We know I can't travel without visiting a quilt shop or two.....or more.
LeeAnna took me to High Prairie Quilts in Parker, Colorado.
I saw these beautiful aqua/turquoise batiks and had to buy some for my next big project.
They had such a cute Row by Row kit that I had to buy it. See the guitar player with their gorgeous red rocks?
And this table runner! Oh my goodness it was cute! Loved the colors.
Once I was in Portland I was chomping at the bit to go to Pine Needles, McKenna Ryan's Showroom. I had to have her Row by Row again this year.
Of course while I was there I spied a couple of more cute kits.
A Chicken Pattern!
A great aqua/turquoise fabric.
And I was very fortunate because I needed an invisible thread.
I used the invisible thread and finished the quilting on my challenge quilt I have been working on for my guild quilt show.
A couple of days later I offered to teach my mom how to make a wallet, so she needed some fabric which meant I just
had to accompany her to Fabric Depot. Much like my last visit I was very disappointed in their inventory. They didn't even have any solids which were blue which I needed for binding for my challenge quilt.
I did find some Mulan fabrics and Beauty and the Beast fabric for Christmas gifts.
Nightmare Before Christmas.
Amy Butler, and some odds and ends.
I saw some Aurifil 80 wt and had to get a couple of spools. I wanted to try it!
Everything was 30% off and I had to snatch up this diamond Wedding Ring template from Creative Grids. Someday.....
Of course I had to go to JAF because I couldn't find a blue I wanted. They didn't have any either, but I bought some double sided tape to make the wallet, and a cute little note pad and tissues.
At the beach in Astoria during our coast romp, we stopped at Homespun Quilts.
A neat purple lace looking batik, and red, white, and blue music notes.
Butterflies and a matching green to make a wallet or two.
Rain boots by Stof, and a fat eighth thrown in.
And their Row by row.
Next stop was Center Diamond in Cannon Beach, Oregon.
A fun aqua/turquoise batik, Burly Beaver fabric, I think it will be a cute pillowcase, and a neat Japanese print with dragonflies for a wallet or two.
We stopped at Creative Fabrics in Wheeler, Oregon. The lady that owns the shop is retiring so everything was 30% off and the shop would be closing in the next few days. I loved the building this shop was in. Complete with a quilt block.
I bought a couple of browns.
In Garibaldi, Oregon we stopped at Swift Stitches. Oh she has wonderful patterns, and so much Northcott Stonehenge fabric! I didn't buy fabric, but I bought patterns!
Bear Totem.
Beaver Totem
Her little mug rug kits.
The final stop along the coast was Jane's Fabric Patch in Tillamook, Oregon. This shop has lots of gorgeous fabrics. You could spend hours there. Unfortunately I only had 40 minutes.
Portland fabric, 2 chicken fabrics a navy for my bee block in October, and their Row by Row.
There is a small quilt shop in old town Gresham called Feather Your Nest. I went because I know the last time I visited the shop, most of the fabrics were Moda, so I was hoping they had some Moda grunge.
They did not disappoint, but they had so much more! Grunge for a wallet.
A fun native print, comic book girl superheroes for a pillowcase, and a sweet batik.
When I first started quilting many years ago it was due to Ben Franklin Crafts, which later changed to Craft Warehouse they had wonderful BOM using Marti Mitchell templates, but not much in the way of directions, but that is ancient history. Craft Warehouse had two 20 ft long tables of flat fold fabric which was only $5.99 a yard for cottons and flannels, and the batiks were $7.99 a yard.
I lucked out it was a sale day and I got a project bin for $10, which I really needed.
With all of this shopping have I done any sewing? Yes.
I taught my mom how to make a Mini Diva Wallet, and I made a 2nd one, and prepped to make several more with some of my recent fabric acquisitions.
Another wallet made with Tula Pink's Chipper line.
I made 2 of these butterfly wallets, one was for my mom.
Finally some Asian inspired dragonflies.
Since I have a couple of finishes I grabbed 2 quilt kits, and a BOM to bring along to work on when I started my trip. One kit I needed triangles on a roll so I nixed that one and threw it back in the bag and started on the other kit. I had purchased it from Craftsy during a buy one get one 1/2 off.
Cutting 3 inch squares to make 2 1/2 inch HST.
Trimming 512 HST. I have those done, I am currently working on cutting out another set of HST 248 of white and violet, and 344 of white and dark blue, then I can begin to put the blocks together.
While I am cutting I have help from the Quilt Assistant at times.
I will say I have had a couple of disappointments during my travels. I took a special route to go to Gracie Lou's quilt shop in Salem, Utah. I scheduled my travels to get there at 10 am on a Saturday, yes I had checked their hours. I arrived only to see a sign on the window, they were closed that day until 2:30pm. I could not loiter around that many hours waiting for a shop to open so headed on to Portland.
The other disappointment was The Quilted Dandelion a cute little shop in Clatskanie, Oregon is now closed. They were in such a neat building, and the lady who owned the shop was so nice. I am sad to see that it is closed.
Quilting Delights in Clackamas, Oregon has changed a lot, they have a lot of wools though and lots of machine quilting supplies.
I have been spending a lot of time with my kids, grandkids, and done a wee bit of hiking. So not a lot of blog reading, or blog posts being created. I am heading into the mountains of Northern California. Cell service is sparse at best. Keep Bobbin and I in your thoughts and prayers as we have a couple of more weeks of travel.