Tuesday 28 July 2015

Row by Row Experience.

Within just over an hours drive from my home are 11 of the 39 shops participating in the Row by Row Experience. Saturday Rita and I drove over to The Quilted Bear in Ladner B.C. to see their shop and row.


This shop is now on the fourth set of owners. Sadly the gal who started it passed away and and it was purchased and owned by another for several year, it was then owned for a short while by another before the present one took it over. The shop has been remodelled since its first owner has it and is now an more open concept.


They carry a bit of everything including a small wool section, they have a wool group that meets there similar to the shop in North Vancouver with the same gal leading it.


They currently are having a Christmas in July sale.


Love the touches of Modern Quilts in the shop.


A lovely pattern sample on display. I see Blue Herons feeding at low tide on the river by my home sometimes.


Their official row is Sea to Sky with the trees and water. Cute licence plate.


This is a quilt showing some of the local shops along with a second row that Matt the previous owner designed.


The umbrellas and raindrops is the second row.


Here is a shot of it on its own with their licence plate.


I dropped Rita off and headed over to Quilted Treasures in Coquitlam about 15 minutes away from our homes and got their row pattern also. Cute fish designed by a friend of the owner.


And their licence plate.


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Sunday 26 July 2015

Another Road Trip...Day 5 Home Again!

After leaving Portland Monday morning I headed north over one of their many bridges to I-5 stopping in Castle Rock Washington for breakfast and a visit to The Quilt Nest.  The shop owners designed this lovely salmon row but left it up to you to figure out how to make the lovely fabric water effect. 
 I'm a sucker for black and white fabrics and this bicycle fabric is right up my alley.
 No further stops until I went to the Northgate store of Pacific Fabrics in Seattle where I found this lovely quilt on display.  There are five independently owned stores and each made their own row!  I got the bottom row along with a license plate to be mailed and the middle row from their Everett store.  I can see another brief road trip to pick up the remain three rows in my future.
 Ocean Waves from Nothgate.
 Sea Breeze from Everett.
 Next stop before heading over the border was Two Thimbles in Bellingham.  Several months ago Rita and I went in search but had no luck finding this shop.  It is set back from the street at a right angle and hides behind the red roof shop to it's left.  The shop owner told me even locals miss it on occasion.
 Inside this delightful shop are some hidden treasures.  A cupboard of wool...
 Lovely central cutting and cash area.
 Patterns and samples to tempt you.
 Brights along with some more display choices.
 Nooks and crannies to explore for a hidden treasure.
 Here is their row by row...sailing on Bellingham Bay.
 The fun fabric I found to be part of a backing.
A lovely road trip once again, filled with meeting new and old friends and many sources of inspiration and temptation!

Saturday 25 July 2015

Another Road Trip....Day 4

Each time I drive between Bend and Sisters I want to take a picture of the lovely horse sculpture and each time I forget until Sunday morning on my way to the Tula Pink lecture.
 Is this not a lovely sight, blue skies and promise of warm weather?
 I love coneflowers.
 Their centres are so nicely arranged.
 Wild flowers and a stream winding its way through the grounds of the Five Pines Conference centre.
 Hanging among the pines are Tula Pink quilts.
 Just a lovely setting.
 Quilts among the trees so peaceful and full of colour.
 Love this one.
 Interesting alphabet designed by Tula.
 Modern influences.
 Colour everywhere.
 Big and little alphabet quilts.
 A splash of colour reflecting the quilt colours found in the grass.
 Whimsical shapes.
 Butterfly made from left over blocks.
 Inside waiting for the lecture to start.
 Tula with her signature pink glasses.
 She shared ideas and studies from her sketch book.
 Ideas for a design.
 Swatches of fabrics for consideration.
 The resulting quilt..gorgeous.
 One of the backs she has designed for a quilt...it is one large piece.
 Three quilts in three fabric colour ways.
 Pink, yellow and turquoise.
 Green blue and yellow.
 Green purple and red.  Same fabrics different colour ways fabrics in the same positions.  Three different looks.
 If you get a chance take it and listen to her speak.  I'm sure you will enjoy the lecture and her.
 I found the Quilters' Attic in Terrebonne.  They carry western style fabrics.
 Lovely whole cloth quilting.
 A touch of Modern quilting.
 All the rows from the row by row experience Central Oregon shops.
 This is their row.
 I found a piece of wool fabric that reflects the colours of their row!
 After almost four and a half hours for a just longer than three hour drive I arrived in Portland and got two patterns from Fabric Depot and then found a room for the night.  I love that sewing machine fabric and have a couple of projects in mind for it.