What is About Quilt Shops

Today, I stopped into a local Quilt shop in Rupert, Idaho.  It is called The Gathering Place.  It was a nice shop. It was really friendly, a nice size and had a decent size fabric selection.  Yet I didn't really care for it.  Part of it was the way it was set up.  The shelves were too close together and I felt crowded.  Patterns and books weren't necessarily near examples of quilts.  Quilt kits were not near the display quilt.  They had a few tools but nothing I didn't have or that I needed. The other part was the fabric was not my style.  My husband said that most of it was Frumpy and I have to agree.  But fabric selection is a personal choice and I am not a local. Plus my style is more traditional and less modern than the current trend seems to be.

So what is about quilt shops?  Why do we seek them out over fabric stores?  What is it that makes it a quilt shop and not a fabric store or a craft store? 

The first quilt shop I recall visiting was a Bernina store in Logan Utah.  I was married with kids, my husband was in college and we were broke. I would watch the Quilt in a Day Series on PBS and this shop had the books for it.  But I never really could afford to buy the stuff. It was all expensive.  Plus I was a decorative painter back then. I made a little money on the side painting for other people and or cutting wood shapes for other painters. I had most of my tools and  supplies so I just needed a little here and there. My hobby paid for itself and then some.

When my husband graduated from college, we moved to Vancouver, WA which was great because that is where Artist club has a brick and mortar store with their sister store Connecting Threads. I used to order supplies from Artist Club when I was in Logan. Artist Club and Connecting Threads were more of a mail order store. So it wasn't really an inviting atmosphere. They did have a block of the month club the last year I lived in Vancouver, but again I was a painter.

The next quilt shop I visited was Mom's Craft and Fabrics in Delta, UT.  Of course that was back in Utah.  In Utah Quilters abound. As do Quilt guilds.  I had started getting more into quilting and less into painting by this time.  Largely because I started volunteering as a leader in 4-H.  Mom's was definitely a Quilt shop.  Quilts on display, lots of fabric, arranged by color and/or theme. Lots of tools, classes at reasonable prices and no pressure.  I could walk in there shoot the breeze and leave without buying anything and never once feel guilty.  My daughter Tatianna decided to make a quilt for a friend having a very risky surgery.  We bought the fabric at Moms Crafts and Fabrics.  Mom asked us to bring the quilt in to show her when it was done. When we brought it in to show her, there was a class going on. Mom was so proud of Tatianna's quilt that she stopped the class and made a huge fuss over it. The other women did as well.  That, to me, was the first truly "Real" quilt shop I  visited.

Unfortunately it also became the standard by which I judge all quilt shops. Delta was a small town and some of the people were really nice and some not so nice. But at Mom's quilters are treated like family. That is part of what I look for in a quilt shop.

Currently I live in Southern Georgia. The closest quilt shops are over an hour away.  One is in Tallahassee, FL. It is really a Bernina store but it has a fair size selection of fabric and often puts the older stuff on sale.  They offer classes and stock tools and equipment for those classes.  But their main focus is sell machines. And the classes are designed to teach techniques using the machines.  But I do like to go in there because I feel welcomed.  When I buy fabric, they always ask what I am working on, etc.  They take the time to recommend different tools/notions that they think will help give me better results. So not a bad place, just not a real quilt shop. But it is close.

The next one is Valdosta, GA. It's called Pinwheel Quilts.  It is also a Bernina store but it is bigger. It has a larger selection of fabric.  It also offers classes.  It has tools and equipment and patterns. Prices are about average for other shops. They don't push their machines as much. They are not as friendly and usually are all business about cutting your fabric. Not a place I go to often, in fact I'e only been there 3 times and the last time I didn't buy anything. It just wasn't welcoming.

Hahira, GA is home to Sew Blessed Quilts.  It is a cute little store inside a refurbished gas station from the 40's.  I love how they turned it into a shop.  It is small though and doesn't have a great selection.  It is also a Handi Quilter dealer and so a lot of the long arm tools are for Handi Quilters.  They did have the Loc-Bloc rulers though and a few other cool tools.  The atmosphere is really friendly and encouraging.  There was a quilt hanging on the wall that I loved. It had been a quilt retreat project that the owner had done.  There wasn't a pattern for it but the sales person took the time to look it up on her tablet and give me the link to print out a free pattern for it.  I've only been there a couple of times but each time I buy something. Unfortunately it is just too far out of the way for me to visit often or take classes.

I have had the opportunity to visit a few quilt shops when I have traveled.  Whether for work or pleasure I try to find a quilt shop nearby and visit it.  Mostly because I live in the quilt shop desert but partly because I like connecting with other quilters. Some are very friendly and you just want to stay and learn.  Some are all about making a sale.

Last summer I was following google to a quilt shop in a rural town in California. About 1/2 mile before I got there I saw another little quilt shop. I stopped there first.  I found a very friendly atmosphere decent prices and some cool projects. The proprietor was quilting a customer quilt that was being sent to a town not far from where I lived. Before I left the proprietor made sure to tell me to go to the other shop and gave me directions. When I got to the other shop I found it to be bigger and better stocked with tools. I did find a tool I was looking for. When I was checking out the proprietor of the second shop asked if I had been to the first shop.  They were each other's competition in a small town and yet they helped each other out. They played to their own strengths and recognized each other's skill set.  It was really neat.

So what is it about Quilt shops?  What do you like about your local quilt shop? What is you must have in a quilt shop?  I ask because I would love to have a quilt shop one day.

Seeking Balance - Long Hours, Illness, Stress, and Self Reliance

I started a post 4 weeks ago and just never finished it.  It's been a long month with lots going on.

First Jeramie is healing well but has a lot to still go through. TaKayren is now seeing a fetal specialist for her pregnancy. Perigrine has returned home and been kept very busy since her return thanks to all that is going on. Plus she has been with out a working Phone until today. Killian is putting in long hours at work. So am I when I'm not sick..  Kim had to have some dental work done and ended up getting dentures a couple of weeks ago. He is struggling getting used to them. He is still traveling a lot. He was home for a week but that was when he had his teeth pulled and was sick on top of that. We all have been fighting really nasty colds.  I am now in an asthma flare and having to start a second Prednisone regimen. All of this right before Kim and I are heading out west to visit family.  Should be an interesting trip. I do plan on finding a quilt shop or two while out west.

Even though it has finally turned cold, the trees are still producing.  I felt bad that so many of the apples were fed to the pigs this year. It was because I didn't take the time to make apple sauce and process it.  We did can a few jars of Pears in September. This month we made persimmon jam.  Then Perigrine and I canned 24 pints of pumpkin from the Halloween pumpkins that didn't get carved.  This week we will be making lemon curd to can.  The lemon tree is loaded and Kim only picked about 1/2 of them.   So we will be busy putting up more produce this week.  Also Kim got a deer last Monday so we have meat to butcher and package.  This self reliant stuff can be time consuming.

So What is new in my Quilting Adventures?  I needed an easy to transport hand project to take with me on a trip to Augusta with Jeramie and TK.  I didn't have anything in mind or on hand.  But I did find some English paper piecing hexies that I bought about 3 years ago.  So I prepped a few and took them with me.  It turns out that I didn't have time to do much with them. I only got 3 basted on the papers.  I am taking them with me on this trip next week.  I am going to prep a few more before I leave.  I have not done any English paper piecing so this is a new venture.  I will post more about it as I do more.  I have a feeling this will be a millennial project. As in it will take a millennia before I finish it.  Therefore I am not counting it in my UFOs.

Speaking as UFO's, I currently have 3 in production.  The same two that need borders, the Irish Chain that needs to be made more bed friendly and the one I started piecing a month or so ago.  I wish I could say that I've been good about working on one of them each day but alas, I can't.  But I have made some progress.  The 2 patch units are starting to become 4 patch units.  I cut the inner borders for the two quilts that need borders. I just need to go through my stash and find fabric for the outer borders.

Other progress has happened as well.  Quilt Path is being upgraded.  I have gotten my tablet and my laptop both up dated.  I need to re-install the drivers on both but I can do that before I use them next.  I also took advantage of an opportunity to buy a Quilt Path Camp Manual for about 1/2 price.  I will be studying this over the next few months.  I really want to learn how to use my equipment effectively. I am also reviewing more tutorials from Just Get It Done Quilts.  I really enjoy her videos. Plus they make me think about how to do things more accurately.

The Biggest News I have is that Millie is paid off.  My wonderful Husband decided to use his bonus to pay off the loan on the long arm.  We were half way through paying for it. Quite frankly the payment hit in the first half of the month along with several other big bills, creating cash flow issues during the first half of the month.  Now we have one less payment and money isn't quite so tight during the first half of the month. So far I haven't had any lessening of guilt for not using Millie as much as I feel like I should. But that payment is not hanging over my head and I am not feeling pressure to have the long arm help pay for itself. So maybe I can just start to focus on learning to really use it.

That has been my month. Long hours at work for both Killian and me preventing getting things done. Illness for Kim, Killian, and me taking away all of our energy. Stress from Jeramie's injuries and TaKayren's risky pregnancy creating a need for help and emotional support that we are more than happy to give. I am not sure how much help we are being. I wish we were able to make it all better for them.  Self reliance in putting up the produce, reducing debt and managing daily life. 

All in all not a bad month for any part of my life.  Yeah, I haven't made much progress on the quilts but I have balanced things pretty well. Priorities need to be maintained. But I sure could use some down time to just sew. I think we all could.  Probably not going to happen in the next little while since we are heading into the Holidays.

How is your Journey going? What are your priorities.  Have you found a balance?