Elaine’s Quilt Block–Salt Lake City, Utah

September 10, 2013 Elizabeth E.7 Comments

Whenever we go to Utah to visit relatives, I try to find a quilt shop to visit. Elaine’s Quilt Block quilt shop is very close to my sister-in-law’s house, which could be verrrry dangerous, as you’ll see once we step inside. Featured in the Quilt Sampler edition of Fall/Winter 2011, the building was built to be a quilt shop, and it is a delightful place to visit. The address is 6970 South 3000 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84121, and their website is *here.* Their phone number is 801-947-9100. They are located inthe Cottonwood Heights section of the city, up on the southeast bench of the mountains, if you know your way around, and are just off the 215 belt route freeway.

This is the view as you step inside the front door–bolts and bolts of fabrics, notions, light and bright, tall ceilings, a welcoming staff and so much to see!

Elaine’s has three levels and this is the stairs headed up to the upper level, which I’ll show you in a minute. The lower level is classrooms and I didn’t visit there, but wanted to post this photo so you can see the cute displays they have tucked around the shop. There are many project and quilt samples and they are all such good ideas–I want to make so many of them.

I’m still standing in the doorway, looking to my right. . .

. . . and a little further inside.

At the back of this main room/entryway, they have all their magazines, some more displays and samples. The main room is flanked by two other large rooms with dramatic high ceilings–the better to show off quilts!

Entryway into the left room, which trends to Thimbleberries, Civil War and reproduction-style fabrics. They have a huge selection.

The room to the right is where my heart resides: Kaffe Fassett fabrics, Australian imports, brights, batiks.

There are tables everywhere so you can lay out the fabrics for selecting colors for a quilt. I loved the small decorative motif at the top of the shelving units.

The black and white section.

Rows of batiks.

And underneath the lines of fabrics are folded fat quarters. I had a fun time with those, as I had a limited time and had to pick quickly (note to self: leave more time for Elaine’s in the future).

Upstairs are children’s and sale fabrics and Christmas and I believe, solids.

No, I didn’t have to carry my bolts downstairs to be cut–there is a large cutting table right in the middle of this room, and they cut it for me there.

At the main register, where I checked out, was this board of Block of the Month quilts they are running through the store. I snatched one more pattern to add to my selection of fabrics, because of course, I need another project like I need a hole in the head, but it was the Thimble Creek Christmas quilt Santa’s Village pattern and it was charming (see below).

And that to me is one of the values and advantages of shopping at a local quilt shop like Elaine’s. When you physically step inside, you are energized by all the creativity and samples and ideas that the shop owner has brought to their store. I do both LQS and online shopping, but I feel more inspired by visiting a shop and seeing the fabrics, touching the samples and projects, turning them over in my hand and in my mind. I hope you feel the same!

Quilts

Pins and Needles, in New York City

June 1, 2013 Elizabeth E.23 Comments

I’ve been in New York City for a week, and while there I discovered a new quilting/fabric shop, on the upper East Side, a few blocks from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It’s called Pins and Needles.

Ring the buzzer, and they’ll let you in. Head up the stairs to the second floor, and their door is on the left. It’s like going up to fabric heaven from the gritty bustle of the streets.

I am standing at the window overlooking the street, and photographing toward the back. It’s not a big shop, but it has such a variety of modern fabrics and ideas and even a little classroom area, that I felt it had a lot to offer.

The classroom and looking out the window. There are basically three fabric stores that cater to quilters and home sewists in New York City: City Quilters (midtown), Purl Soho (Soho, or lower third of Manhattan) and now this gem of a shop.

I was immediately welcomed by two very friendly women: the owner Rachel Low (on the left) and Lauren Rucci; Rachel gave me permission to take photos. She also maintains a Facebook page for the shop, if you’re interested, as well as a blog.

Though compact, it felt spacious. They have a wide variety of modern fabrics, well-edited, and I could see lots I wanted to take home. But since I had practically sat on my suitcase that morning to get it closed, I was constrained by space.

While most of us diehard quilters approach fabric with a fair amount of gluttony (unless you are sitting on your suitcase to get it closed), in the shop Lauren has taken more of an arts and crafts approach, as opposed to quilting, even using the term “patchwork,” as their clientele is more geared toward sewing. Smart move, as you can learn to do the quilting after a good knowledge of fashion sewing has been established. One of the most successful things a shop can do is to know who their customer is.

I loved their wall displays. Rachel has worked in the fashion industry, including a two-year stint at Prada, so the shop incorporates these themes into their decor.

I loved their wall with fashion pictures, fabric swatches–so many ideas! I have noticed the trend towards sewing; many quilters are trending towards making dresses and clothes not only for themselves, but also for their children. I just happened to do it the reverse, majoring first in Clothing and Textiles, then discovering quilting later. I say, no matter how you come to it, sewing something for yourself or for your home is extremely rewarding, and this shop brings all of those ideas together.

Crafting table. They hold several classes for children’s crafts.

I loved the window overlooking the stree, with a comfortable banquette with cute pillows.

And what did make it into my suitcase? Three cuts of fabrics, some Itty-Bitty Scissors, all done up in a very cute bag. These scissors are about 1 1/2″ inches long, have a point cover; Rachel says her customers have been successfully taking them on airplanes to do their stitching. I bought an extra, and would love to share it with you.

Leave me a comment below and I’ll choose a winner on Tuesday morning. In your comment, tell me where you’ve traveled recently and have needed a pair of teensy scissors, as well as which color you’d prefer: turquoise or pink. And if you are not a winner, I’m sure that Rachel of Pins and Needles would be happy to ship you your own. Contact her at her Etsy Shop, or by email (rachel@pinsandneedlesnyc.com).

Quilts

More Quilt Shops near Corvallis, Oregon

January 22, 2013January 20, 2013 Elizabeth E.4 Comments

After we visited Greenbaum’s Quilted Forest in Salem, we headed south to Independence, where we’d visit a quilt shop and have lunch at the Pink House. First up–the shop!

Ladies of Liberty is a quilt shop that features Civil War reproduction fabrics, and they announce their place in the quilt world with the old-fashioned dress in the storefront window. They are located at 130 C Street, Independence OR 97351. Their phone number is 503-837-0676, and their email is ladiesofliberty@hotmail.com.

By now, the sun had come out, so the shop’s samples really shone. It’s a smaller shop, but has good ideas and friendly staff. Again, I’ll let my photos do the talking.

Their classroom. Apparently they just recently pushed out the walls to enlarge their shop and gain this space.

Beth and I were ready for lunch, so just two blocks away is the Pink House Cafe (242 D Street, in Independence), open Weds to Sunday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. After our delicious lunch, a chance to sit down and catch up with each other again, we were off to Philomath, and JanniLou Creations.

I snapped this one as we hurried inside. JanniLou Creations is at 1243 Main in Philomath, OR 97370, and their phone is 541-929-3795.

This is what greets your eye, but the hellos and how are yous? were also nice to hear, too. I browsed over in the section to the side, looking at all their black and white fabrics. Beth had said this was a converted movie theater, but it wasn’t until she urged me to head around the counter and take a look that it dawned on me what she was talking about. What you see above is where they used to take the tickets and sell popcorn and candy. Walk around to the right or left and you see this:

The former movie theater turned into fabric store. Oh, my. It was huge and filled with quilts and colors and lots of movie memorabilia.

The batiks aisle.

Their classroom is at the back, and is large enough to display these full-sized quilts, plus have room for fat quarter bins around the edges.

View from the classroom. Way up in the corner, near the ceiling was a quilt designed for the quilt shop–yep, the one in black and white on the upper left.

I liked that they not only had groupings of patterns, but also labeled their bins of fat quarters as to what was in them by theme.

After buying a few things, I was sure now that my suitcase wouldn’t shut on the way home, but we weren’t done yet!

We drove the beautiful Oregon countryside to Corvallis; it wasn’t too far away to Quiltwork Patches, right in downtown Corvallis Oregon.

We’d passed by this shop on our way to dinner the night before, and of course, I was intrigued. Don’t worry, Beth told me as we drove past, we’ll be here tomorrow. And for our final stop of the day, we went in after finding a parking place easily.

Quiltwork Patches is on 212 SW 3rd Street in Corvallis, OR 97333; phone number is 541-752-4820. It’s a friendly place and we were greeted right as we walked in, not only by the owner, but also by well-arranged bolts of fabrics. I was happy to see a lot of the modern fabrics represented, although she also stocked a full range of batiks, colors, and Kaffe Fasset fabrics.

A good quilt shop has lots of samples to entice quilters to get to work, and Quiltwork Patches had some lovely examples. I sort of make it a policy not to photograph only quilts when I do a review of a shop, but rather focus on the shop. So if you wonder why I don’t have straight-on shots, that’s why. I’m there to explore the shop. And explore I did.

Quiltwork Patches also had garment and bag samples, as well as good eye-level displays of books and small sewing projects. The shop was neat and clean and I wanted to spend hours and hours and buckets of money in there. I’m sure they wouldn’t have objected.

This is the sale room. Instead of doing punch cards or customer reward points, Quiltwork Patches decided to offer good prices on current fabrics. I had a fun time browsing through her stock.

Batik wall.

Like Greenbaum’s and JenniLou Creations, this shop had a full range of classes offered up, from beginning classes up to classes for the more experienced quilter. I saw many things to buy, but had to start somewhere–like this bolt of Anna Maria Horner’s Field Study. Weighted down by a full day of shopping, good conversation and fabric, Beth dropped me back at my hotel. We hugged good-bye and promised each other we would do this again sometime.

Quilt Shops

Greenbaum’s Quilted Forest–Salem, Oregon

January 20, 2013January 20, 2013 Elizabeth E.7 Comments

My friend in Oregon, Beth, picked me up at my hotel bright and early and we headed up to Salem, to the first shop of our day-long shop hop. Beth really knows how to make a quilter happy, because she is one! That’s her out front in the yellow raincoat. We started with Greenbaum’s Quilted Forest, and the address is 140 CommercialStreet NE, Salem, Oregon 97301. Phone number is 877-700-2233. Their email is sylvia@quiltedforest.com, and the reason why I mention that is because they are near Sisters, Oregon they do a huge mail-order business and charge no shipping for domestic (US) orders. Pretty amazing. We struck up a nice conversation with Lisa, who is the office and events manager, and she filled us in on all the happenings. More in a minute.

This is the sight that greeted us. I felt like I was in a forest of quilts–they were everywhere! They were hanging from the ceiling, displayed over the stair rails, on the walls, draped on tables, everywhere. So many ideas, so little time!

That’s Lisa, smiling there beside the rows of Kaffe Fassett fabrics. Greenbaum’s is one of the best 20 quilt shops of all times in the Better Homes and Gardens Quilt Sampler, so they do a lot of things to serve quilters and stock a wide range of fabrics, notions, and books. One fun thing she dangled in front of us was a bus trip to see the Quilt Show. The plan is to meet at Greenbaum’s early Friday morning, drive towards Sister, visiting four quilt shops, then overnight in Bend. The next morning, we’d be all day at the Sisters Quilt Show, then head home that night. Friday night accommodations are included. Head to their website for more info: www.quiltedforest.com.

They have a wide range of fabrics, from prints to batiks, to moderns to florals. I had a hard time making choices (remember I had a carry-on suitcase).

Some quilt shops you go into and it’s a quick glance, a fat quarter and you’re out. I wanted to keep looking not only because of their friendliness, but also because of the many ideas they had everywhere. I think that’s where they really excel, if I have to single out one reason. I feel like I sound sort of glib here–but I thought this was an outstanding quilt shop. It’s hard to give a sense of it without you being there touching all the fabrics, seeing the sights, quilts and colors, so I’ll just let my photos (lame as they are) do the talking.

I loved the pine tree up on top of their center shelves.

One thing I enjoyed were their little vignettes–a theme, with some books, patterns and fabrics to entice you to try something new.

Their classroom.

The old brick walls are proof they’ve been here a long time–111 years, although in the beginning it was a “dry goods” shop, then in 1948, it was converted to a fabric shop.

I really enjoyed my time here–if you are ever in Portland, Salem is south, over an hour away, but then you can hit shops in Corvallis and Philomath too, which are covered in the next post.