Artquiltmaker Blog – Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity

Rose City Originals

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.

Rose City - back to front right — Rose City – back to front right

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 - Accuquilt cutting station — Rose City – Accuquilt cutting station

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. 🙂

Rose City - longarms in the back — Rose City – longarms in the back

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.

Rose City - classroom — Rose City – classroom

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 - notions and thread — Rose City – notions and thread

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.

Rose City Purchases - Oct 2026 — Rose City Purchases – Oct 2026

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

Finished: Portland Pillowcases

I found some Portland fabric at Rose City Quilts when I was in Portland last week. I decided to make pillowcases.

I bought 4 yards of the Portland fabric and a yard and a half of the cuff fabric. If I had bought 1.75 yards of the cuff fabric I could have made one more matching pillowcase. I have enough fabric to make one more pillow case, but not enough of the cuff fabric. I’ll find something in my fabric closet and make the last one with that.

I gave them out as party favors at the family dinner I hosted on my last night in Portland. Lil Sissy, the YM and my cousin-nephew all joined me. It was a good time. We discussed family business, but also caught up with each other.

Sewing in Portland

I didn’t only sew in Portland, but I did sew quite a bit. My sewing space looked similar to the way Friend Julie and I set it up last year. I really need two ends of the table on the same side. I like being able to see the whole room both when I sew and write. I could move the sewing machine. Instead I took the space at the other end of the table and put my computer and journal there. The view isn’t as good, but I can see out the window, which I like.

The projects I brought were:

- - Pacifica Quilt Club pillowcases
  - Mini One Handle Totes
  - Chickadee backpack
  - Sad quilt block
  - Morning Glory

I think I was overly ambitious.

The projects I actually made progress on:

- - Pacifica Quilt Club pillowcases – finished
  - Mini One Handle Totes – significant progress
  - Morning Glory – a tiny amount of progress
  - Portland pillowcases – complete

Still, I had a great time and I forced myself not to hibernate away by myself sewing the entire time. After all, I was in a different city where they have interesting things to see and do. I also have family there and wanted to spend time with them.

I spent a day with Amanda. We went to lunch at a great Thai place and then visited Modern Domestic and Bolt. Both shops are pretty much the same as they were last time. After Bolt we went to a coffee shop across the street and sat there for a few hours catching up.

On Friday, I took the YM to his storage unit where we cleared out the boxes, stuffed them in my car and took them to the apartment. There I cleaned and helped rearrange some furniture.

I also got to see my GrandCat, Penelope. The next day the YM went back to the storage with my sister. She has a trailer and brought a strong friend. They were able to quickly clean out a few bits of furniture. Job done: $200/month saved.

We went for lunch and I tried to buy him a new coat, but we didn’t succeed. After I dropped him off, I went to Rose City Quilts. I’ll write a proper review later, but the short version is: GREAT store!

I didn’t have to go help with the storage on the second day, so I went to the Westside Quilters quilt show in Hillsboro. I was excited to find a quilt show I could actually attend. I heard about it from the guy who owns Rose City Quilts.

I sewed a bit after the quilt show, which was a good break

My sister invited me to a Halloween party. I almost said no, but decided to go and spend some time with her, so I went. I had a great time following a gang of kids as they tore around a neighborhood filling their candy baskets trick or treating.

I went to the zoo again to see Tula-tu, the baby elephant. I went on Sunday morning at 9:30, which I thought would be a quiet time to go being after the sugar high of Halloween. It was pretty quiet. I spent an hour or so hanging out with the elephants, which I found very calming.

I saw a lot of other animals, too: Lamprey eels, a giraffe, two tigers who were sleeping, two rhinos-also sleeping or maybe resting, a flock of flamingos. I don’t think flamingos are very nice birds, but they are pretty.

I tried to visit Paramount Sewing again, but it was closed. They are closed on Monday and I forgot it was Monday. I was sad, but I realized it was a sign of a good vacation.

MaryM's Running with Scissors bag — MaryM’s Running with Scissors bag

On the way back, I stopped and stayed with MaryM again. I helped her a bit with her Running with Scissors bag and we discussed her Hideout bag.

Mt. Shasta looked really different. I took about 30 photos and I thought this one was the most interesting.

Mt. Shasta - Oct. 2026 — Mt. Shasta – Oct. 2026

The trip wasn’t long enough, but I had to get home for other obligations.

A Whole Bunch of Mini One Handle Totes

I spent almost a whole day before my trip prepping fabrics and interfacing for 15 Mini One Handle Totes. As I have mentioned, these are an easy project and I wanted to cross them off my list.

I went through the Sorbet fabrics and pulled out pieces that were large enough to cut the pieces I needed, then I went through and cut the interfacing. I spent several hours on the project, but it made the sewing so much easier.

Once I got to MaryM’s I started sewing a couple of them. We were talking about bags, which I really enjoy, so I didn’t plan on getting a lot of them done. One problem I ran into immediately was turning the bags through the tiny handle. The problem is the DecorBond. I am still paying for and kicking myself for accidentally buying a bolt of this stuff. I was stuck, though since I decided to plow through some of this bolt by using it for this project.

I yanked and pulled and swore under my breath as I tried to turn the bags I sewed so I could make progress. I didn’t actually resolve this problem until I got to Portland. I tried to buy hemostats as mine were at home, but failed. Sidebar: Google lies, so don’t believe it. Google said three stores had them and none of them did.

I solved the problem eventually by stuffing the ProFuse side through the hole first. I still could have used the hemostats, but I was able to speed up the process of turning the bags through this method. Also, I felt relieved since I could make some progress. I finished 10 of them and four more nearly done. I’ll be able to finish them soon.

I am pleased with how much of this project I was able to complete. I was not happy that this was pretty much the only project I almost finished.

I Like Sewing with MaryM

View from Mary's workroom — View from Mary’s workroom

I went to Portland last week to see the YM and to visit with other family. On the way, I stayed for an extra day in Ashland to sew with Mary.

I was able to help her with a bag on which she is working. The pattern is Hideout from Fireweed Stitches. I had never heard of this company before MaryM alerted me to her need to for help.

I really enjoy talking and collaborating with people about bags so it is a lot of fun when I work with Mary. She often chooses patterns I have never heard of so I always learn something.

My sewing space at MaryM's — My sewing space at MaryM’s

We sat across from each other sewing and I totally inhabited my allotted space.

I got busy on the pillowcases for the Pacifica Quilt Club and continued to work on the Mini One Handle Totes.

Post Modern Jukebox Workshop

The guild organized a workshop with Claudia Shearer. She called it Post Modern Jukebox. It was very similar to a workshop with Virginia Schnalle I took years ago when I made the Eye of God quilt.

Initially, we had a hard time getting enough people to participate, but invited some other guilds and got enough people not to lose money. Always a good idea.

Everyone was able to make at least a dozen blocks. There were a lot of solids, but people, like me, used prints as well.

At first, when I was thinking about what fabrics to bring, I thought I would bring my box of cool solids. A solid, if predictable choice. I read something about really thinking about your fabric choices. I often grab my most recent fabric purchases as they are the most accessible. Whatever I read made me stop and think.

I knew I would be making a table runner. They are large enough projects to have some design options, but small enough to finish sooner rather than later. My dining room is painted red. I have also been thinking about how I don’t seem to have used much red lately. I got my red bins and also a bin of low volume text prints. I made my fabric decision and stuck with it.

I am pleased with the fabrics I chose and how the piece is coming out.

Yes, I have too much of the pinky red dots I found when cutting out the Mini One Handle Totes last week. I am working on diluting their influence with other fabrics. I used a lot of that pinky red dot fabric and am working on not using so much of others. It would be find if I were making a quilt,but for a table runner, I need to restrict the amounts, I think.

Also, I have not played around with the layout at all. The teacher, Claudia Shearer, played around with the layout a bit. She turned on of the blocks upside down to show how making the blocks the other way would add to my layout options. I need to pretty much make all the other blocks with the high part of the curve starting on the right. I think I need to do some layout work, though.

I have done a lot of ‘free cutting’ in various workshops, most of which were before I started writing posts for this website. Aside from the Virginia Schnalle workshop, I took a class at Fort Mason with Sonya Lee Barrington and she also showed us how to cut improv curves.

I wasn’t excited about this workshop, but feel like I have to be a good guild citizen. I also firmly believe that I can get something out of each workshop no matter how many times I have done a similar technique. In this case, the key tip was a registration mark! This helps a lot with the piecing.

EPP Ball #16: Purple

I have been working on this EPP Ball on and off for a few weeks and was able to finish it last week. Honestly, I try to keep one of these on the go at all times. I love EPP, haven’t gotten back into the groove of La Passacaglia and always want a little hand work to do in the evenings.

I use the 5 inch squares I cut from scraps for these balls – not exclusively, but when I want to make one I go digging in those containers first. I often find fabrics I love like the big purple dots above and the purple Chrysanthemum print, right. It is an older Philip Jacobs print and this might be the last bit of it.

I chose two pieces of that red-violet batik and used them as the center of the cup I make first before putting the two halves together. It means that the same fabrics will not touch each other.

I also tried to keep the purples similar in value, but had to add another Philip Jacobs print. Despite the beige, I love his prints.

This ball came out really well. The purple fabrics really went together well.

I tend to want to keep the ‘good’ fabrics for the perfect project. I am finding that projects are better when I use fabrics, all the fabrics, including the ‘good’ fabrics. The Tula hexie print above adds a smaller and more geometric print to the overall combination of fabrics.

I also used a last bit of Asbury Park ice cream cones and a Martha Negley carrot print. Both are favorites as well.

I added a label later by hand as I seem to forget to do it by machine.

California Shirt Redux

On my mission to find another California tablecloth, I scoured everything looking for a photo of the full California shirt. I found a photo of it without sleeves. However, I did not find a photo of it complete, so here we are. This is a photo of the completed shirt.

DH wore it over the weekend while we were away so it was easy to find and take a quick snap.

California shirt for DH - back — California shirt for DH – back

I am really pleased with the fussy cutting I did and am so sad Red and White Kitchen no longer make the tablecloth. There are things I would do differently if I had more tablecloths to make this shirt again.

26 Projects October 2026 #10

Finished October 2026 Quilt Projects

Finished Warm Four Patch Fun - top — Finished Warm Four Patch Fun – top

Finished Cool Four Patch Fun - top — Finished Cool Four Patch Fun – top

Finished October 2026 Bags and Small Projects

This month started off with such promise, but I was so busy that not a lot got done. The new sewing table was part of the issue, but I am not complaining about that!

Finished: Natalma - open flat — Finished: Natalma – open flat

->Finished 2026 Quilt Projects

->Finished 2026 Bags and Small Projects

Pandora Charisma - back, finished — Pandora Charisma – back, finished

Michaela's Christmas pillowcase — Michaela’s Christmas pillowcase

Paris Cell Phone Wallet - closed — Paris Cell Phone Wallet – closed

Diana's Enigma -closed — Diana’s Enigma -closed

Megan's Bone Enigma-front — Megan’s Bone Enigma-front

Rose I Spy - medium — Rose I Spy – medium

Poppy I Spy - large for Mustang templates — Poppy I Spy – large for Mustang templates

Pink Echinacea I Spy - small — Pink Echinacea I Spy – small

Fairytale I Spy - finished — Fairytale I Spy – finished

Mini One Handle Tote #2 - finished — Mini One Handle Tote #2 – finished

Large Open Wide for Mom's friend — Large Open Wide for Mom’s friend

Gerres' Scissor Sheath — Gerres’ Scissor Sheath

Carries' Scissor Sheath — Carries’ Scissor Sheath

Mom's Snap Tray- exterior — Mom’s Snap Tray- exterior

Carrie's Tadpole other front — Carrie’s Tadpole other front

Gerre's Tadpole other front — Gerre’s Tadpole other front

Sue's Tadpole - open compartment — Sue’s Tadpole – open compartment

Urban Sea Backpack - front — Urban Sea Backpack – front

- - Book pouch
  - Cosquilla
    - Floral Reef Cosquilla
    - Rose Cosquilla
  - Enigmas
    - Carrie’s Enigma
    - Diana’s Enigma
    - Julie’s Enigma
    - Megan’s Bone Enigma
    - Sue’s Enigma
  - EPP Balls
    - EPP Ball #12
    - EPP Ball #13
    - EPP Ball #14
    - EPP Ball #15
  - EPPic Bag
  - Everything But the Machine bag
  - Extra large project bag
  - Fairytale I Spy pouch
  - Fish Hackney
  - Hippie Spec Eyeglass Case
    - Book
    - Flowery Vinyl
    - Flowery Vinyl #2
    - Paris
  - Joni Tote
  - Metro Double Zip pouch
    - #1 blue
    - #2 blue
    - #3 green
  - Michaela’s Christmas Pillowcase
  - Mini One Handle Totes
    - Mini One Handle Tote #1
    - Mini One Handle Tote #2
    - Mini One Handle Tote #3
    - Mini One Handle Tote #4 (purple plaid)
  - Pandora Charisma
  - Paris Cell Phone Wallet
  - Paris Hippie Specs Eyeglass case
  - Pink Poppy Snap Tray
  - Megan’s Snap Trays
  - Sheffield Tool Tote
  - SueG’s Tadpole
  - Carrie’s Tadpole + Scissor Sheath
  - Gerre’s Tadpole + Scissor Sheath
  - Urban Sea Backpack
  - Zip It Up
    - Bonnie
    - Deb
    - SueG

Projects Ready for Quilting / In the Quilting Process

Warm Four Patch Fun quilt top

All the WIPs

WIPs are projects on which I am working. This means that I am past the cutting out of pieces stage, some sewing has taken place.

Country Revival – I am well into piecing. Flower #5 is done and I have started to cut out Flower #6.
La Passacaglia – I decided to change the border, which means moving a couple of the rosettes. Daunting so I haven’t worked on it.
Pantone Project – it has been more than a year (where does time go?) since I worked on this. I need to get back to it.

Cut Out & Stopped

- Rose Petrillo bag – I found the pieces for this bag cut out, but not sewn. This is on the guild UFO Challenge list.

Still UFOs

I still have UFOs. Who doesn’t, after all? A project in the ‘UFO’ category means I am stalled, it hasn’t been worked on in awhile or it is waiting its turn to be worked on. The list is a lot shorter and the projects are newer, for the most part.

I am annoyed that some of these are still UFOs.

Self Portrait: started in 2006 at a class at Quilting Adventures in Richmond, Virginia. After a brief burst of inspiration, I am stalled on this again. As one of my oldest (I am pretty sure) UFOs, I put it on my blog and out into the Twitterverse and Diane suggested that I not consider this as a self portrait. I think that strategy is a great idea. I am now trying to think of a new persona for her.
Serendipity Lady – I am still planning to take this piece to be framed. It might need a bit of quilting first.
Fabric of the Year 2020
Fabric of the Year 2021 – I may combine 2020 and 2021 into a COVID edition.
Fabric of the Year 2022 – yes, I added this one to the list, but this is the last one I plan to do.
Stay Tuned

Various & Sundry 2026 #10

Admin

Projects, Classes, Patterns, Techniques & Tutorials

The Michael Miller website has a number of free downloads, including patterns. Aside from the normal quilt patterns, of which I have plenty, there was a pattern for a duvet and pillows. There was also a pattern for a garden apron, easier, but similar to the cafe apron I made a few times. There was a rainbow shaped pillow project, which I found adorable. Need a caftan? I found a pattern for one of those as well! No bags, sadly, but I think I am past the ‘free bag pattern’ projects by this point.

Tools, Books, Fabric, Notions, Services & Supplies

Tim gave a mini-demo at Sew Day earlier this month talking about iron labels. One product he uses was Avery Light Fabric Transfers**. the other was TransOurDream Tru-Heat Transfer Paper**. I am going to have to try his technique as I think it would make adding a label easier.

I was surprised at how many more colors American Made Brands has now. My color card is definitely out of date!

Cotton Couture solids seem to be showing up more and more. My new ‘local’ (in British mysteries, everyone has a local pub they call ‘their local’. My version is my fabric local. 😉 ), City Made Quilts, carries Cotton Couture solids as well. I decided to buy a color card to make it easier to select the exact color I need. I just did a search to find where I could buy one and found that Michael Miller has them on their website. I didn’t realize that fabric companies sold items to consumers from their websites. I suppose it makes sense to sell color cards.

I bought the card with the most colors – 245. It was also the most up to date, according to the site. I also considered the Graydations card, but decided I didn’t need it. It is a good idea as it has greys in more than just solids. It might be good for making a low volume quilt.

I was also surprised to see how many color cards that were available in addition to the two mentioned above. They also offered color cards for their Coco, Fresco, Fairy Frost and Patina blender lines. There was also a color card for Stargazer and Garden Pindot. Garden Pindot is an interesting line and I wonder if I have seen it before. If it has been around for awhile I am sure I have purchased some of the fabrics.

The color cards are on a different site, cottoncouturesolids.com, than the site where one can find information about the other lines of Michael Miller fabric.

MaryM is working on the Hideout pattern from Fireweed Stitches. I went to their website to check out the site and found that they have some interesting bag hardware.

I went looking for another of the California Map tablecloths from which I made DH a shirt back in 2015. Gosh! What a pain. The stupid search engines are too helpful and do not let me modify my search. They also do not let me ‘not’ out terms or websites that are not relevant. UGH.

I finally found that it was made by the Red and White Kitchen Company. I also found that they only have tea towels at the moment. 🙁 No other sites seem to have it. Let me know if you see one (or two?) that is available.

I learned something new the other day. There is a special product for lining concealed carry bags (like for guns!). I saw it at Fireweed Stitches when MaryM asked for some help. It is called Soft Loop Sheets. I never thought of making a bag for carrying a concealed weapon, but if you do make those kind of bags, you now know were to buy a product that will protect it. We ended up using foam as MaryM didn’t have the Soft Loop Sheet and the hidden pocket will probably be used for phone anyway.

Events, Exhibits and Organizations

Found*SJ is an organization I heard about in the San Jose Museum of Quilt & Textiles newsletter. It is described on their website as “San Jose’s newest thrift and vintage destination! Found SJ features an ever-changing treasure trove of community-donated, affordably-priced clothing, furnishings, housewares, books, collectibles, ephemera and more. Located in the emerging Creekside District in Downtown San Jose, steps from the Diridon VTA station and other public transportation. All proceeds benefit the Preservation Action Council of San Jose, a non-profit, member-based organization dedicated to preserving San Jose’s architectural and cultural heritage through advocacy, education, and civic engagement.” I have not been there, but it might be a fun outing with a friend.

I spoke about a few shops on the Central Coast back in May, Picking Daisies and Cut & Run. In the past I have also visited Roxanne’s, which is farther south. I visited Roxanne’s again on a weekend trip to Southern California for DH’s organization. My reward for being a good wife was to visit Roxanne’s. 😉 While there I got a flyer for the upcoming Central Coast Shop Hop, Blooming with Creativity. It will take place June 4-6, 2027. Plenty of time for you to plan a trip! I wanted another bookmark like I got at Cut & Run, but this flyer also has a list of shops. There are more than I thought including SuperBuzzy and two in Santa Barbara. I was pleased to see that the shops have collaborated on a “Quilt Shops of the Central Coast” website as well. What a great idea!

GE Designs has a ‘quilting case‘. It is basically a briefcase with inserts for rulers and such. The marketing materials say “The Stripology® Quilting Case is a hard shell case designed by quilters, for quilters. It is made to save you time and keep you quilting, ensuring your essentials are always at your fingertips.

It fits a 18″ x 24″ cutting mat, all the Stripology rulers, and other rulers up to 25″ long. Weight capacity is 33 lbs. The case itself weighs 10 lbs (4.5 kg).” You know the worst part? It is black. I wear a lot of black, but don’t want black for my quiltmaking. I suppose it is a good surface for stickers, but still. Why not have pink, red, blue, turquoise, and seafoam (etc.) options?

Media & Articles

NPR had a story about a recently released prisoner with a solo quilt exhibition.

Inspiration

Apparently, I am not inspired this month…or too lazy to ask for permission to post things.

NQR

Coffee Walnut Cake - Oct 2026 — Coffee Walnut Cake – Oct 2026

I made Nigella Lawson’s Coffee Walnut Cake for this month’s Sew Day.

**Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses, as I did. However, if you are too busy, don’t have a local shop nearby or can’t find what you need, I use Amazon affiliate links. I 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 don’t link to items I don’t like. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this website.

Amethyst vs Natalma

After finishing the Natalma earlier this month, I couldn’t help comparing it to the Amethyst.

I do not have the Amethyst, so I have to use photos for comparison. Obviously, the inside pockets and features are different. I expect this even when Sara’s bags have a similar construction.

The big difference, I see is that the Natalma lays flat (is an open wide sort of design) and the lid of the Amethyst opens leaving a space under it. This is not a bag that lays flat.

I did compare the finished sizes as well:

Amethyst Finished Size: 14” long x 13” high x 3” deep (35.5cm x 33cm x 7.5cm)

Natalma Finished Size: 14” long x 12” tall x 4-1/4” deep (35.6cm x 30.5cm x 10.8cm)

As you can see the sizes are similar.

As I may have mentioned, I like it when Sara uses similar construction techniques on different bags. It expands my horizons.

Now for the Awesome!

It’s been a trial, but the sewing table is finally together!

I am thrilled. It took two of us a couple of hours to get it to this state. This was in addition to the hours I spent the other day working on it. Even though I am slow, I thought I could do it myself. I was wrong. Some of the steps need four hands. DH actually offered to help and I slipped into the role of assistant, gladly.

From the cabinets being assembled, I went and made a mess opening boxes to try and find the brace for the bottom. For awhile, it was very hard to walk into the YM’s bedroom.

I think the labeling could have been better. It seemed a little scattershot to me. It ended up working out eventually. We added the brace and then later took it out and turned it over so the cord hole was in the right place. I never used the one in my old sewing table and am determined to use every feature on this table.

I brought the cabinets upstairs so I could add the brace. That was a difficult operation with one person.

I was pleased to find that I measured correctly and the table fits well between the heating vent and the outlet. WHEW!!!

Once all the pieces were screwed together, I was able to start loading it up. I gain an extra cabinet and several drawers in addition to the space required for the larger machine.

I haven’t filled the drawers yet as I was pretty exhausted after running up and down the stairs 300 times to get parts, tools and keep the laundry cycling. That will be a project for tomorrow and another opportunity to clear out stuff I don’t need.

The worst part of this was not being able to sew. I felt stressed at certain points and it would have been great to sit down at the machine and put some blocks together. I thought about working on some hand work, but it didn’t really happen to any great extent.

Another Trip to Roxanne’s

Roxanne's in Carpenteria — Roxanne’s in Carpenteria

I have visited Roxanne’s Wish and a Dream a few times. The last time I remember was in 2024. The trip I recorded before that was in 2013. The shop looks essentially the same as it did in these two posts. I was also pleased to see that it looks just as fresh, not tired and in need of attention. Check out the photos on the two posts linked above to see all the fabulous color. Here I am going to talk about the things I noticed.

Roxanne's - Kaffe dots — Roxanne’s – Kaffe dots

They still have A LOT of Kaffe. I had to carefully scrutinize the offerings to see if there was anything I wanted. I noticed, once again, that the selection of the Kaffe dots was still excellent. I thought about some of the grey dots for backgrounds, but decided I had enough grey backgrounds for the moment.

I didn’t see the Voluptuous print I used as the exterior for the Urban Sea Backpack. I was talking with the lady cutting my fabric and she was saying she had never see that color way on a Philip Jacobs print when I saw the Kaffe/Morris prints. I didn’t recognize them, but they were the right colors, so I went to look and then I saw Voluptuous. It turned out to be a wide back with a sheen or glaze. I decided to buy some anyway. It felt ok and I might want to make another bag with it. It isn’t a design I have seen in a lot of places, which I find interesting.

I saw some of the Martha Negley Golden Harvest prints. I like the one with the grapes, as I said, but I decided not to buy. The prices were on the high side at Roxanne’s and that print has colors I mostly don’t use: autumn golds, browns and oranges. There are enough pinks and purples to make me think twice, but I passed. Maybe they will recolor it and I will buy it later.

Roxanne's - Featherweight inventory — Roxanne’s – Featherweight inventory

I wandered around the shop to see what had changed. I almost bought the YM some crochet stuff, but passed. I am not sure what he has and what he wants. I wandered into the Featherweight room and was blown away by the number of Featherweights they have.

This is not all. I saw some in cases scattered around the shop as well. They must scour the area for them to have so many.

Roxanne's - Featherweight inventory-detail — Roxanne’s – Featherweight inventory-detail

Most are around $1200! WOW! I was excited about some of the colors a few had been painted. The turquoise and the pink are fantastic. I love the turquoise best.

No, I did not buy. I do not want to collect sewing machines. It is fun to think about having a big studio (and unlimited money) where I could have multiple machines set up.

Roxanne's - classroom decor — Roxanne’s – classroom decor

The classroom has an amazing quilt on the table. It has those circle blocks. I need to make a quilt with circle blocks sometime!

The flowers add to the look and feel of the room. This room also had a wall ‘wallpapered’ in some Kaffe fabric. I showed this wall before.

Roxanne's - coasters — Roxanne’s – coasters

Because Carpenteria is a tourist town, the shop had a lot of items non-quiltmakers could buy as souvenirs. There was a display of coasters with VERY pithy sayings on them.

I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies last week, so when I saw the website/cookies coaster, I couldn’t help but smile.

Roxanne's - coaster — Roxanne’s – coaster

I sent the photo of the coaster on the left to my mom. We had a good laugh. There were so many with great sayings.

Roxanne's purchases 2026 — Roxanne’s purchases 2026

I ended up buying more of the Disco Poms in ‘Whisper’ (grey) from Tula. I used most of what I had for the Urban Sea Backpack, but I like the Voluptuous/ Disco Poms combination so much that I want to do something with the combination again.

I also replenished some Tilde fabrics for the Sad Quilt. I wasn’t planning on buying them so I didn’t do an inventory of the ones I need more of. However, I know I can use the green dots. I am also pretty sure I have fun out of the solid turquoise. I hope it goes with the turquoise I used in the other blocks.

The shop had some great patches as well. I bought some for gifts.

As I have said before, this store is definitely worth a visit.

Roxanne’s A Wish and A Dream
919 Maple Ave
Carpinteria, CA 93013
(805) 566-1250
Hours: Monday – Saturday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Sunday 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM

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