I was in the Tampa / St. Pete area of Florida for a meeting over the weekend. Since my flight got me in a few hours before the meetings started, I had time to locate a few quilt shops.

Last time I visited St. Pete's Beach (almost exactly a decade ago), I convinced my traveling partner and long-time friend Lisa to run up to a quilt shop with me, so that was the first on my list of possible stops. Rainbow's End in Dunedin, Florida had some fabulous fabrics, as you can see from my selection. I mostly purchased fat quarters, but I did buy a yard of the black-and-white pin dot with the pink flowers because I thought it was unusual and felt a little nostalgic.

Next shop was in Country Quilts and Bears in Clearwater, Florida. The marble print in the top left is a flannel, and I fear it might be a flannel I bought before. The three below it along the left side are fat quarters. However, I bet it comes as no surprise to any of you that the farm print in the middle and the two on the left are more than a fat quarter. I bought yardage of all three. The farm fabric will make very cute and very easy baby blankets, just cut 36" by the fabric length (45") and quilted along the design lines (great experience with that quilting machine, right?). The other two just had such great colors that I had to have them and the ideas are swimming around in my head.



By the time I finished at the second shop, I had to high-tail it to the hotel and made it to my first meeting just in time. It was a great meeting, and after it was over, I shot this picture of sunset over the Gulf. I thought you might appreciate a great view after the colorful fabrics, so I'm offering this one to you. Thank you, Florida for a great weekend!

The other night, I cut out a new quilt. WOO HOO! My cousin Lynette's second daughter, Violet, hasn't yet gotten her Grandma Paper Doll Quilt yet and she's got to be nearing a year old, or maybe a little older. Here's a photo of the pieces; I'll post updates of its progress, highlighting some of the fun tools and techniques I'll be using as I go.

I fussy-cut the border-strip fabric to use in the centers of the blocks so there were two of the dolls in each block and I have two of each doll pair. The sketches at the top are only the rough drafts--I changed the colors right before I started cutting, which is funny because I was shopping for a blue and yellow print at the Quilt Festival for the blocks and ended up swapping the greenish daisy print for the blue. So here are the fabrics cut for the quilt. I'm really excited to get working on it, but I think I'm going to cut the Storm at Sea quilt pieces first. I've found that if I have pieces cut, I'm more likely to work on a project but somehow making the decisions and getting them cut is the part that's been holding me up. So I thought I'd cut a few quilts out (the Storm at Sea and my sister's Stack n Whack) and then, over the summer, I'd sew and sew and get them all done. Then I can start working on the quilting part.

I shot pictures of several quilts last weekend at Quilt Festival in Chicago, but I've yet to sort through the photos and match them up with the names. I'll try to post them this weekend. I did, however, shoot some pictures of the fabrics I found for my stash (as if I needed more, right?).

Most of the fabric sold at quilt shows is precut--either fat quarters, half-yards, or bundles of some type. Some shops bring bolts of fabric, but in the past many years, I've been more likely to buy fat quarters than yardage. I'll need to be making some scrappier designs, since fat quarters are great for scrappy designs. And they're gonna be some very colorful scrappy quilts because I have a definite preference for brighter colors. And, of course, farm prints. This isn't everything--some of it wasn't all that interesting--but I thought I'd share some of the fun stuff!

Of course, there's always a little farm fabric that I need to bring home. On the left is a farm panel--it was just too fun to pass up. On the right are some fat quarters, a half-yard, and another very cute farm print from a newer line. I'm not sure what I'll do with it, but that's okay.






Feathers are up next. The one on the left was just too interesting in colors to pass up. The one on the right will match the fabrics in the Storm At Sea quilt I'm planning. The blues and purples will be perfect and add a lot of texture to the quilt.

The village print on the right was an interesting find. What I'll do with it--don't know. It would make a cool center for a quilt with several borders (plain and/or pieced) along the edges. I love that it has a New England village field to it. As for the rest of the fabrics, I loved the light lime batik, the dots were a fun color combination, and the ladies are already, I believe, part of the stash I have set aside for the someday decorating of the sewing room.

My Mom uses double-sided, pre-quilted fabric to make a thing called a potato bag--used to microwave baked potatoes to perfection. When I saw the parrot and tropical print, I knew it was the potato-bag fabric for me! The mushy print on the left just called to me, as did the farm-y one on the right. But the parrots....





And finally. There was a booth selling fat quarters for VERY good prices. It was jam packed in there, but people were being very generous by passing things back to others who had their eyes on something. Great source for stash-building, a little bit of everything, and I bought duplicates of the ones I was particularly fond of--like the soft green and pink on at the bottom. I don't know what I'll do with it exactly, but I am looking forward to having the chance.

What I don't have in my hands right now are the baby flannels I bought for me (that I offered to share with Rich's niece) and the fabrics I picked up for my Mom for a special project she's working on. So when I get the flannels back, I'll share them. I won't get all of the others back--I guess I did a pretty good job of choosing fabrics for Mom because she kept several of them. More to come on the display quilts soon!

The other day, I ran across a book from C&T Publishing called "A new light on Storm at Sea quilts" by Wendy Mathson. The quilt shop I visited previously, quiltfabric.com, mentioned the book on their site. In looking into it further, I noticed several things. First, it's a quilt I have considered making in the past, but the twist on this one is that there's a tool created to make the block easier to make and more accurate. I do love tools that let me piece a little less-than-perfect and still have everything fit together once you've trimmed the block. Then, after I bought the book, I discovered that my friend and former coworker Carol Zentgraf was a technical editor on it. And though I had always thought I'd do an off-center log cabin with the fabrics (like this one), I think this might be the answer to my newest quilt idea.

When I left McCall's Needlework, I'd just made a slipcover for a chair using a tulip fabric that I loved. It combined royal blue, purple, and a dark green with a teal blue tinge on an ivory ground with gold tipping. At that point, I started collecting fabrics to make a quilt based on that fabric's color combination. I've moved these fabrics from Birmingham to Northwest Arkansas to Chicagoland to Milwaukee to central Wisconsin and back to Milwaukee. And I think now might be the time to finally cut into them! Then, the remaining fabrics can be put in their correct color container and I can enjoy sleeping under a quilt that's been rolling around in my head for years.

I believe that the first quilt shop I ever shopped at was called Stitches n Stuffing in Naperville, Illinois. I remember going there on occasion in high school and college. I remember that they had a ton of patterns (which is what drew my Mom in) and a huge classroom, and a very large shop. I remember that they had pre-pleated smocked bishop dresses and bubbles so you could just smock and finish them. On several of my trips home over the last year, I'd meant to get there, but never did.

A few weeks ago, I got an email from a shop I discovered this summer--quiltfabric.com. They were having a great sale--quilt fabric for $6/yard. Of course, I couldn't make it to the sale because it was one of my weekends in Milwaukee and those are precious to me. But they continued the sale the next weekend--a weekend I would be back down in Chicagoland. Of course I went. Of course I found some fabric that I wanted to bring home with me. But the strange part was that I notice some labels on the fat quarters marked "Stitches n Stuffing".

Turns out, Stitches n Stuffing closed over the winter. One of my Mom's friends had gotten an email about it. Finally, the tags and the great deals on the fabric made sense. And though I love my finds, I feel sad that the shop closed. But I'm grateful for the shop that first introduced me to quilting.

Lots going on, and I've been thinking a lot about quilts. It all started with a newsletter that I got from QuiltFabric.com. They had an awesome sale last weekend, which I missed, but luckily, they had a follow-up sale THIS weekend, which I didn't miss! I'll share fabric photos later. Also, I've been thinking about making a new quilt and also cutting into and creating my sister's Stack-n-Whack quilt. I'll post more in the days and weeks ahead, but meanwhile, here are some links for this week.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Who better to craft for than the furry critters in your house? And they so appreciate it!

The Artful Crafter
Does your craft space need de-cluttering? Here are some ways to donate your excess projects and supplies.

The Crochet Dude
Drew thought he might have to freeze himself to avoid going bonkers while waiting to reveal his next full-length book!

Aileen's Musings
Aileen's cooked up a printable recipe card with her delicious Strawberry Spring cake recipe.

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
The Easter Bunny is almost here and Madge has a calorie free jewelry tribute to her favorite holiday candy! Get your Pretty in Peeps Pendant here!

Mixed Media Artist
Want to try doing gel glue resists? Oh, the possibilities!

About Family Crafts
April is National Volunteer Month and Sherri has some creative ways you can help others.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Craftside's got a bit of ballerina brilliance from the new book Mixed-Media Dollhouses, how to make shag on knitting, a fun recycled decoupage and office supply project and our author make and take schedule for Unique LA.

Cathie Filian
Enter to win a signed advanced copy of Cathie's new baby fashion book and $130 worth of goodies!!

So as I mentioned in my previous post, the quilt shop I managed in Florida had a Christmas in July 12 days of Christmas kit sale. Here are a few more of the projects we kitted.

This was a very easy project--a wine bottle bag. Simply sew a rectangle in place, box the bottom by folding in the corners, and voila. Made up in a fine Hoffman fabric, it was great.












The tree skirt was made up with another Hoffman fabric. Again, easy-peasy. We folded it into eighths, cut straight across to form the octogon, slit the back, cut the hole in the center and there it is!
A folded star ornament was two sided and made in a beautiful print (might it have been another Hoffman?). I really don't remember how it was made, but I remember being intrigued by it. I must have those instructions somewhere....


This snowman (the only one to be seen in Florida THAT year) was made of batting, sticks, knit fabric, and scraps. The pattern is obviously from The Quilted Rabbit (I can read that!) and it was quick and easy to make.




Another wall quilt from a pattern pack. Fused applique as before, whimsical, and again, quick and easy. I love the way the shapes have almost a cookie-cutter line to them--nothing too complicated.





And finally, a Christmas stocking. Shadow applique was used for the cuff--basically, you choose bright colors of fabric, fuse them to the undersurface, overlay it with a sheer fabric, put batting behind it for tuft, hand-quilt through the layers to outline around the appliques and add definition and detail, and then turn it into a cuff. I love the look of shadow applique--I really do want to explore it further, but I feel it's more appropriately used in small ways, like this stocking cuff instead of large ways, like as a block in a quilt. But that's my personal opinion.

So there it is, the 12 (okay, 11) days of Christmas sale from times gone by. Finding and scanning these photos has been fun for me--getting reinspired by ideas that were rolling around in my head back then.

Back in 1998, when I lived in Florida, I managed a quilt shop. In July, we ran a 12 days of Christmas in July promotion where we kitted and sold different projects each day. Once again, I ran across photos while organizing. I'm going to share some in this post and in a post in the next few days. I really loved creating these projects--some were purchased patterns that we bundled with fabric selections and others were a bit more random. So without further ado:

This one was hand-quilted using pearl cotton, I think, in appropriate colors. It was referred to as "quick stitch" or "big stitch" at the time--I can't remember which. This was a small wall banner--maybe 6 inches across and 16 inches long.








This was a Christmas panel we had in the store and coordinating fabrics. The bottom is a pocket for Christmas cards, stiffened with interfacing to keep it hanging upright.




For this little green wreath, we ordered green doilies, sewed them together around the center hole by machine, then turned it right side out, sewed along the edge of the lace, leaving an opening, stuffed it, hand-sewed the opening closed, and added a metallic bow and hanger.


Another pattern pack packaged with batiks and marbles. I loved this pattern. I wish I could remember who created the pattern, but I can't read that little type. It was a good-sized wall-hanging and all the pieces were fused in place.
This was one of the favorites -- we were the Beaches Quilt Shop, after all. We drew a palm tree, used a zebra stripe for the trunk, and hand-sewed little faux lights on the trees. Having been there for a Christmas, I saw first hand that the residents of the Beaches actually did decorate the palm trees in their front yards, and I thought it was the coolest thing! So this was a must-have.

Coming soon, the other days. So far, I've only found 11 of the 12 projects, so we might have to pretend. The 12th will turn up sooner or later, I'm sure.

It's slightly incorrect to say this is a "before" picture of the other part of the sewing room. This is actually a "between" photo. Earlier on Sunday, this area didn't have all of this stuff in it. It had a pile of fabric in it that needed to be put away. But once I did that, I started pulling things off of the shelf in the corner to go through it, paring it down, organizing what was there, and generally getting a grip on it. I also went through the items in the lavender-white dresser in the left foreground of the photo. Most of the drawers used to have jewelry making supplies in them, but I pulled them out and haven't gotten them filed back in. But the bottom drawer has all of the smocking supplies and patterns in it.

Those blue in-boxes in the middle of the floor were filled with miscellaneous papers and paper-sized packages that needed to be sorted through. I'd like to get through the stuff on that four-shelf unit and possibly eliminate the need for it entirely. The more I can narrow down what I have in that room, the more spacious the room will be and the easier it will be to work in there. I'll share more photos as I make more progress, but I thought I should let you know that it is coming along.

As I mentioned before, I flipped the bedrooms in my house to give myself a little more space in the sewing and craft room and to get my cardmaking station out of the living room and into the craft room where it ought to be. I shared the "before" shot last weekend and thought I'd give you an update. Over the weekend, I organized the fat quarters into great containers from Ikea that fit perfectly on the shelf in my closet. Here's the mound of fat quarters, sorted by color with the help of my favorite four-year-old. It may not LOOK sorted, but it is.

Next, here's the closet "after", looking a whole lot better than it did in the "before" photo. The shelves were all already in place. Before I got organized, the plastic containers were on the top shelf, leaning over because the shelves were sagging. Now, with everything organized and in proper containers, I have a lot more space and everything I'm looking for is in its place. As you can see from the picture below, the little containers that fit so perfectly on that shelf are filled with fat quarters by color. And the nine-section shoe sorter holds fabrics that I bought in the past to make some quick quilts on which I can practice using my quilting machine.

I'm thrilled with how the closet is looking. This is the first step in getting this room pulled together. I still have to put the rest of the fabric, the non-fat-quarter-fabric, in containers by color. That's this weekend's project.

Stay tuned from the next section of the clean-up: the cardmaking station.

What a weekend! I got a bit of reorganizing done in the sewing room and I found the pattern that I'd misplaced. I was able to organize the fabrics that I've bought over the past year-plus on my travels, especially all those fat quarters I've amassed. First, I should share a "before" photo. As you can see in the photo, all those bags across the shelf were fabrics that I'd picked up at shows, on travels, and along the way the last year and a half or so. And that closet is where I'm hoping all of it will live once I get it organized. So organizing suggestions are welcome--any ideas would be great. I don't want to build shelves, which is the logical solution, so it will be containers and such. I tried sweater storage things that hang from the curtain rod, but they aren't built strong enough and most of them are too long and hit the shelf, so I'm somewhat back to square one. When I stack the containers on the shelf, the poor shelves sag so badly! So I'm still working on solutions--we'll see how it goes. Meanwhile, I'll try to keep you posted via photos of the progress.

For updates, see the closet "after" post and the cardmaking station "after" post.

When my Godson was born, I lived in Florida and managed the quilt shop. His nursery had a fish theme. Fish fabric was something we had plenty of at the shop in Florida, so I had my choice. This project was a great adventure, inspired by several projects I'd seen come into the shop and classes we offered at the shop. Basically, I cut pieces of foundation, cut a fish from the print randomly shaping the fabric with at least four edges. Then, I cut my bright prints and black prints in various widths of strips, tossed them all in a bag, and whatever I pulled out, I used, sewing the strips on in a log-cabin-like method, working around the fish in the center and sewing it all to the foundation.

Once I got the larger blocks done, some containing several fish in the oddly shaped center pieces, I had to fill in the blanks with smaller blocks. That's when I had to start plotting the rest of it, since it was put together in no set pattern.

As for the side borders, I used several different blue fabrics. I wanted to provide the feel of being under water, so I used a blue underwater rock print for the bottom and lower side borders, a blue with water coral (is that what I mean?) up the sides, and then, at the top, dark fabrics that look like waves underwater.

I remember working on this project during the divorce when I went away, thanks to my bosses at the quilt shop, for a weekend at a hotel down the beach from where I lived. (A change of surroundings is always good!) I don't know if the hotel staff had ever seen anyone move into a hotel room with a sewing machine and rotary cutting supplies, but they had after that!

So you've seen cow quilt #1, dated 1997. Here's cow quilt #2. My sister's second son may have gotten the benefit of experience in his quilt. That and some fabulous fabric. I found this great print--the farm animals having a hoedown. I fell in love instantly. It was a striped print, with the barns in one row, the marching animals at the top in another row, and the dancing fowl in another row, from what I recall. The green print with the boogie-ing barnyard animals was a companion print. I included the same cow print and "moo" print from the other cow quilt in this one so they'd work in the same room, and grabbed a bunch of bright fabrics to make the paper-pieces stars. I still love the way this quilt came together!

As for the words embroidered in the golden box in the center, it was from the striped print and it reads, "Hey diddle diddle, the pig had a fiddle, the cow played a groovy new tune. The others joined in and had a fine time, as they jammed by the light of the moon." Love it!

And since I found these old photos, I thought I'd scan them in and share them here. Over the next few days (maybe even weeks), I'll show you some interesting things I've made over the years and post some additional previously mentioned shots of projects I've blogged about in past posts.

To start, the bear quilt. You might recall that I blogged about the baby blocks quilt in early December. As mentioned in that blog, I've made several versions of this quilt over the year. One was this teddy-bear-in-sailor-suits version (too distinctive for publication, of course, but cute none-the-less).

I really love this quilt! First, because it's so darn easy to shop for! For a 44" x 56" quilt (roughly), I start by choosing 1-5/8 yd. of the print for the border and the big blocks (because I prefer to start with the border print, but you don't have to), then select 5/8 yd. of each of the two colors to be used in the 16-patch blocks, and then something like 7/8 yd. for the inner border and binding. (All of these measurements have room for error and shrinkage built in.)

Second, I love this quilt because it's so easy to construct. For the pieced blocks, you cut eight 2"-wide strips across the width of each of the two fabrics and sew them together in sets of four, alternating light and dark. Then the pieced strips are cut 2"-wide, flipped top to bottom, and sewn together so they make 18 checkerboard blocks.

When you're cutting the borders (which you need to do before you cut the blocks), you have to pay attention if you're using directional fabric. The side borders are cut at 6" x 47", and the top and bottom borders are cut 6" x 44" (basically, across the width of the fabric). And this is the important part. Use your fabric as a guide--if it's only 43" wide sans selvedge, cut your borders a little bit narrower, because you don't want to have to piece the bottom and top borders. Then, once you have the borders cut, cut the 17 solid blocks 6-1/2" square. The inner border is cut at 1-1/2" wide--cut five across the width of the fabric and piece the side borders as necessary. And the binding is cut however you want to do it--I usually cut mine 2" wide and do French fold binding.

Then you just sew the center blocks together in rows, alternating the checkerboard and solid blocks. Then sew the rows together, then add the inner and outer borders. Quilt it, bind it, and don't forget to add a label (something I'm terrible about remembering to do), and you're done!

Do you have a favorite quilt pattern that you can create in a short period of time and you do, over and over again? Or are you going to tackle this one? I'd love to hear about it. If you've blogged about it, post a link in your comment so I can check it out.

Some days, a quilter just needs to be surrounded by fabric. And when you're away from home and can't surround yourself with your own fabric, you find a way to get the fix you need. For me, that usually means visiting a quilt shop. And sometimes it turns into more than a visit, it turns into a shopping excursion.

Case in point, November 29. After a very crazy, five-day break from what has been a very crazy couple months at work and in my life, I found myself feeling the need. And since I was away from home, Quilter's Destination was the closest solution. In case you've forgotten, I've been there before and I blogged about some yardage from there just a few days ago.

While there, I found some smaller pieces than the aforementioned yardage. Just a few fat quarters to round out my colleciton. Turns out, I bought two duplicates from my previous visit there--the little tiled fabrics toward the bottom of the right corner. But otherwise, I did pretty well. Looks like I'm in a green phase. And I love the line in the center bottom--the pink, green, blue and white with the black prints.

I haven't been in quilt shops for a while, I guess, because a new line popped up and I didn't know anything about it! Have you seen these barns around? I love them! So much that I bought several yards. Don't know what I'm going to do with it yet, but I couldn't pass it up.

Also, they had this bubble-print primary-color flannel in the clearance area. I've purchased a bunch of flannels in the past year, so having yardage of flannel will certainly come in handy.

Found these at Quilter's Destination--a store I've visited before.

In addition, I found this panel. These are very cute and a little more country than I'd normally choose, but again, the barn in the border! Don't know what will come of it yet, but thought I'd better get some of it now.

A while back I heard from my old boss, Judy, from the quilt shop I managed in Florida. She was going to be in town visiting her family and wondered if we might be able to catch up over Thanksgiving. So, between my nephew's wrestling meet and the gingerbread house party, we did just that. But what to do? Well, as I drove to the meet, I noticed a quilt shop, and, wouldn't you know, it turns out it was just down the street from her son's house. So there we were, wandering around someone else's shop. It was a little strange--so often, when I'm in a quilt shop, I look at fabrics and think "That's so Judy" or "Beth would love that." Beth and Judy were the owners of the shop. When the fabric reps would come to the store, it was always a hoot picking out fabrics with them. And I could almost predict which ones each of them would be drawn to. They had similar tastes, but there were subtle differences in their choices. So it was fun to look around someone else's shop and point to a fabric and say "There's one, Judy" and know that she'd say "oh yes!" But we spent a lot of time chatting as we wandered around the store so it was tough for me to focus on shopping. I did find a few fat quarters--three batiks and a flannel (light blue with polka dots, though you might not be able to tell it's light blue from the photo).

More to come from my "I really needed a creative fix" shopping trip the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I know, I thought there was a moratorium on fabric buying until I made something, but sometimes that just doesn't work out.

So the lucky little girl who got the Curious George blanket got a Curious George pillow to match! Though creative is a bit of a stretch, I did trim the fringe and tie the knots. And she loved it. So as I said yesterday, Saturday was a creative day and here's the result.

I did get to be creative today--I'll blog about it tomorrow. It was a nutty week at work and personally--I've been running a hundred different directions, but I'm home this weekend and SO VERY glad to be here. There's much to do--is it that your house gets messier when you're not around, or is it that preparing to be away creates messes? I don't know. But meanwhile, while I'm laundering and picking up, why don't you make some time to peruse the links of my crafty friends?

About Family Crafts
Follow these directions and discover how easy it is to sew a felt tote bag that is perfect for trick-or-treating!

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Craftside went a little artsy this week with inside peeks into the books; Hope: A Collection of Obama Posters and Prints, The Daily Book of Art, Really Good Packaging Design Explained and 1001 Ideas for Stonework, but there are also tons of great Sizzix die cut applique designs made by the designers at Halloween Swap-o-Rama-Rama.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
Vintage Hankie Scarf made using the tutorial from the Indygo Junction book Hankie Style

The Impatient Crafter
Madge is one degree from Martha! Check out her upcoming appearance at the Grand Opening of Michaels in Manhattan!

Cross Stitch at About.com
Connie has another inspirational pattern, this time with an abstract flair. The chart is easy - whole cross stitch and a wee bit of back stitch.

Cathie Filian
Check out Cathie's quick video on how to spook up china ball lanterns.

Aileen's Musings
Come meet Aileen's friends Herm & Ethel (they're baccck!). Download a couple of freebie e-postcards and send Halloween greetings to your friends!

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi is starting a new quilt...this time featuring pears!

Vickie Howell-Craft.Rock.Love
This week Vickie launched her new PBS Parents column, Craft Apparent. Check out her first article, a how-to on making utterly adorable baby costumes, starting with just a plain onesie!

The Artful Crafter
Eileen shows you how to create a simple but festive Halloween cupcake stand from terracotta pots.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy has a package ready to go out the door for her new jewelry making book.

And here at Farm Girl Roots, City Girl Style, I visited a few quilt shops in Toronto--check out my treasures.

I was in Toronto last weekend for a CHA (Craft & Hobby Association) board meeting. Because of how I had to book my flight, I had 6 hours from the time I landed until I had to be at the hotel for the start of the weekend. Yes, you guessed it, that was just enough time to visit a few quilt shops. But since the week prior had gotten a bit chaotic, I hadn't had a chance to do much research online to double-check locations, hours, etc. I located addresses of several shops, thanks to Dad's GPS, but only two of them were still where they were located when I printed a quick map from Google. But one shop staffer suggested another shop, so in the end I visited three shops and still had the chance to look around the town and get ready for the meeting.

What shops did I visit?, you ask.

First, I stopped at Cock-a-Doodle Quilts. I found some fat quarters--I'm assuming they're quarter meters, which is slightly larger than a US fat quarter. But since fabric is more expensive in Canada, I didn't want to get carried away. They had some lovely batiks, this adorable farm print (I'm pretty sure this is bigger than a fat quarter, but I don't have it here to measure), and a panel that I can't yet disclose. As always, you know I'm a sucker for farm fabrics.

Next, after a few misses, I had another hit. The Quilter's Block is a smaller shop, but it was filled with some great fabrics. It's more of an urban shop, which was a new experience for me. As often happens, I ended up with two of the same prints in different colorways. And I also picked up a black-and-white and a black-and-gray print, which are also becoming a pattern for me. And the gal in the shop was very helpful, as we chatted about my mini-shop-hop, she suggested one other store in the area. So off I went.

The shop she suggested was Sewing Machine Factory Outlet in Scarborough. (Again, thank goodness for Dad's GPS!) I found some bolts of fabric that weren't full price--some marked down and some buy-one-get-one-free. Yes, at this shop, I bought yardage, but only off of four bolts. And then there were two fat quarters. As before, the two circle prints are the same print in different colorways--and I love circles and dots. I absolutely fell for the geometric print--it reminded me of some of the ones I picked up in Utah. As for the mosaic-looking print, I thought it would be a great fabric to use to get some practice freehand quilting with that big ole machine of mine. It's beautiful--shades of teal, creams, and brown, and there are birds and florals. I'll do another show-and-tell after I get it quilted--I'm itching to play with that machine again. I need much more free time! As for the two fat quarters, just some batiks that I thought were interesting.

And to round out my trip, here's a funny story. As I walked into the shop, I noticed a gentleman just hanging out in the store. Turned out, he was a fabric rep. I should have guessed--this is not the first time I've been visiting a shop while the fabric rep is trying to do show-and-tell. I don't mind it at all, I love to get a sneak peek at fabric lines, but I always feel bad for the shop owner and the rep, as it's much easier to do fabric selection when there's no one around and you don't have interruptions. I know when I was managing the quilt shop in Florida, we did our best to have the reps come in the evening, which was probably quite inconvenient for them but was very convenient for us. When I was in North Carolina on that vacation I mentioned a few weeks ago, the same thing happened and I bought a lot of fabric then too, partially because I wanted to make it easier on the shop owner, so I just had her cut half-yards. Talk about a tough time getting everything to fit in an already-packed-full suitcase! I was much more frugal with my purchases this trip and was able to get the fabric in my carry-on bag without too much trouble.

So that's my tour of the quilt shops in Toronto. I'm sure I missed some, so if you know of any that I missed, share it in the comment section so anyone who stumbles upon this posting looking for quilt shops in Toronto will have a more complete list for shop hops of their own.

(P.S. If you haven't heard, CHA's planning another Craft SuperShow in Anaheim in January 2010. For a recap of the Summer show, check out these blog posts: Judikins, fabric, Kaiser, JustRite Stamps.)