big city distractions. She could be right.

Fat Quail probably has the most ‘country’ style of the stores we visited. The colors of the decor tend more towards sage, beige, cream and rust. The shop is light filled and there are plenty of pinks and turquoises for people like me. They also have some more modern patterns, such as the Time for Tea pattern, which makes me think of the Mad Hatter.

I don’t know that I will make it as a quilt, but I do like the clock being half off the quilt. It is a good reminder that design elements do not need to be complete. I also like the stylized coffee pot. Both are interesting design elements. The pattern is Time For Tea (CSD-110- 13″x 35″) from Creative Space Designs. They have other interesting, including more Mad Hatter-ish, patterns as well as flowers and animals. You can buy it from their website or call Fat Quail.

They brightened things up quite a bit from last time. The room with the card catalog drawers holding fat quarters held a lot of Stonehenge last time. This time there was the cat quilt and that green, cream and rust quilt. The room was a lot brighter. No Stonehenge. Sorry Sandy!

I also saw some 1930s fabrics as well as some aqua and turquoise hiding in that room. 😉

As at the Quilter’s Corner, this shop had some specialty quail items. The quail is the state bird of California and this shop had a pattern for s stuffed version and some prints that could be added to a quilt. You can see them hanging on the fabric shelf to the left in the middle of the picture.

Autumn was in full swing in all of these quilt shops so there was a lot of Thanksgiving: reds, golds and browns. You can see those fabrics on the left in the back of the picture.

While fabric wasn’t everywhere, which I didn’t see in any shop I visited, there was plenty to choose from. I also found that a lot of different styles were represented even if there weren’t samples using every fabric.

I still think this shop is worth a visit and there is a coffee shop down the road a little where the family can relax while you look at fabric

Location:
44550 US-101, Laytonville, CA 95454
(707) 984-6966

Random Bits and Bobs

I went to a number of shops, but some of them are not getting their own post because I didn’t buy enough, take enough pictures or I had been there before pretty recently.

The best thing about visiting all the quilt shops I visited, aside from being distracted from leaving my Y.M. in a strange city all alone, was that I saw a lot of different stuff. Different colorways, different fabrics, different motifs. It made me realize how much fabric I never see. I suppose that is a good thing.

I found a big list of all the quilt shops in Oregon and we kind of followed that one.

Ocean Waves, Eureka, California

I usually visit this store when I am on the North Coast and this trip was no exception. The last time I visited was in February.

The Young Man and I drove up on Tuesday and we had kind of short driving day. We should have driven farther, but we didn’t. We arrived in Eureka, checked into the hotel and I called the quilt store. They were open for another half and hour so I hightailed over there and looked around. While I was there, I texted the Y.M. with a picture of a not-too-juvenile back-to-school print and asked if he wanted a pillowcase out of it. He said YES so I bought it. I also bought some more dress fabrics. You know those Philip Jacobs will be on body in the not too distant future. 😉

Ruth’s Family Fabric, Waldport, Oregon

This is an upholstery shop and quilt fabric store. I may just bring my wing chairs there to be recovered. It will force me to drive by. The price is right and the Fabric Depot in Portland had some great upholstery fabric.

I may have found the perfect fabric at this store. I have never seen this Riley Blake Awning Stripe before. The stripes are about an inch wide. I would upholster an entire room in this fabric if I had a sunroom or a boudoir. I love this fabric so much. It is an older fabric from the La Creme Basics line. This should seriously be in their lineup all the time. And WHY did I have to go to Southern Oregon to find this fabric? Why didn’t I ever see it before? WHY?

It was also in red and another version in black, but I restrained myself. I have to make something that I will use all the time. I don’t know what yet, but something great.

By My Hand, Brookings, Oregon

The lady who was manning the store (pretty sure she was the owner) was super nice. Mom barely looked at anything in this shop because she really hit off with the owner and they just chatted the whole time.

The store is yarn and fabric, but more yarn. I looked for light greys for my Flying Geese project throughout the trip and found a good one here.

This shop was hard to find. It is in a kind of strip mall, but the sign is impossible to see if you are driving. Quilt and fabric shops MUST have a giant sign near the road if they want out-of-towners to visit.

We passed about 3 shops up because we simply couldn’t find them. One was in the same town as this shop and we drove by where it should have been twice and we still couldn’t find it. Another thing, shops should have navigation tips on their websites. If they are near a giant department store their website should say “we are just before Super Giant Department Store if you are going south.”

We did stop at a wonderful cafe in Brookings called Blue Water cafe. It was down by the water and little hard to find, but totally worth it. They had gluten free bread and the service was excellent. The lady was very friendly. The place was also clean and had a very interesting Hawaiian/surfing/tropical theme.

Missed Shops

I drove right by Cool Cotton, Portland. It is, supposedly, a modern quilt shop. I was looking for exit, but didn’t see it. I’ll make it there next time.

Country Keepsakes was impossible to find.

We were shopped out when we passed the Quilted Angel. It isn’t that far from my house so, theoretically, I can go almost any time.

Photos from shops I didn’t use in other posts: