Quilt Shop Visits with my Daughter

My daughter Robin's family came out from Oklahoma to spend ten days with us at Christmas. On Tuesday, December 27th, Robin and I, just the two of us, leaving kids and husbands behind, galavanted off to visit three quilt shops in my area, as a mother/daughter bonding experience and mini-shop hop. We had a blast. Here were our purchases and findings.

Wooden Gate Quilts: 310 Sycamore Valley Road • Danville, CA • 94526

Due to past COVID isolations, this was my first time at Wooden Gate Quilts' new location in the Danville Livery Shopping Center. Besides high quality quilting fabrics, the store is a great source of supplies for those by Annie projects such as patterns, mesh, zippers, stabilizers, etc.

Last spring I'd made a large number of large Piecekeeper®, flat bags by Annie (4/9/2021 post) but my daughter requested some smaller bags for chargers, cords, and the like. I bought a pattern for smaller project bags and some purple mesh to add to my colored mesh stash.

These versatile textured solids in purple and aqua will surely find a home. I got one yard of each from the remnants bin. Maybe that purple is destined for a project bag or two?

My daughter bought a pattern that caught her eye and would be great to use with her jelly rolls.

Cotton Patch: 1025 Brown Avenue • Lafayette, CA • 94549

The Cotton Patch is a long time favorite of mine. It is where I bought my Sweet Sixteen Handi Quilter.

As usual, I find fabrics that I just have to add to my stash. Trying to rein in my purchases and work from my stash (every new novelty print is another quilt), I just cannot resist adding to basics that will help fill out what I have. I completed a Moda kit before Halloween, I named X Marks the Spot using the pumpkin fabric at the left. (See my post 10/18/2022). Moda is generous with the fabric in their kits, so some more of this particular print will help me round out my leftovers by adding a few extra stars to make something new and smaller from the remnants. I love stripes because they are so versatile. Perhaps these purple ones can be used with the purple mesh I got at Wooden Gate Quilts. 

 

There is alway a at least one fabric that is so gorgeous I can not bring myself to pass it up. This time it was this Christmas fabric that I most certainly did not need. I was pleased that I'd thinned down my Christmas fabric stash in my posts for 12/27/2022 and 12/20/2022 by making six Christmas pillowcases, I bought 2½ yards, enough to make two king size pillowcases out of this directional fabric. And I will use up at least a half yard of other fabric for the borders. Surely I have something in my stash that will blend!

Robin was excited to find this starter star center for a paper pieced pattern I'd gifted her for Christmas called Happiness 2.0 from Jacqueline de Jonge's pattern line BeColourful. She could get started with a mini-lesson with out having to collect all the fabrics first! The 38" square pattern for the larger option is shown after Robin's purchased kit.

In Between Stitches: 167 N Livermore Ave • Livermore, CA • 94550

In Between Stitches is my local quilt shop only 1.0 mile and an estimated 21 minute walk from my house. I say estimated walk time because that is per Google maps. I have never walked it myself. Who wants to lug a satchel of fabric back home on foot? Seeing how close it is however, I may need to reconsider that lack of ambition and view it as an exercise incentive. I bought these two patterns. Lately, I seem to have a craving for curves.

My daughter got this trio of rulers after I convinced he how great and useful they were. Robin pre-paid for the Elizabeth Hartman Dinosaurs pattern to be mailed to her. The smaller quilt displayed in the store was what attracted her. We did not take a photo of it, but the store sample, show beneath the pattern was the same as this image I found on the Bound in Stitches website. She suspects her seven year old son would like it, especially since green is his favorite color.

There were other displayed quilts to admire. Two in particular grabbed our attention. A nativity scene called Starry Night made with the Sew Kind of Wonderful ruler was creative and very unique, different from so many Christmas quilt out there. It will be offered as a class in February, March, or April. It has been a long time since I have taken any class and I am seriously considering taking this one. My name is on the notification list for when the pattern comes in.

A quilt called Christmas Garland was featured on the front of the Oct/Dec issue of American Patchwork and Quilting. This issue was on sale from October 7-December 1. So far my local shops were out of it and have already stocked the new issue. I am sure I can get a back issue somewhere and will look into finding one for me and for my daughter.

What a fantastic Christmas activity this outing was, forming a Christmas memory to be cherished!