One of the things I love to do on vacation -- besides eat, shop and find new wines! -- is to go into quilt shops and see what is new and different about them. I believe that quilt shops express the personality of the owner(s) and that is why no two shops are alike.
My first thoughts when entering Quiltmaker were that the profusion of color and pattern showed exuberance as well as a love of fabric and the fun that can be had playing with it....
One of the first quilts I saw was this colorful strip quilt made from Bali Pops -- simple, bright and fun to keep or give as a gift.
In more muted colors, yet no less eyecatching, there was a kit available for this quilt. Looks like a pretty simple block; how they're set is what gives this quilt its magic. 
Lots of quilts on the walls for inspiration....
...and many bolts of fabric to make it all happen!
Really liked this star quilt -- it's Nancy's Block of the Month Stars; looks like a lot of techniques would be learned in the year spent making this quilt.
Every year I make a couple of baby quilts for gifts -- I thought this quilt would be absolutely adorable for a little girl! A pattern was pinned to it, called "All Wrapped Up" (if I'm remembering the name correctly). I browsed around the pattern section of the store, but couldn't find the pattern for purchase anywhere. The owner was busy helping customers choose fabric and Dan and I wanted to get on with our wine tasting day, so I made a note to look for this pattern later.
One thing that I was very happy to see: Even though today's Monday, not what I would consider a "hot" business day, there were several customers in the shop. The owner was busy helping other customers, so I didn't really get a chance to talk to her beyond the initial greeting and her permission for me to take pictures for the blog. Quiltmaker is very well merchandised and I did have the opportunity to chat with a customer who was visiting from the East coast and was thrilled to find the variety of beautiful nontraditional fabrics that she couldn't get at home.
There is a large classroom at Quiltmaker that could probably hold 15-18 students for a class as well as the longarm room where someone was hard at work. She graciously allowed me to take the picture above. I think I would enjoy working in a room with all of those beautiful quilts! Quiltmaker is located at 1275 Napa Town Center in Napa, California (phone: 707-252-6793). To go to their website, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment