Last week, Stephanie from The Late Night Quilter announced the Supernova Friendship Block Swap, and I was immediately hooked. (Yes, you read that right–The Late Night Quilter meets The Night Quilter: we lead parallel lives more than half a country apart, unbeknownst to either of us before a few weeks ago when I saw her name in a comment on a blog we both follow and sent her a hello!)
So back to the Supernova Friendship Block Swap! It took me an entire day of deliberating to decide that I definitely was going to join in on the fun for this unique project. It will be my first ever swap and first ever official quilt along, as well as a great opportunity to better get to know a fellow quilter/blogger. But do I really need another project? With the design and testing of four paper piecing patterns, my newly started Star Crazy quilt, a slow-moving baby quilt, as well as other various sewing projects all in progress, on top of being a full time mom and wife trying to get my garden in before the blackflies hit!, I was really debating if I would be taking on too much by committing to this swap. I decided that this Supernova Friendship Block Swap is spread out enough that the sewing part is definitely doable without time-limit stress, and the added letter writing and friendship-building part is right in line with what I’d like to do more of: connect with other quilters. So yes, I’m doing it!
Click on the picture above to find out all about the swap from Stephanie’s blog. The jist is that you pair up with another blogger-quilter acquaintance or friend and each month, you create two identical blocks–one for you and one that you send to your partner. After five months, you have enough blocks for the entire quilt, plus one extra for the back or a smaller quilt. Here’s a summary, and the part that really hooked me:
Here’s the idea:To learn more about each other and deepen our friendship, each time we send our surprise package with a new block in it to our partner, we’ll also include a letter with few details about ourselves.
In my previous life, before having children and before email, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. made it so easy to converse daily, I was quite a letter writer. I am eager for this chance to get back into the fading art of letter writing. I’m also excited to get to know another quilter along the way. More on that–I’m partnering with Laura from Adventures of a Quilting Diva. I don’t know Laura well, but she has been designing blocks for a Spool Along, with which I have been sort of trying to keep up (I’m quite far behind!). It will be fun to get to know her more, and to see this project come together–a melding of styles and personalities in one of my favorite modes of expression: quilting.
Off to finalize our color palette plan! Here’s what we are thinking so far: Jewel tones with a light grey background and some black & white prints mixed in. Sounds like just my style, doesn’t it?
It’s not too late for you to join in the fun! Just grab a partner and leave a message on The Late Night Quilter’s blog post here. The deadline to send your first block to your partner is June 15, but other than that there’s a rolling admission for anyone who would like to join. Even if you don’t have a partner in mind, Stephanie can help match you up with someone. Do let me know if you decide to join–I’m looking forward to reading all of the blog posts and tweets about the #supernovaswap and the growing friendships that emerge!
April is nearing its end, which means I’ve been shop hopping every chance I get. On Saturday, I went on a whirlwind 10 hour trip up the coast of Maine from Freeport to Nobleboro, visiting six shops before calling it a day. I will be introducing you to all of the shops I’ve visited in the next few weeks, but will spread them out a bit.
With all of this shop hopping going on the past few weeks, I’ve been really itching to start a new project. More specifically, a new quilt. I’ve been quite drawn to low volume, black and white, and grey tone fabrics lately, and have developed a fairly decent stash of them, at least for a beginner like me. I have decided it’s time to pull them out and get them into a quilt. During my epic shop hop along the Maine coast on Saturday, I bought the fabric needed to supplement my stash and I got started cutting last night. I’m so excited about this quilt!
Last week, in my most epic shop hopping day to date, my kids and I visited four quilt shops! The shops were in a cluster in or near Waterville and Augusta, about a 75 minute drive from us. It amazingly went fairly smoothly, although I learned that a quilt shop is really not the place for a toddler. Here’s the rundown:
Reviews for this shop talk about the wide selection of just about everything related to quilting, sewing, and even knitting. This indeed is a large shop, with lots of everything. It has more of a warehouse/department store feel with lots of rows of fabric, rolls of batting at the ends of rows, patterns and books on top of the rows, and rooms in the back, side, downstairs, and next door. The fabric seems to be mostly traditional quilting fabric, with a wide selection of novelty themed fabric. Are you looking for horse fabric? or space-themed fabric? Maybe baby’s rocking horse fabric? food fabric? This is the shop for you. I saw four different popcorn fabrics alone.
Yardgoods Center has a wide variety of themed fabric.
Maddie loved this shop, since she was able to find dinosaur fabric with which she plans to make a birthday blanket for her friend Noah.
Maddie with her prize.
The large, full store layout made it less than ideal for an “I want to walk!” toddler. Within five minutes, Max had escaped and climbed INTO the window display. I found him five seconds later with a packaged rotary cutter in one hand and a spool of thread in the other. Straight into the carrier he went, to ride squirming and complaining on my back for the rest of the time in the shop. Here’s a look around, albeit blurry:
Themed fabric galore!The lowest level was filled with large rolls of batting and rows of upholstery fabric.Thread, buttons, notions galore.Gorgeous yarn!
Yardgoods Center at a Glance
Location? Located in Waterville in a large shopping center. The shop was fairly easy to find with gps and has a large parking lot.
Sells? Traditional quilting fabric, themed fabric, upholstery fabric, batting and other quilting, upholstery, and other sewing needs, sewing machines, notions, buttons, books and patterns, yarn and knitting supplies, books, and patterns, and more!
Modern or Traditional? Traditional with a few modern quilting books.
Swag? 5″ charm square of Shop Hop Theme fabric, and coupons for both during the Shop Hop and afterward.
Kid friendly? Not really. This is a very large shop with many rows down which a toddler will bolt. I’m finding that a quilt shop is not the greatest location for a 2 year old 🙂 Older children who also enjoy sewing may like all of the themed fabric.
Cozy Cottage Fabrics is a cute shop right in downtown Augusta. They specialize in Maine Woods fabric, decor, patterns, etc. but also have a selection of batiks and tone on tone fabrics as well as other traditional quilting fabrics. While we were there, they were promoting the yo-yo quilt patterns by local designer Marcia Layton. This is a small shop with very friendly shopkeepers who were eager to talk all things Maine. They also offer long arm services as well as tailoring and alterations.
Max’s mischief of choice in this shop was to run to the door and stand right in front of the laser bell that set off a loud, high-pitched chime when someone walks in, or in his case, a constant high-pitched chime since he just stood right in front of it. After wrangling him back into my arms the third time, a smiling fellow shopper turned to me and incredulously but kindly asked, “You find time to quilt?!” I honestly don’t blame her surprise with the way Max makes mischief in quilt shops.
Here’s a look around the shop:
Promoting the yo-yo quilt patterns by local designer Marcia Layton.Maine woods decor and patterns.A detail look at the way the yo-yos are incorporated into larger quilts.
Location? Located right in downtown Augusta, this shop was quite easy to find. Free street parking is available right out front. We had lunch at a lovely cafe right down the street after our visit here, too.
Sells? Traditional quilting fabric and notions, specializing in Maine Woods fabrics and patterns. Cozy Cottage Fabrics also sells patterns, books, Maine woods decor, offers long arm services, and tailoring and alterations.
Modern or traditional? Traditional.
Swag? 5″ charm square of Shop Hop Theme fabric.
Kid friendly? They were certainly friendly to kids, and it’s a small store so it was fairly easy to keep track of my toddler and four-year-old. Max was able to be down on the ground, although I had to collect him from in front of the entry bell to save the hearing of all the shopkeepers and shoppers.
Mystic Maine Quilts is a big, bright, spacious shop with a wide selection of fabrics, Janome sewing machines, notions, finished quilts, books and patterns, and they offer custom quilt making services. They have an extensive selection of tone on tone and blender fabrics, as well as batiks. In talking with the shop owners, they, too, haven’t found a market for modern fabrics. In the back room at Mystic Maine Quilts lives a gorgeous long arm machine. They offer long arm lessons, and then rent out the machine at an hourly rate to facilitate completion of the project. The women with whom I spoke were very kind and helpful in answering all of my questions.
Max was an angel at this shop; he was asleep in the carrier the entire time. Maddie, on the other hand, was ready for a playground so our visit was short. Here’s a quick look around:
Location? This shop is located on River Road, in Chelsea. It should be noted that it is NOT located on River Street, which is located on the other side of town. You can trust me on that, since my gps brought me to River Street first. On River Road, Mystic Maine Quilts is a well-marked shop with a large parking lot. As long as you keep your eyes peeled, it’s easy to spot as you’re driving.
Sells? Traditional quilting fabric, Janome sewing machines, notions, finished quilts, books and patterns, and they offer custom quilt making services. Mystic Maine Quilts also offers long arm training and rental.
Modern or traditional? Traditional.
Swag? 5″ charm square of Shop Hop Theme fabric, and a choice of an additional gift from a basket on the table (included measuring tapes, seam rippers, buttons, and seam gauges); I chose a seam gauge!
Kid friendly? This shop is spacious and organized in a way that I think would be suitable for roaming toddlers (of course always under a watchful eye). Since Max was asleep on me during my visit, I didn’t get to test it out.
We got lots of running out before we went into the shop. Even still, I should have known with this kid that there would be trouble inside!
Even beyond the name, Whippersnappers was my favorite quilt shop of the day. The shop is adorable, with gorgeous exposed brick walls and a good selection of modern and traditional fabrics. Whippersnappers sells fabric, books and patterns, notions, quilting tools, buttons, and offers long arm services. The women in the shop were very friendly, despite the unhappy toddler strapped to my back. In the front of the shop, there is a long arm quilting machine that was quilting away as we shopped around it.
Here’s a look around the shop:
In addition to the welcoming atmosphere in the shop, the location is superb. I had never been to Hallowell before, but I would definitely go back! It is such an adorable little town.
Whippersnappers at a Glance
Location? Whippersnappers is located right in downtown Hallowell, about 10 minutes from Augusta. The town is adorable, with many shops and cafes. There is street parking available in front of the shop.
Sells? Both modern and traditional fabrics, books and patterns, notions, quilting tools, buttons, and offers long arm services.
Modern or traditional? Both! This shop has a good mix of both modern and traditional fabrics.
Swag? 5″ charm square of Shop Hop Theme fabric, free fat quarter, and a seam ripper.
Kid friendly? No. This is a small shop without much open space. Especially with the long arm machine running right in the front of the shop, I would not let my toddler free in this shop. Babysitter, next time!
My children especially liked the candy shop across and down the street from Whippersnappers. They spotted the bubbles floating down the street, so we had to investigate. This may be the most clever marketing strategy ever: put a bubble machine right in front of your candy store. Good thing neither of my kids are old enough to read well yet, and they were so distracted by the bubbles they didn’t look in the window.
Best marketing strategy ever: Set up a bubble machine right in front of your candy store.
We played with bubbles for about 20 minutes and then departed FINALLY to a playground. What a full day!
I have been having so much fun with the Palette Builder 2.1 on Play Crafts. Having just finished and gifted my biggest work in progress quilt, I’m looking to start a new one (of course!). I’ve not yet created a quilt focused on a particular color palette, but I’m thinking it may be time to try one!
Can you tell I have spring on the mind? I love the earthy violets that came up on this palette (above). I also couldn’t resist making palettes out of some of the rich, vivid blue photographs from my knitting progress photo shoot.
The busy bee photo didn’t result in as blue-heavy a palette as I would have guessed, but I still like it. I might add a bit of yellow in to represent the bee.
I also love that the palette builder will give you the names of the Kona cottons that match your palette! Talk about making it easy on us quilters!
While visiting New Jersey, I caught up with some old friends. My friend Sara was showing me pictures of her Kitty Cat (I will be honored that she named her cat Kitty, which is also my name), and this picture of hers just screamed to be made into a color palette:
I was serious when I said I’ve been having a ton of fun! Here are some of the palettes I’ve been making from some of my old photographs:
Splash of summer!
I made quite a few palettes for the coast of Maine. For the first one, the palette builder originally chose colors Kona Mushroom and Charcoal to represent the blues, but since I think the blues of the gorgeous mussel shells should dominate more as blue, I moved the color dots around until they landed on Kona Steel and Nautical. This is a great feature of the palette builder; you can tweak your palette until you love it. I really like the resulting palette.
I love all of the coastal palettes, but I was really itching to see a bit of color. I love the effect the kayak has on this color palette:
This morning, my friend Emily and I decided to tackle two more local quilt shops with our rambunctious two-year old sons. Little did we know, today was to be one of the most rambunctious days yet! Neither of the boys wanted to have anything to do with the quilt shops, so we did not get to look around and chat nearly as much as we would have liked to. I also apologize in advance for the somewhat blurry photos. Much of the time, I was wearing my son on my back in the Ergo, which does not contribute well to a steady arm. Both shops were gorgeous and filled with beautiful traditional fabrics with lots of blenders and tone on tone fabrics, so I’m sure to return. Perhaps I will bring a camera and try to do some retakes. For now, here’s my hop summary:
This shop is by far the largest, most thoroughly stocked shop I’ve visited to date. It is HUGE! And has everything!! The Cotton Cupboard Quilt Shop has a large selection of Bernina sewing machines, notions galore, cutting mats of all shapes and sizes–even the rotating mats!, buttons, an extensive variety of books and patterns, kits, and they have a Block of the Month Club and offer classes. And their fabric! Cotton Cupboard has a huge stock of traditional quilting fabric, MANY gorgeous arrays of blenders and tone on tone fabrics, nature-print fabrics (think stones, grass, leaves, etc), a selection of children’s fabric, the entire Downton Abbey fabric lineby Andover Fabrics (swoon!), and more. The one thing they don’t have is modern fabric. In talking to Evelyn, she said they’ve tried stocking modern fabric in the past but not enough folks were buying it to make it worth stocking.
Location? The Cotton Cupboard Quilt Shop is located right on Broadway in the Judson Heights Center (next to The Growing Place). While it’s not in the center of downtown, it is on a road full of shopping centers and other hot spots. For the ice cream lovers, it’s just a skip, hop, and a jump away from Giffords; that alone makes it worth the trek out Broadway to visit the quilt shop and get some ice cream! There is a parking lot with ample free parking, and the store is easy to find.
Sells? A large selection of traditional quilting fabric, notions, Bernina sewing machines, books and patterns, and offers classes and workshops. They are a Bernina dealer, with classes specifically tailored to learning to use your Bernina machine.
Modern or traditional? Traditional, since apparently the modern quilting world hasn’t made its way up to Bangor yet!
Swag? 5″ charm square of Shop Hop Theme fabric, free fat quarter, coupon, and a fun sized candy treat.
Kid friendly? Not really. This store is so large, it’s hard to keep an eye on your kids, at least when they are toddlers. Evelyn said they try to be kid friendly, and are open to kids in the shop, but she worries mostly about all the sharp objects. I agree; I worried that with the ubiquitous sewing machines and aisles and aisles of fabric that Max would bolt (pun intended! hah) and find his way to something he shouldn’t before I could catch him.
Choppin’ Cotton is an adorable quilt shop right in a lovely home. Since my son was especially squirmy in this shop, I didn’t get a chance to ask whose home it is. They sell a wide range of traditional quilting cottons, notions and quilting tools, patterns and books–including some modern quilting books!–and they offer workshops as well. I loved the ambiance of the shop, even if it wasn’t especially toddler friendly. I am eager to go back someday sans kids so that I can truly browse.
Here’s a look around the adorable shop:
Walk right in through the front porch and into the main hall. Admire the crystal chandelier.Some of their books, including some Modern Quilting options!Colorful batiks and blenders… beautiful!The cutting table is right in front of the mantle and fireplace!Colorful zippers
The shop sported a homey quilting decor with many signs that made me smile, mostly related to never having too much fabric. “Your husband called; he said buy whatever you want.” “To quilt or not to quilt: What a silly question!” and similar signs. While looking around, I often would pause on a sign and have a good chuckle. I also appreciated the reminder behind the check out counter: “I have a difficult time remembering my Grandchildren’s name, so please remind me of yours.” Being in a home with the kitchen behind a curtain just beyond the entry, next to a staircase leading up to living quarters, paired with the homey signs and decor and friendly conversation made this shop especially relaxed and welcoming. I’m looking forward to going back the next time I have a free moment in Bangor.
Location? Located on High Street, right off of Hammond Street, Choppin’ Cotton is walkable from downtown Bangor as long as you aren’t afraid of a good hill. Since it’s in an actual home, it’s on a residential street with street parking. I did not notice whether there is additional parking, but there were plenty of free street parking spots.
Sells? Traditional quilting fabric, notions, books and patterns. According to their website, they specialize in Alto’s QuiltCut2 quilting tool systems.
Modern or traditional? Traditional, but with Modern Quilting books available.
Swag? 5″ charm square of Shop Hop Theme fabric, a Tooltron Fine Sewing Brush, and a fun size candy snack.
Kid friendly? No. Because the shop is in a house, there is less open space, and multiple rooms into and out of which kids can run and dart to find trouble. Eloise was very friendly and understanding about our fussing kids, but I still felt that tell-tale rush of blood that triggers the fight-or-flight reaction when Max was especially fussy.
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In writing these, especially on an wildly rambunctious day like today, I realize that bringing a toddler into a quilt shop is rarely a great idea. Sometimes, though, it is the only option. Having a “safe” corner with a pouf and a box of books and toys really makes or breaks a successful fabric shopping trip on those days. So who’s going to be the genius who opens a quilt shop with an attached playroom or ball pit?! That would be heaven!
You can follow my quilt shop hopping real-time by following @nightquilter on Twitter #maineshophop2014
Ah! It is so good to be home! While it’s not the hot, full-blown spring of New Jersey, there are only small patches of snow left here in Maine, which means spring is upon us. We arrived home after dark, but this morning the kids and I went out in search of flowers that have bravely burst through the mud. The greens are working their way up, but no flowers yet!
With two small children, many stops are required along the 450 mile drive between New Jersey and Maine. This particular trip took 13 hours and required eight stops! Before you run and hide in horror, let me tell you about a quilt shop I visited while passing through southern Maine! My fabulous husband agreed to have a playground stop in Portland so that the kids could run around and I could hop over to a quilt shop as part of the Maine Quilt Shop Hop.
Z Fabrics is a cute little shop with a good variety of modern fabrics, notions, patterns & books, Brother sewing machines, and a large selection of gorgeous laminates. The fabric selection reminds me a lot of Fiddlehead Artisan Supply store, so you know how happy that makes me! Z Fabrics has an entire shelf of Lotta Jansdotter fabrics!
I spoke with Lillian while I was there, and she was very friendly and helpful, even though I chatted her ear off–after a long drive with two little kids, it was great to talk with another adult about all things fabric. She agreed that the shop’s primary customers make adorable clothing, bags, etc. since the fabrics are the contemporary prints with more bold patterns rather than tone on tone or blender quilt fabrics. To me, it’s a store full of feature fabrics for modern quilts-to-be. I picked up a few fat quarters while I was there, again adding to my grey scale stash: Kyoto Garden Koi by Lori Mason for Andover Fabrics in colors yang and grey, and a fabulous black and grey tone on tone fabric, the name and designer info for which I can’t remember. Do any of you recognize it? Let me know if you do; I’d love to know! One big plus: you can buy fat quarters off the bolt at Z Fabrics!
I would definitely stop by Z Fabric again the next time I’m in Portland. Here’s a look around the shop:
Z Fabrics at a Glance
Location?Z Fabrics is located right in downtown Portland, in the center of the action. The address is on Congress Street, which threw me for a loop at first, but as soon as I checked the website I saw that the storefront was on Preble Street. Found in a flash! There is plenty of street parking, especially on Preble Street. I paid 50 cents to park for a half an hour. If I were to go and spend time actually shopping for specific fabrics, that would definitely be at least $1, but still reasonable. During your shopping trip, there are plenty of other shops, restaurants, bars, and even the Children’s Discovery Museum within close walking distance. This is definitely a great shop to hit up during a day trip to Portland!
Sells? Modern fabrics, cotton laminates, notions, Brother sewing machines, patterns and books, and offers classes.
Modern or traditional? Definitely modern.
Swag? 5″ charm square of Shop Hop Theme fabric and good conversation.
Kid friendly? Yes. While Z Fabrics doesn’t have a bucket of toys and books (I asked since I didn’t see one!), it is a fairly small store with lots of open space. There are not too many racks of notions or items a toddler could swipe to the floor in one pass, and the area by the front window has a big poof and ample space in which kids can play while Mommy shops.
Finally! Over the past few weeks especially, I’ve hinted at this project and have shown little peeks at quilting and piecing details, but now I can finally show you the whole finished quilt!
I began this quilt before little Lillian was born, and my friends didn’t find out the gender in advance, so I worked to choose gender neutral fabrics in creating this quilt. The center square is from a pattern I found in an old quilting magazine (I will link to it when I return to Maine; I don’t have the magazine with me and don’t remember specifics), but I really didn’t like the border suggested in the pattern and after much internal debate decided to design my own. I created the heart cornerstones, and I’m really happy with the mosaic-style cobblestone outer border and how well it frames the quilt.
For the back, I used a flannel fabric similar to the jungle focal panel in the front center square, with a single row of the color cobblestones mirroring the focal panel on the front.
We are down in New Jersey visiting my family, and last weekend my dear friends and recipients of this quilt came down from NY for a visit. We haven’t seen them in nearly–or over–a year! I have been working hard to complete this quilt so that I could gift it in person, and while I came down to the wire, I did it, hand stitching the label the night before their visit.
I’m really happy with the way this quilt turned out, and it is a showcase of many firsts and newly practiced skills, primarily the free motion quilting (FMQ). You can see more about my process in making the quilt, as well as more FMQ detail in my posts Baby FMQ for the Win, Free Motion Quilt-a-thon, A Sensory Adventure with FMQ, and An Unexpected Element. Seriously, the other posts are worth checking out! I’ve only been hinting at it a little, right? hah!
Since it’s a baby quilt and hopefully will see a lot of use and tough love, I opted to machine sew the binding. I also was pressed for time and really wanted to be sure to finish the quilt before departing on our trip. I used the method suggested in Cluck Cluck Sew’s Machine Binding Tutorial. With this method, the binding is sewn to the front of the quilt first, and THEN the back. The final stitching, when done correctly, traces the edge of the quilt right inside the binding, so it looks like part of the quilting. Just like the tutorial promises, most of the time it turned out perfectly:
Stitches trace the edge of the quilt just inside the binding: perfect!
and some of the time, I hiccuped and the stitches ended up on top of the binding:
Oops!
All in all, I’m very happy with this quilt, and I’m eager to see many baby, toddler, child photos with this quilt getting grayer and grayer in the background! Enough about the quilt; here are some photos from the day, gifting and of course adorable Lillian!
Gifting the quilt and discussing the little details.I love babies! Lillian was adoring her view of her momma, otherwise I would have been snuggling that girl up close!
My son Max wanted Lillian on his lap, always. He was so very gentle!
Since it’s Friday and this is an epic finish for me, I’m linking up! Click the links below to see many other awesome finishes.
Today began in the best way: in the garden with my children, smelling, exploring, and admiring the growing sea of blue flowers. The day was a whirlwind day of sunshine, playgrounds, and shopping with Grandma. Since today is my birthday, my mom treated me to some fabric. Since it was right before lunchtime with two cranky, hungry kids, my browsing time was quite limited. “You can get whatever you want, as long as you get it now,” my mom said as we arrived. Anyone who has shopped for fabric knows how long one can spend deciding on fabrics.
I’ve been really drawn to black & white and grey tones lately, which is very much reflected in my choices. Within five minutes, this is what I had grabbed:
You can tell that today I was drawn to black and white and grey… with just a splash of color!
I got 1/2 yard of the black and white hexagon fabric, and 3 yards each of the other two. I think the two grey tone color-splash fabrics would make great quilt backs. Especially the yellow and grey fabric; wouldn’t it make a great back for a quilt like this free pattern from Craftsy?
Star Bright Free Quilt Pattern by Swim, Bike, Quilt found on Craftsy
I have been saving and buying small amounts of grey and black & white fabrics so that I can make this quilt, so when I saw the black, grey and yellow fabric, I had to get enough for a quilt back. Maybe? Yes? Whether I use it to back this quilt or not, I think it’s a great fabric to have in my stash.
Now that I think of it, I could bind the quilt in dark red and use this fabric for the back, instead:
Either way, it was a good stash-building birthday, don’t you think?
What’s your strategy if you only have five minutes to shop for fabric?
Today began the 11th annual Maine Quilt Shop Hop, and I started with a bang! Well, a bang compared to last year, anyway; I’ve already doubled the number of shops I visited. My friend Emily and I, accompanied by our two year olds, fairly successfully visited our first two local quilt shops this morning. I say fairly successfully since our sons didn’t wreck too much havoc, AND we were able to look around both shops, get our passports stamped, and even chat with the shop owners a bit!
The Maine Quilt Shop Hop is an annual event in the State of Maine. Participating Independent Quilt Shops invite “Shop Hoppers” to pick up a passport at any of the stores to start the hop, then visit as many stores as we can between April 1st and April 30. We have our passport stamped at each shop we visit, get a free 5″ charm square of the shop hop theme fabric, and sometimes an additional special gift. It’s a great way to see beautiful Maine during glorious springtime, and have a chance at winning some awesome prizes!
Here are the shops we visited today (click each name to visit the store’s website):
Fiddlehead Artisan Supply Store is my go-to fabric shop. It is a family-owned sewing, quilting, and craft shop right in downtown Belfast. The aesthetic in this store is fabulous. I just love their style. I walk in and I’m in fabric heaven. Many of their fabrics lend themselves more to adorable dresses and clothing items, but they also have a good supply of quilting blender fabrics and of course quilt feature fabrics. Fiddlehead also has a wide selection of books and patterns, felt, roving, Waldorf-style dolls and art supplies, they offer classes in the back, and even have started a Thursday night open craft gathering night. Here’s some eye candy for you from inside their shop.
I walk into this store and swoon.
Even their buttons are gorgeous!The colors in this shop make me VERY happy!Added bonus: box of toys and books to attempt to keep the kids busy!
Fiddlehead at a Glance
Location? Right in the town of Belfast, in midcoast Maine. Great location with street parking right out front. You can shop for fabric and then walk to lunch, catch a movie, walk for ice cream, do some gift shopping for other made in Maine items, and even walk right down to the Belfast Boat Launch. A great store to visit on a day trip!
Sells? Modern fabrics, threads, notions, felt, laminates, a large selection of books and patterns, craft supplies (paints, wooden doll forms, etc), fancy paper, and more.
Modern or traditional? I’d say Fiddlehead has more modern fabric lines and styles
Swag? At Fiddlehead we not only received the 5″ charm square of Shop Hop Theme fabric, but we also were able to choose a free fat quarter, and received a gift bag with a hershey kiss, an adorable sewing machine charm, and coupons to Fiddlehead and Heavenly Socks Yarn, a local yarn shop.
Kid friendly? Yes! While any fabric store isn’t an ideal spot for toddlers on the loose, Fiddlehead has a basket of books and toys to help keep kids occupied, and the owner and shopkeepers are very relaxed with kids (even wild ones, as I’ve learned through experience).
Today was my first time in Nancy’s Sewing Center, but it most likely will not be my last. This shop is clearly created for quilters. There are walls of gorgeous tone on tone fabrics in glorious colors, as well as many pre-cut fat quarters, fat eighths, and even scraps for 10 cents apiece! It is definitely a more traditional shop, but has a wide variety of fabrics that would work in both traditional and modern quilts. As I admired all of the quilts hanging on the walls, the colorful variety of fabric, and the copious amounts of tone on tone fabrics, I made my way to the back room where lives a long arm quilting machine! One day I may go back there and ask if I may give it a try. I would LOVE to try a long arm!
Here are some pictures from Nancy’s Sewing Center.
A long arm!!! Droooollll
Nancy’s Sewing Center at a Glance
Location? On Route 3 in Belfast, outside of town. There is ample parking and large signs, but Nancy’s Sewing Center is on a busy road with no other shops within walking distance.
Sells? Quilting fabrics, threads, notions, and quilting books and patterns.
Modern or traditional? Mostly traditional quilting fabrics, with a large selection of tone on tones and batiks.
Swag? 5″ charm square of Shop Hop Theme fabric.
Kid friendly? Yes. Nancy’s Sewing Center also had a basket of toys to help keep kids occupied. In fact, my son Max wanted to adopt the little baby doll from the basket. When it was time to go, he kept saying “I have it. I have it.” We settled on giving the baby a kiss and a hug and leaving her in the basket for the next kids. Even when both kids were running circles, we didn’t get any stern looks. That’s kid friendly to me!
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I had so much fun starting off the shop hop and I can’t wait to visit more Maine quilt shops during the rest of April! You can follow my hopping by following @nightquilter on Twitter #mainequiltshophop2014
It is decided: baby quilts are the all-time best for practicing free motion quilting (FMQ). Why? Here’s my thinking:
1. Baby quilts are the smallest of the “full” sized quilts, so they are a bit easier to maneuver in your machine. Trust me, this is very helpful for a newbie free motion quilter!
2. Many baby quilts, at least the ones that I have made thus far, are made of larger blocks, encouraging many different quilting patterns and styles.
Blocky baby quilt. To see more of my recently attempted free motion quilting patterns, see my post A Sensory Adventure with FMQ
3. Baby quilts are made to be spit up on, peed on, dragged around the house, and shown that tough love only a baby and toddler can dish out. This to me is the perfect medium for practice (ie, imperfection). Clearly, nothing is perfect. But when I know that the subject quilt is hopefully going to be dragged around, have diapers changed on it, and be used as an impromptu picnic blanket or cape, I feel less worried about getting everything exactly perfectly right.
4. Babies like funky shapes and textures. A brand new baby who is just starting to see the world and learn to move will love to explore a quilt with many different colors and textures. Free motion quilting helps you add those varied textures that a tactile creature like a baby will love.
5. When the quilt is for a baby, you can try out that weird or intriguingly unique free motion quilting pattern you’ve had your eye on, but have been hesitant to try on a more formal quilt. Suddenly have a desire to try out your grade school cursive? Go for it!
In the outer most sashing, I FMQ-wrote the ABCs of babies. It was quite fun and an adventure to think up words to begin with each letter of the alphabet, almost twice around! Let me know if you are interesting in knowing the words I chose; I can addend this post if there’s interest!
So back to the Supernova Friendship Block Swap! It took me an entire day of deliberating to decide that I definitely was going to join in on the fun for this unique project. It will be my first ever swap and first ever official quilt along, as well as a great opportunity to better get to know a fellow quilter/blogger. But do I really need another project? With the design and testing of four paper piecing patterns, my newly started Star Crazy quilt, a slow-moving baby quilt, as well as other various sewing projects all in progress, on top of being a full time mom and wife trying to get my garden in before the blackflies hit!, I was really debating if I would be taking on too much by committing to this swap. I decided that this Supernova Friendship Block Swap is spread out enough that the sewing part is definitely doable without time-limit stress, and the added letter writing and friendship-building part is right in line with what I’d like to do more of: connect with other quilters. So yes, I’m doing it!
Off to finalize our color palette plan! Here’s what we are thinking so far: Jewel tones with a light grey background and some black & white prints mixed in. Sounds like just my style, doesn’t it?
It’s not too late for you to join in the fun! Just grab a partner and leave a message on The Late Night Quilter’s blog post here. The deadline to send your first block to your partner is June 15, but other than that there’s a rolling admission for anyone who would like to join. Even if you don’t have a partner in mind, Stephanie can help match you up with someone. Do let me know if you decide to join–I’m looking forward to reading all of the blog posts and tweets about the #supernovaswap and the growing friendships that emerge!
Reviews for this shop talk about the wide selection of just about everything related to quilting, sewing, and even knitting. This indeed is a large shop, with lots of everything. It has more of a warehouse/department store feel with lots of rows of fabric, rolls of batting at the ends of rows, patterns and books on top of the rows, and rooms in the back, side, downstairs, and next door. The fabric seems to be mostly traditional quilting fabric, with a wide selection of novelty themed fabric. Are you looking for horse fabric? or space-themed fabric? Maybe baby’s rocking horse fabric? food fabric? This is the shop for you. I saw four different popcorn fabrics alone.
Night Quilter 