Cross-Country Quilt Shops

What a summer! It has been a month since I (Teri) have shared on our blog. Kara has been exploring Germany, and I have ventured into the West, particularly Yellowstone National Park. We spent three months in our rental home in Historic Downtown Frederick, the last of which was spent traveling back and forth to our new home, readying it for our final move. I have been thankful that Kara was willing to give me a writing hiatus, so that I could focus any non-traveling, non-box-unpacking time on finishing up our blocks for the Williamsburg Academy of Appliqué blocks. But more on that in a bit.

Frederick, Maryland

Just before we left for Yellowstone, one of our favorite quilt shops, Charlotte's Cottage, relocated to Shab Row in Frederick. Its opening day just happened to fall on my birthday; I can think of few better ways to spend a birthday than to explore a freshly opened quilt shop—especially one filled with lovely reproduction fabrics! I encourage you to read the story of the shop, written by the shop owner, by clicking here.

Here are some highlights of the shop.

The stairway is inviting, with more fabric and classroom space on the next floor.

Fabric cutting time! 

A raffle was held for everyone who attended the grand opening: lots of Aurifil thread!

Owner, Susan, right, helps customer, Kristy, with her purchase.

Looking out the window past the thread display, you can see the charm of these restored 19-century buildings.
Note that the building you see across the parking lot to the left is our favorite wool shop,
Primitive Homespuns Wool and Needleworks., which we wrote about last year. (Click here to read.)

Precuts and patterns

Look at those brights! 

 

If you are ever in the Frederick, Maryland area, this shop should be a must! There is something for everyone!! And the area is reminiscent of historic times of the past.

Yellowstone National Park, Montana & Wyoming

A few days after the Grand Opening of Charlotte's Cottage, my family ventured west to see some amazing views in the nation's first National Park—Yellowstone. I knew we would see beautiful scenery, but I was unprepared for the vastness of the landscape, and the incredible color in these fabulous landforms! 

Water really was this color, only even more stunning in person!

The bottom of a pool; yes, you are looking through crystal clear water here.

Even the wine bottle labels were inspiring; can't you just imagine these embroidered or appliquéd?

One day, we decided to take a break and shop instead of going into the park; it was supposed to be a rainy day—fine for the younger members of the family, but we older wiser ones needed a break. We took our grandson and walked through West Yellowstone, a town in Montana, just west of the park entrance. A friend had told me there was a quilt shop there, so my radar was working. My mom and I took a detour into the quilt shop, leaving the 3-year-old with the rest of the group. This Yarn and Quilt Shop is called Send It Home and has a shipping section in the back—you know, so you can buy plenty of fabric without worrying about your luggage being too heavy on the flight home! 😉

A happy greeting by the owner of the shop

The shop's Row by Row on the wall, above right

Fat quarters, thread, landscape fabrics, and a bison 

Lots of local animal-themed fabrics...

...and lots more!

So many yummy yarns!

A complete shipping section 

They even have jewelry!

If you're Yellowstone-bound, put this lovely little shop on your list of stops!
The sun even came out while we were inside shopping. 🌞

Coming in 2018: Williamsburg, Virginia

Within days of arriving home from our trip, we settled on our new home, and the moving and unpacking commenced. I had to take a few days to just stay put in the rental and stitch my heart out, so that we would be able to get our supply lists and photos off for the catalog of the Academy of Appliqué. This year, we decided to celebrate "going global" by creating blocks with European inspiration: one from an antique French fabric panel, and the other from a vintage German botanical print. Here are a few teases below. To see the whole blocks and the catalog of the Academy—held in Williamsburg, February 26–March 3, 2018—go to academyofapplique.com; the entire catalog should be posted on Saturday, August 5. 

Or come back here next week, and we'll share more about these exciting blocks!