Tag: Quilting

Make time to travel

July 22, 2025
Picture of Mount Hood taken at Panorama Point, Oregon

Once Quilt Camp was over, we packed and headed out west to explore places long on my travel bucket list – the Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Hood, Astoria and the Pacific Coast Highway. It was an incredible seven days. We flew into Portland (PDX), but didn’t spent much time in the city. What little I did see of downtown Portland was typical of any other large city – meaning I’d avoid the downtown area and shop/stay in the suburbs.

Our journey was basically one large loop – Hood River, The Dalles and back over to Astoria, following the Pacific Coast Highway as far as Newport, then over to Corvallis with a stop in Salem before heading back to Portland. Things we liked best: National Neon Sign Museum in The Dalles, Western Vintage Auto & Air Museum in Hood River, Columbia Gorge Maritime Museum in Astoria, Latimer Quilt & Textile Museum in Tillamook (just up the road from the Tillamook Creamery), Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville and the Deepwoods House & Gardens in Salem.

Photos from Latimer Quilt & Textile Museum in Tillamook, Oregon
Vacation souvenir from Fiddlesticks Quilt Shop in Vancouver, WA.

Oregon has no state sales tax, plus had great end of season sales, so we did some much needed shopping at the only full-fledged Eddie Bauer retail store in the state. At Montavilla Sewing Center, I also found the left bi-level 9mm foot for my Janome 8900 that none of the 3 Janome dealers near me had. While there, I also asked for a price quote on the Janome 9480 with the ASR. Extremely competitive, but as this model’s now been available for over two years, I expect prices will drop again soon.

Our last day/night was spent in Vancouver, Washington – just across the bridge from the Portland airport. This also the home to Connecting Threads, in case you receive their quilting catalog in the mail. We thoroughly enjoyed dining out on the patio at the The Cove and walking the along the river trail. I also visited the lone quilt shop of our trip – Fiddlesticks Quilt Shop where I purchased all the fabric needed for the upcoming Giant Dahlia class with Michelle Yeo.

Are you familiar with The Country Register? It’s a national publication focusing on individual states or regions. A number of quilt shops, textile museums and craft events have printed copies available. I always like to pick up a copy whenever I travel. When browsing through the Oregon, Washington, Idaho edition, I noticed that Michelle Yeo is also teaching at a shop in Oregon the week after she’s with my guild in Atlanta. I didn’t fully appreciate how much my guild subsidizes the cost to bring teachers to us until I saw the fees to attend the same class in Oregon.

Make time to travel – it forces you outside your comfort zone and allows you to experience new sights, sounds and tastes that you probably won’t experience at home. Dining al fresco on the waterfront of the Columbia River and enjoying huckleberry jam on my toast are two things that come to mind. Well, a jar of huckleberry jam did make the trip home with me.

Finding inspiration

July 9, 2025

Last month, my quilt guild presented a program on quilts from the late 1800’s to the 1950’s. This particular 1930’s quilt spoke to me. Not sure if it’s because of the the green background fabric or the prairie point edging, but I now have an idea on how to possibly enlarge the Vintage Windmill quilt to fit a queen size bed.

Speaking of Vintage Windmill, this quilt required more planning and prep work than most throw size quilts I’ve made. However, constructing the half-hexie units has been much easier due to said planning and prep work. I’m about 2/3 of the way done. The half hexies will be arranged in columns and sewn together to make the top. Once the top’s complete, I’ll decide about adding extra borders to increase the quilt’s overall size. Quilting will be simple: a large double loopy meander is the quilting design I keep coming back to, especially if adding borders.

I’ve been combing through my machine quilting design books to look for new no – mark FMQ designs to add to my everyday repertoire. I’ve got several versions of the loopy meander down (plain, double loops, hearts, stars and flowers). Recently, I tried one of the more angular boxy meanders that had previously given me fits. Teen size flannel blankets made for a special collaboration with the local school district provided the perfect opportunity to practice. Bonus: the Military Gold Glide thread used on my niece’s quilt also blended well with the first one. Now, to do a similar, but larger scale, boxy meander on the other flannel blanket!

Where do you find inspiration for your creative pursuits?

Changing shopping habits

July 1, 2025

I’ve always made it a point to shop local businesses whenever possible. However, the brick & mortar retail landscape in my area has really changed in the past 5 years – particularly when it comes to quilt & fabric shops. Where westside Atlanta had 8+ quilt shops prior to 2020, there were only two still in business when I retired in May 2022. Today, one shop has a completely new owner and the other is in the process of onboarding the next generation to run its long-time shop. In April, Stitched opened along the route to my monthly guild meetings and bee group gatherings. I really like the new shop’s vibe – plus Sadie is welcome. Needless to say, I shop here first for fabric and dog treats! 🙂

Some of the shop closures have meant I no longer have a local source of supply for certain notions I prefer to use. Even with three Janome dealers in the greater Atlanta area, I usually resort to buying parts and accessories from online dealers due to availability, convenience and price. Actually, I now apply the same parameters to shopping as I do therapy dog visits. If I can’t get there in under 30 minutes, I’m not going unless it’s a special occasion.

Instead, I’ll simply shop at regional quilt shops online before I head over to Amazon. One of the millennial age instructors in a class I took explained we can still support small & local businesses even when we shop online. She has a valid point. I recently bought fabric online from Stash Fabrics (needed to fix a boo-boo) and picked it up while running errands in that part of town. I needed Superior Threads Titanium Topstitch 90/14 needles and a cone of So Fine 50 wt thread in Straw color. Amazon was the only retailer that had both items available, plus it offered the best pricing overall and 2 day delivery. (It helps we’re Prime members.) I look at it this way: I’m saving time and money while still supporting the local delivery service provider who will deliver the package to my home tomorrow.

Photo by Kindel Media on Pexels.com