Row by Row Road Trip Day 1.

Tuesday morning I left drive down to the Seattle and Olympic area to search out a few of the rows I liked from the on line pictures.  Little did I know that getting over the bridges from New Westminster was going to be the most trying portion of the drive.  I left to drive over the Queensborough Bridge, my closest and fastest route to the border crossing.  I no sooner turned left and came to a complete stop barely clearing the intersection!  Then I basically sat in the same spot inching along for about ten minutes.  I decided to go into the lane that goes under the bridge and approach it from the other direction.  Traffic in that lane was stopped a few hundred metres beyond.  Plan C was to head over to the Pattulo Bridge which is undergoing re-paving and only has one lane in each direction.  Eureka!  No lineup but slow going due to the construction.  In the end I got to the border about 15 minutes later than usual.

My first stop was in Stanwood at Cotton Pickins' to pick up this cute row.

 This was their row last year that I forgot to photograph.

 Next stop was Pacific Fabrics in Bellevue.  There are four shops in this chain that are independently owned.  The Bellevue row is the top one.

 Over to Quiltworks also in Bellevue for this cute row.  They don't allow photos inside their shop.

 I then decided to head over to the Olympic Peninsula and went to Harbour Quilt Garden, last year it was called Quilt Revolution but now has new owners.

 This beauty is a BOM found behind the cash/cutting table.

 Love their signage and the welcome pennants in the window.  Little did I know that Anna and Greg from Woolie Mammoth blog were on a boat cruising the bay!  We were planning on meeting up in La Conner the next day.

Next stop was at Bremerton Pacific Fabrics where I picked up the row with the Sasquatch.

 Onto one of my favourite shops on the Olympic Peninsula The Quilted Strait.  This is a version of Bird Dance with a different border option and done on black.  Love the look of this.  Last year I met Ann who was working on her version in black.  Click here to see her blocks in progress and other pictures from that visit.

 This is their row for 2016, love the dotty borders around each lighthouse.

 They have some wonderful quilts on display.

 They also carry lots of stitchery supplies.

 I might have to invest in these Salem Witches Guild piece by Meg Hawkey of Crabapple Design Studio.

 The Houses were 2014 and the trees 2015 rows.

 Love how they hung this one around the corner.

 Many years ago I started Welcome to The North Pole by A Piece O'Cake.  Must dig it out.

 A Quiltmania piece on my to do list.

 Lots of embroidery/embellishing threads.

 A wool corner.

 This is a look from the exterior.  Make sure to do a side trip if you are on the peninsula!

 My last stop for the day was Union Fabrics in Port Townsend.  Love the primitive look to this piece.

 Here is the stash report.  Loved these French ladies.

 Sorry nothing to spark my interest at Bellevue Pacific Fabrics.

 But I scored big at Quiltworks, found one of Sue Spargo Peacock kits.  I was disappointed when she didn't offer it to us when she came to Vancouver last time.  Now I can make my own!

 At Harbour Quits Garden I found a fun Kaffe Fasset stripe, some white grunge and this other interesting print that spoke to me.

 Bremerton Pacific Fabrics I found these fun mustard birds by Cotton and Steel.

 A black on black along with two indigo prints and I got the Houses from 2014 and this year's row.

 From Union Fabrics I got another indigo print and a black and white leaf fabric.

I took the ferry across from Port Townsend, my car Karma wasn't working I missed by three cars getting on the 5:15 ferry and had to wait an hour and a half for the next one.  Then my motel Karma failed...sorry not paying US$180 for one person.  So finally just after 9 p.m. I found a motel in Burlington and snuggled in for the night.