Random "Quilt Shop" Reviews..

I've been dying to find a few minutes and tell everyone about two wonderful shops I found in my travels recently!   One of the things I love about my new job is that I get to travel Western & Eastern NY a lot.  It breaks up the monotony of just "going to the office" every day.  The time in my car is my time to reflect on life, chat with some of my girlfriends, listen to inspirational Quilty (and Non-Quilty) podcasts and just BE!   And after a refreshing drive into the wild blue yonder, I get back to the office ready and willing to CONQUER whatever problem is thrown at me.   I am coming to believe that these times make me better at what I do.   It's so easy to get burned out in my field.  Day in, day out - problem after problem.   Sometimes you don't get to go home thinking that everything is right in the world.   Sometimes you go home knowing full well that that the following day is going to be loaded with harder problems or problems that you just couldn't wrap your head around the day before.

Sometimes....heading 80+ miles to the East is a great big TEASE!  LOL   I recently featured some quilt shop locator apps I have on my iphone.  So I'm always thinking about where all the little quilty paradises are, far far away that I don't always have a chance to just pop in my car and go peruse.  Three times now, I've headed up towards Oswego for a client call.   The first time - my schedule was so tight that day - that I couldn't take the 10 minute turn off to the little blue dot on my GPS map to go visit a shop I've longed to visit.   The second time out that way - I got to drive past it, nice and slow and peer into the window.  What a TEASE!! The third time - BINGO!   I was a mile down the road and leaving my client ran perfectly into the time I could break for lunch!

The first shop I hit was Calico Gals in Harborview. 

There are two locations for this shop.   One in Syracuse and one in Oswego (Harborview).   I got the opportunity to stop in at the one in Oswego.   What a cute little shop!   There was a class going in the back classroom, they had a great book selection - TONS of purse patterns!  I buzzed through the shop quickly just to get a look-see and then buzzed right back out again.   If I get another opportunity, I will definitely stop in again and look around a bit longer.   Believe it or not, I left without a purchase!

One of the kewlest things I learned in my few minutes at this shop is that there is an amazing new TWIST on Shop Hops!

You've got to check out the NYS Row By Row Quilt Shop Hop !!  It’s a summertime shop hop made just for quilters traveling through New York State. It’s the easiest shop hop ever! Just visit any of the participating quilt shops throughout the months of July and August. Each shop is giving away a pattern for one row in a Summertime Row Quilt. Pick up as many as you can, then mix and match your rows to create a fun and unique quilt. No passports and no fees! It’s a freebie!  Be the first person to bring a finished (quilted, bound, labeled) quilt using at least 8 different rows in to your local shop and receive a bundle of 25 beautiful fat quarters.  Limit one prize per quilter or quilt.  You've got to check this out!

The second shop I want to tell you about....was AMAZING....I was awestruck.  This shop was about 10-15 minutes off my route. Which was probably why I rushed out of the first shop so fast...I only have 30 minutes for lunch.  But I think I made good time.  :-)   No "chicken truck" to follow behind this time!  HA HA.  If you ever find yourself out on route 104 in NY between Wolcott & Red Creek...TAKE THE TURN!   :-)  Route 370 to Savannah.  Oooh BABY!  Thank GOODNESS I don't live out there!   I'd go broke!

Take a looksee at Spring Lake Fabrics in Savannah, NY.

What an amazing place!  The store is owned by Amish Mennonite's and their prices reflect it.  I was so excited to find a shop featuring Robert Kaufman, Fusions, P&B, Timeless Treasures, Moda, Michael Miller, Springs. 80 Panels, Precious Moments, Farmall, John Deer, Nascar, Boyds Bears, Superman, Wildlife, Cat, Dog, Car, Farm Animals, Fleece, and Flannel fabrics.  Oh my gosh the list goes on and on!

If you are planning an "I Spy" quilt in your future...this is the place to go. There were so  many fabrics that I've never seen before - fabrics I haven't seen available locally in forever!   Notions, zippers, yarns, rick-rack....I felt like I was in heaven.   There's also an Amish Market attached with jams, jellys, breads and grocery goods too! 

I can't wait to have the opportunity to visit again and stay much MUCH longer

As for my "purchases"....I was a VERY good girl.  Which is REALLY surprising for me.  LOL   But since "Operation Downsize" began - I am VERY conscious of what I have, need, don't need, don't have, etc.    And I've got some amazing projects planned that I intend on starting.   My tastes change every few years - sitting on materials I'm not going to touch for YEARS isn't logical for me at this point.

With that being said.....I was good....but NOT logical.  HAHAH.   I have NO idea what I'm going to do with this fabric, but it JUMPED off the rack, directly into my arms, FLEW to the cutting table and ended up in a bag, with a receipt with my name on it.   (sigh).....

Aren't they GORGEOUS?!?  I think it's the color palette I was drawn to.   The Green leaves I bought just because it was the only other bolt in the line.   Some day, you will see this again in something SUPER fabulous.   Five times in my life have I had a fabric line or single fabric GRAB me like that.   The first one - ended up in an amazing quilt that IS finished...and won first prize in the Machine Applique catagory at a local "People's Choice" Quilt Show. (It's the quilt in my profile picture). Two others are in a bin, waiting patiently for the RIGHT coordinates for another project...one is completely planned, and will go on my next retreat weekend with me and get sliced and diced.   And now these.   I just want to carry them around with me and pet them and stare at them and drown in the colors.  

It's called RAINBOW GARDEN  By Kona Bay. In the "Teal" colorway.  Now I just need to find the border fabric to match at a local shop!   Rain-Teal (Border)  The colors on Kona Bay's website are WAY too Fushia looking compared to how this fabric really looks.   MmmmHmmm....YUMMY!