Tag Archives: Quilt store

Quilt Shop Tour of Calico Creations, Mount Vernon, WA

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When I lectured for the Northwest Quilting Connection in September, I had the opportunity to visit Calico Creations, a quilting store located on Main Street in downtown Mount Vernon. The store is attractively laid out with a good selection of fabric and quilt samples adorning the high walls. There were several eye-catching modern style quilts with a fresh bright look as well as a sampling of more traditional patterns. It’s worth stopping by there if you are in the vicinity and only a a few minutes detour from Interstate 5. Here’s the pictorial tour.

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Here’s the Seahawks fabric! (Local American football team for those of you who are uninitiated!).

 

Shop Hop at Quilt Revolution, Gig Harbor, WA

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Yesterday I had a long but enjoyable day at Quilt Revolution in Gig Harbor demonstrating my template-free Kaleidoscope and Bargello block techniques during the Western WA Shop Hop. This annual event excites quilters, not just from Western WA, and they drive insane distances to take in as many participating quilt shops as possible during the five days

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There are in the region of 55 quilt shops from the Canadian border down to the Oregon border, and each offers a different block for the Shop Hop quilt. Quilters receive a small baggie with the block pattern and fabric. There is a theme fabric with coordinating prints which all the shops use. Here’s the fabric and a poster which includes all the blocks from the shops.

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Then of course, the quilters have the opportunity to shop and watch demonstrations. At Quilt Revolution, they had a wonderful exhibit of Shop Hop quilts from previous years and the quilters really enjoyed reminiscing with many bemoaning that they hadn’t finished their quilts! However, this doesn’t deter them from doing the Shop Hop year after year!  There were at least eight quilts displayed and they were all made by the same quilter, Becky Curneen. The one in the picture is from 2011 and was quilted by Rose Flannigan. There were 55 participating shops in 2011 and Becky visited them all. She added one more block to make a total of 56. The blocks are 6-1/2″ and the quilt is large. The other photo shows my demo area before the doors opened. I stayed busy all day with scarcely a dull moment and it was fun.

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Center Diamond, Canon Beach, OR

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After visiting the quilt shop in Wheeler, Nancy and I continued to drive north to Canon Beach. A friend had enthused about the wonderful selection of batiks at the quilt shop there, Center Diamond, and I wasn’t disappointed. We spent an enjoyable half hour just before closing, perusing the selection of fabrics and feeling inspired.

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As well as the wide variety of batiks, the store offered many contemporary looking prints and patterns in keeping with the Modern Quilting style.

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They also had some great patterns reflecting the local surroundings. I love this pelican and Haystack Rock.

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Once again, I was surprised by how much inventory a place that doesn’t appear very large from the outside can offer. This is definitely a fun stopping point if you are in the area.

Creative Quilting, Wheeler, OR

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After Quilt Camp at Twin Rocks (OR), my friend Nancy Watts and I headed north up the coast to explore and enjoy the quilt shops. There is a delightful store in Wheeler, Creative Fabrics, housed in the Old Wheeler Hotel building complete with a Quilt Trail (see earlier blog) painted quilt block. Wheeler is a tiny seaside community of about 350 in a beautiful spot about 25 miles north of Tillamook.

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The staff were friendly and welcoming. They had an impressive selection of marine themed fabrics and unusual prints as well as a good number of Kaffe Fassett fabrics.

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This lovely tree quilt was hanging in the back corridor leading to the restrooms and an adjacent store. The pattern was a free download from Moda with their Figgy Pudding fabric line. In addition to all the fabric, there was a good selection notions and patterns.

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This store is definitely worth the stop and there are also eateries and nice gift shops in Wheeler too.

 

Jane’s Fabric Patch, Tillamook, OR

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I always enjoy the opportunity to visit quilting shops on my travels. On the way to Quilt Camp (see my previous blog), I visited Jane’s Fabric Patch in Tillamook, owned by Jane Wise our fearless Quilt Camp leader and organizer. This bright pink building certainly stands out! Jane is definitely into pink!

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Inside, there is a cheerful atmosphere and the employees clearly enjoy working there. Everyone was excited about Quilt Camp about to begin and most of the customers that day were on their way to Camp. There are multiple rooms with an amazing quantity of fabrics, notions, books and patterns. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, you discover another corner where there is even more…

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Here’s the book and pattern nook and the large classroom.

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Great fun and well worth a visit along with other attractions in Tillamook such as The Cheese Factory with delicious ice cream and the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center.

Tillamook County Quilt Trail

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In October I had a wonderful time teaching at Quilt Camp at Twin Rocks on the OR coast. En route I had time to explore a little in the Tillamook area and was delighted to see many quilt blocks painted on large boards hanging on buildings.

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The Quilt Trail concept is very popular in the East where there are around 3,000 quilt blocks mounted on barns and businesses. The nearest to Tillamook is in Nebraska. The Tillamook Quilt Trail began in 2009 with 13 quilt blocks. Each year, more have been added and there are now over 45. On the left we have the one displayed in Wheeler just north of Tillamook on the Old Wheeler Hotel building which also houses Creative Quilting, a nice quilt shop. On the right, Jane’s Fabric Patch in Tillamook has a lily block and there is one on the side of Roby’s Furniture and Appliances too.

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It’s fun to watch out for these quilt blocks and see how many you can spot as you drive through or walk around Tillamook. Brochures listing the location of all the quilt blocks are available at the Visitors’ Center and at the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center.

International Quilt Market, Houston 2013 #2

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Quilt Market may be overwhelming. The George Brown Convention Center is huge and there were over 700 booths. I know I didn’t see them all as I was eager to see the quilt exhibits too and there wasn’t enough time to do it all. Here’s a sampling of some of the booths that I particularly enjoyed for a variety of reasons.

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There was such an array of colorful threads at the Superior Threads booth with all the bobbins neatly lined up. The Be Colorful booth with Jacqueline de Jonge’s wonderful quilts was a real eye-catcher. I admire her geometric patterns as well as the vibrant colors.

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This Fairfield tower of sculpted batting was cleverly designed. Once again as in Portland, Micheal Miller Fabrics decorated a booth beautifully this time in elegant blue and white.

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There was much buzz about Andover’s new line of Downton Abbey fabric. On the day of the Schoolhouse presentations, they unveiled this new fabric line and 1,500 people attended! They have a design named for each of the Downton ladies. The quilt in the background of both pictures was made by QuiltWoman.com President, Nancy Dill. I’m sure this fabric will hit the shelves in many quilt shops very soon.

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Anthology Fabrics had their amazing quilt canopy over their booth and many attractive quilts making the booth very inviting. The star quilt was particularly striking.

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Jordan Fabrics had a wonderful display of table runners/bed toppers and it was inspiring to see. I enjoyed reconnecting with Mary and Joe Koval at their antique quilt booth. About 10 years ago, I purchased a lovely antique blue and white Bear’s Paw quilt from them which I have upstairs over the banisters in my house. They always have some real treasures. The backdrop quilt is silk from Pennsylvania and dated between 1790 and 1810 – a truly magnificent piece.

Trip to Fidalgo Island, WA

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After visiting the La Conner Quilt & Fiber Arts Festival, I continued on to Fidalgo Island where I gave two lectures in Anacortes for the Fidalgo Island Quilt Guild. At the Show and Tell in one of the guild meetings, Carol Jones shared her lovely Kaleidoscope Puzzle quilt. Carol took a class from me in May at In Stitches Quilt Shoppe in Anacortes. She used 10″ Layer Cake squares in combination with her multicolored theme fabric. She says in retrospect she shouldn’t have used so many different fabrics, but I really like how it turned out and the way she blended the fabrics at the top and bottom with the background. It has a wonderful translucency about it and I was so pleased that she brought it to show me.

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The next day, I taught my Bargello Quilts with a Twist workshop at In Stitches. It was fun to teach at the store again and three of my students, including Carol took my class there in May. Another took a class from me at Fabric D’eva in La Conner in August. Here are some of the attractive blocks they made.

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I can’t resist sharing some scenery pictures with you. Fidalgo Island is such a beautiful place and I’m particularly fond of Rosario Beach State Park, not far from Deception Pass. When we first came to the States 30 years ago, we spent our summers at the Walla Walla College Marine Station adjacent to the park. The long building next to the beach is the lab and library. We stayed in little cabins up by the trees which I believe have had a total face lift since we were there.

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The Maiden of Deception Pass stands majestically in the park. Do read her story. She wasn’t there for our first couple of summers. Now, 27 years later, she is well weathered and looks very natural. I was fortunate to enjoy the pretty late afternoon light and a golden sun with shimmering reflections on the sea. I highly recommend this special place to you if you are the Anacortes area.

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Teaching at Fabric D’eva, La Conner, WA

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Last month I did a one day trip to La Conner to teach at the relatively new fabric store, Fabric D’eva. La Conner is a picturesque town by the Skagit river with an excellent bakery, boutiques and artsy shops.

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In addition, it is the home of the La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum, which as I’ve written before, is a wonderful place to go. Their Quilt and Fiber Arts Festival with a large quilt show as well as exhibits at the Museum on 4th-6th October is not to be missed. While you are in La Conner for the Festival, take a walk along the main street and check out the quilt store, Fabric D’eva.

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The Skagit Valley is well known for the bulb fields which are ablaze with color in the spring. First the daffodils, and then a whole array of tulips. The have a tulip festival every April to celebrate. Fabric D’eva has a great selection of daffodil and tulip fabrics. They also have a whole shelf of fruit and vegetable fabrics as well a wide selection of other goodies.

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The classroom and some of the fabrics are upstairs. Here’s the fantastic fish quilt hanging by the stairway and the view looking down from the top.

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Seven is about the maximum you can squeeze in for classes. We had a full contingent for my Op-Art Kaleidoscope technique and it was a great day.

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I’ll be back in the area very soon, attending Quilt Festival on Sunday 6th and then lecturing for the Fidalgo Island Quilters on 7th October and teaching my Bargello class at In Stitches Quilt Shoppe in Anacortes on 8th October.

Teaching in Johannesburg, August 2011

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When this blog is published, I’ll be returning to Johannesburg to teach quilters who kindly provided accommodation for me and transportation to and from the 17th South African National Quilt Festival in Bloemfontein. I thought I’d write about my experiences teaching here two years ago when I stayed for a week with Grace Nobili and her husband, Enzo, in Roodepoort, the West Rand area of Johannesburg. Their beautiful home sits on the top a ridge with a commanding view all round.Here is Grace in the shop with one of her feline buddies.

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There was an indoor pool and a long-arm quilting machine that Enzo and his brother built for Grace from assorted parts they gathered from a variety of sources.

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Grace and her friends in the Quadrille Quilters planned a whole week of quilting and sight seeing for me and they made so welcome. I did a lecture for the guild and taught two workshops at Grace’s shop, Quiltec Fabrics. The shop is attached to Grace’s house and is spacious. We managed to pack in 14 students on both workshop days. I taught my Gateway to Mongolia class and the template-free Kaleidoscope Puzzle class.

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When it was time to design the Kaleidoscope Puzzle quilts after cutting the kite and wedge-shaped pieces, we spread out into Grace’s living room too.

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Grace decided to try a miniature Kaleidoscope Puzzle quilt using vibrant orange fabrics. I had traveled to South Africa on my birthday, arriving in Johannesburg late in the evening. One of the ladies baked me a birthday cake and we celebrated during class. They were so kind and good to me.

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One evening, we went to another lady’s home for a wonderful potluck and a show and tell of beautiful quilts. Here’s the group. The goodies on the plate are sweet and delicious koeksuster, deep-fried twists of batter soaked in syrup.

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Grace is unable to attend the Quilting Festival in Bloemfontein, but we are planning to get together when I return to Johannesburg towards the end of July. I’m looking forward to seeing her again.