Shop Hop

I spent Friday participating in a quilt shop hop--Quilt Tour 2012, "Sew Northwest".  There were 13 shops participating in all, however, I only "hopped" to the first 6 shops in Lynden and Bellingham.

My first stop was Tangled Threads in Lynden.

http://tangledthreadsquilts.com/

Each shop was giving away the pattern for a block.  All of the shops made all 13 blocks and put them together in unique quilt settings.  Seeing all of the quilts was like a mini quilt show.  This was Tangled Threads' quilt:

I found some fabrics at Tangled Threads that go with some challenge fabrics that Cher  sent each of the FABs last year.  These three fabrics are from In The Beginning Fabrics from their, "My Sunshine" fabric line by Kathy Deggendorfer.  http://www.inthebeginningfabrics.com/cgi-server/itb/displayfab.cgi?product=mysnshne

These are the fabrics that were in the "kit" that Cher sent last year after she attended the annual quilt show in Sisters, Oregon.  This panel was the official fabric for the 2011 Sisters Quilt Show, and is called "Nature's Symphony", by Kathy Deggendorfer.  Cher challenged each of the FABs to make a quilt using this panel and the other kit fabrics that she sent us. 

I may have found a new addiction--cat fabrics.  While at Tangled Threads I found these three cat themed fat quarters.  They seemed to call out to me so I brought them home.  I also found some teeny tiny black buttons that my Mom and I might be able to use in our snowman blue work blocks.  (We seem to be French Knot phobic!  LOL)

The pattern in the photo is called, Field of Flowers, and is by a Canadian artist from DJ Richards Designs.  The artist lives in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.  http://www.djrichardsdesign.ca/

My second stop was also in Lynden at Calico Country.

This is Calico Country's quilt using the shop hop blocks.

I found the perfect cat fabric at Calico Country.  This fabric is from Loralie Designs and is called, "Spice Cats." 

The third shop I visited was, Folktales, also located in Lynden.  http://folktalesfabricshop.blogspot.ca/

This was Folktales' version of the shop hop quilt. 

I came across this cute panel at Folktales.  It was on sale for less than half price, so I brought home two.  If one is good, then two must be better, right?

I also found small black buttons - a little bigger than the buttons that I had bought at Tangled Threads.  This cute Easter stitchery pattern also came home with me--Easter Stack by Kassie Moen.

This was the shop sample of Easter Stack.  The woman who stitched this sample was in the shop when I was there and told me that she used Crayola Crayons to colour her fabric, not chalk as had been used in the pattern.  I prefer the look of the crayons myself.

That was it for quilt shops in Lynden.  I then headed down the highway to Bellingham where I stopped at Fabric Etc.

This was Fabric Etc's version of the shop hop quilt.  They added the name of each shop that participated in the shop hop above the door on the house that featured that shop's block.

I found some fabric that looked like a box of chocolates at Fabric Etc.  I plan on using this fabric on the border of a second Valentine's panel like the one I just finished.  I also picked up a coordinating brown fabric as I don't have much in the way of brown in my stash.  The gal in the shop called this a rich brown, not a "wimpy" brown.  LOL

The next stop was Fourth Corner Quilts.  This is the side of the shop that you see as you approach the shop from the road.  You have to pull in off the busy street and park in the rear of the shop.

This is the view around the corner where you park and enter the shop.

This is Fourth Corner's version of the shop hop quilt.  Fourth Corner's block is the Maple Leaf block.  All of the blocks are arranged  in the shape of a tree, symbolic of all the trees in the Pacific Northwest.  You can't see it in this picture but the background quilting contained many images of things you might see in the Pacific Northwest like birds.

I found Mardi Gras fabric on the back Fourth Corner's sale shelf.  When I was in New Orleans in 2010, I was unable to find a quilt shop.  I believe that although some businesses have returned to New Orleans after the devastation of Katrina, quilt shops had not yet returned at the time that I was there.  I will be using this fabric to make myself a table topper to remind me of my visit to New Orleans and Louisiana.

The last shop that I visited on the shop hop was Two Thimbles, also in Bellingham.

This is Two Thimbles' version of the quilt shop hop quilt. 

I picked up two fabrics at Two Thimbles--a green and a brown.  My daughter is getting married in September and her colours are green, brown, and champagne. I have a lot of greens in my stash, but as I said before, very little in the way of browns.  This brown had so many shades of brown in it, I thought I couldn't go wrong picking some of this one up.  The woman in the shop told me that this particular brown is very popular with the local quilters as it covers a wide range of shades of brown.

A popular feature of this year's shop hop were the charms that each shop was giving away.  These are the 6 charms that I picked up in my travels.

As you can see in many of the pictures, the weather was great--sunshine and blue sky.  It was a great day for a drive and an excellent opportunity to visit some quilt shops that I don't get to on a frequent basis. 

Utah-New Mexico Vacation - Part 9

From Santa Fe, we took a day trip up to Taos.  In Taos, we visited the Taos Pueblo.  The Taos Pueblo is the only living Native American community designated both a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and a National Historic Landmark. The multi-storied adobe buildings have been continuously inhabited for over 1000 years.



The Pueblo is made entirely of adobe -- earth mixed with water and straw, then either poured into forms or made into sun-dried bricks. The walls are frequently several feet thick. The roofs of each of the five stories are supported by large timbers hauled down from the mountain forests. Smaller pieces of wood are placed side-by-side on top of the large timbers; then the whole roof is covered with packed dirt. The outside surfaces of the Pueblo are continuously maintained by replastering with think layers of mud. Interior walls are carefully coated with thin washes of white earth to keep them clean and bright. The Pueblo is actually many individual homes, built side-by-side and in layers, with common walls but no connecting doorways. In earlier days there were no doors or windows and entry was gained only from the top.


The North-Side Pueblo is said to be one of the most photographed and painted buildings in the Western Hemisphere. It is the largest multi storied pueblo structure still existing.

The pueblo wall completely encloses the village except at the entrance.  The wall used to be much taller for protection from surrounding tribes.  The pueblo's primary purpose was for defense. Up to as late as 1900, access to the rooms on lower floors was by ladders on the outside to the roof, and then down an inside ladder. In case of an attack, outside ladders could easily be pulled up.

This is a picture of me with our guide--a university student who supplements his income by narrating tours of the Pueblo.  I asked him if he was often asked to pose for pictures with tourists.  He told me that yes, he did get lots of requests, but he didn't mind as he thought it was neat to be in photo albums all over the world.

After visiting the Pueblo, we headed into Taos to the Taos Plaza.  Our bus parked in a parking lot within walking distance of a quilt shop--Taos Adobe Quilting.
http://www.taosadobequiltingandmore.com/

This is a picture of me outside the shop.

The shop was small but jam packed with colourful fabrics.

I bought a selection of SW Themed fat quarters...

...and a kit to make a pepper table runner.  The pattern and fabrics are from a collection called Caliente Peppers by south Sea Imports.  We have seen lots of red peppers hanging from buildings and in doorways so this table runner will definitely remind me of my trip to the SW. 

Utah-New Mexico Vacation - Part 6

While walking through the vendors' tents on the Fiesta grounds, I came across a tent filled with quilters!  I had found the New Mexico Quilters' Association from Albuquerque, NM. 

This was the quilt--Spirit of the Fiesta--that was being raffled off.

During our break between events at the Fiesta, we decided to walk from our hotel to a local quilt shop.  Google indicated that it was 1.7 miles from our hotel to Southwest Decoratives and that the walk should take us about 35 minutes. 

This is a picture of me taken in front of Southwest Decoratives.  http://www.swdecoratives.com/

Even though I spent 45 minutes wandering around the shop, I still fell like I could have spent more time there--there was so much to see in this wonderful shop!

This is a picture of my patient husband waiting for me to finish shopping.  He doesn't look happy in the picture, but he wasn't feeling 100%--he was fighting a cold.  I think he deserves an award for walking with me to the quilt shop in the heat and then waiting patiently while I shopped.  I think he is a keeper!

For the most part, this shop carries  fabrics and patterns with a Southwest theme.  

The walls were covered with quilts that take their inspiration from the local landscape and culture.

I purchased balloon fabrics to make myself a quilt to commemorate our balloon ride.  The fabric on the left is from Timeless Treasures.  The panel and fabric on the right (view of the tops of balloons) are from Andover Fabrics.  I am planning to use the pattern, Sidelights to make my quilt.

This stripe print is called Monument Valley Stripe and is by Michael Miller.  Although Monument Valley was not a place that we visited on this trip, the red rock and pictured in this fabric is very typical of the red rock formations that we saw in several places on this trip.  My current plan for this print is a Seminole row type quilt.

This shop had the SW inspired quilt, Reflections, draped over a chair and they were selling it as a kit.  As I had limited room in my suitcase and because fabric is heavy, I elected to buy the print yardage and pattern only.  The fabrics that the shop put with this print in the quilt were solids or near solids and I felt I could purchase those at home.  By leaving them behind, I was able to put other fabrics in their place in my suitcase--fabrics that I wouldn't likely be able to get at home.

This print is A Robert Kaufman print called, American Heritage and reminds me of the jewellery made by the native craftsmen that this area is well known for.

The prints in the next picture are of cacti.  I also fell in love with the Saguaro Cactus quilt hanger.  I don't have a pattern in mind right now for these prints, but I will be keeping my eyes open for something to showcase these interesting prints.

This is a panel of African animals that I will be adding to my African fabric stash for a "someday" quilt that I have planned.  :)

These are the patterns that I brought home with me.  There were racks of patterns from local designers who are inspired by the native basket, pottery, and weaving designs.  I had a difficult time deciding on just a few patterns to bring home.

This Easter Egg pattern is one that I had seen on line in the past but never was able to locate it in my quilt shop back home.  I think this will make a cute table topper for spring.