On The Road

I simply LOVE to talk to people about quilting. It is a good ice breaker that often leads to deeper conversations and sometimes even Facebook Friends.

Recently I discovered a couple of ladies right in my home church (Calvary Baptist Church) who quilt.  We had a small get together for a "show and tell".  It was very fun to get to know these ladies and see their past projects as well as what is under their needle today.







Another thing I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE is visiting fabric stores.  And, one of the perks of traveling for work is visiting fabric stores in various cities that I would normally not have an opportunity to visit.

A few weeks ago I was in Honolulu Hawaii and was able to visit three fabric/quilt stores, all very different.

Fabric Mart

 This fabric store was probably the store with largest inventory and prices were very reasonable.

Very eclectic and quite interesting, this store  had a very large inventory of Hawaiian fabrics.


Kuni Island Fabrics is a very sweet (but small), locally owned, store with a good variety of fabrics, notions and items on display.

While I was browsing, several ladies came in to sign up for classes... the owner seemed to know the ladies very well, asking personal questions about family, etc.  THAT is VERY nice.  While the ladies in my local fabric stores may know me by sight, we certainly have not taken any time to get to know each other on a personal level.

 Kuni Island Fabrics is participating in the Row-By-Row Experience

Here is a completed Row-By-Row quilt. 
If you have not yet discovered Row-By-Row...
check out the website Here.

Kaimuki Dry Goods

This was probably my favorite store. There was a nice variety of fabrics from Hawaiian fabrics to specialty fabrics.  The staff was quite friendly asking about the projects I had planned for the fabric I was buying and the store was bright and open.

They are also participating in the Row-By-Row (see above picture.)



That's all.  If you are planning a trip to the Islands (or any other location) check out the local fabric stores.
Before you go, check out this website for a list of fabric stores at your destination. Quilter's Travel Companion
(One last word, the above-mentioned site is a paid service.  Not every fabric store or quilt store will be listed.  Search Google as well.)

Hand Me That Screwdriver, Please.

April & Carmen Henry of April's 1930s are touring the U.S. this summer and helping Featherweight owners keep their babies in tip top shape.

My friend, Robin, and I spent a couple of days in San Diego with the Henrys and a dozen of our closest friends (who we'd never met before this class...)

First, we took the machines all apart.  The face plates, the belts, the bottoms, the bobbin housing.  It was a bit intimidating and made me somewhat nervous... a lot of little screws and pieces.

 But, we had a good teacher... and a few helpers

And in the end, we were all successful in getting the machines back together again.   A lot cleaner and purring like kittens.

My Miss Ellie
1951

P.S.  My sister gave me her mother-in-laws old sewing machine.  It is not a singer, but it is vintage... I think about 1970s era.  I'm going to try out my new skills on it... :-)