Phoenix Shops

Today I write to you from Phoenix, Arizona.  My hubby, Dave, and I took the little (15 hour) road trip up to visit with Dave's dad while Dave's mom is away visiting Dave's sister...boy that's a bit convoluted :)  Of course the men immediately hit the golf links first thing in the morning so I had to find a way to entertain myself.  What better way then to go on my own personal shop hop?  Armed with a Google list of shops and my trusty GPS I headed out. Now, for those of you unfamiliar with the Phoenix area, it's a bit sprawled out and consists of a LOT of little towns.  I figured I'd start with the shops farthest away and hop my way back toward home.

First up,

Cutting Edge Quilts is in Chandler, AZ and has a great location; lots of restaurants and little shops in the historic district.  Although the fabric selection was a little limited the folks were very friendly. By the way...In case you're wondering, that's Kilo (short for Kilometer) and he travels with me wherever I go. He doesn't mind having his picture taken so you'll find him in almost all of my pictures.

From Chandler, I headed to Tempe, AZ to

This is another small shop with friendly staff. 

However, the reason I traveled the hour south to these two shops was because of the third one...

Yep, you are reading that right...3 Dudes Quilting.  Now, as you probably know, the quilting world, until the last decade or so, has been a woman's world.  Of course, times have changed and you read about a lot of different men who have not only entered the quilting world but are very successful at it. I couldn't wait to see what these 3 Dudes had to offer.  It was a nice shop with great fabric selection. You know how when you go into a quilt shop the shop has taken on the personality of the owners?  Well, this shop was no exception.  Many shops have that comfy, quilty, homey feel...you know what I'm talking about.  This shop had a decidedly "business" atmosphere.  The 2 Dudes that were working in the shop were knowledgeable and helpful and provided great customer service in a very professional manner.  Everything from the layout of the store to the advice and instructions were efficient and logical.  I really liked the shop but it definitely had a different feel to it. 

The Bernina Connection is in Phoenix and a little deceiving when you first go in.  At first glance it seems small but as you move to the back of the store you realize it's bigger than it appears.

Now one of my favorite shops on this private hop was

 This shop was so nice that I took pictures of the inside

Isn't this a great shop!  Lots of fabric and tools without over-crowding and lots of LIGHT all which makes it easy to see everything. 

Not to be out done, there is the

Also in Phoenix, I have been to this shop a few times but it was in a different location and was very overcrowded which made it hard to see everything.  Now they are in this new location and what a difference!  Here's a picture of the inside...

Now it's not the best picture (all of these hop pics were taken with my iPhone) but believe me when I say it's huge! Definitely a shop to meet all your needs...they offer the usual fare...fabric, batting, thread, notions...as well as sewing machine sales and repairs, cabinets and mid-arm machines.  Excellent!

By the time I hit the Quilter's Bee, in Peoria AZ, it was getting a little late in the day and I was getting tired so it was a quick trip in and out.  Nice shop though.  Here's a shot of the inside...

They were very helpful and welcoming in spite of the fact that they were swamped! You can't see the other 10 or so people at the back of the store or the 4 standing in line at the register!

Last but not least...

So, I hit Sun Valley Quilts, Sun City, AZ, at 3:50 pm.  The shop closes at 4 pm so I am sure that the employees were ready to go home. But, one of my pet peeves is any business that advertises a closing time and then gets irritated when customers come in a few minutes before that time.  In fact, this shop turned their sign from 'open' to 'closed' at 3:55 and was noticeably upset when a customer walked in at 3:57 (all these times were by my iPhone...maybe their clock was set differently).  In any case, why get upset at a paying customer?  It's a nice shop with a pretty good selection of fabrics and in it's defense when I've been there before (in the middle of shop hours) they are helpful though not overtly friendly.

So, that was my own personal shop hop and here's what I have to show for it....

Now, you are probably wondering what all the plaids are about... I'm adding them to my stash because it is getting really hard to find them.  I like them and I hate that they are getting so hard to find!

In case you are wondering, here are the stats of that hop.... 119 miles, 7 shops, 31 items purchased.  I won't put down the dollars spent in case my husband decides to check out my blog :-0

Okay, so that was Saturday and while this is getting a little long I want to quickly share my progress on my UFOs...

Last time we met I had started the Civil War BOM and finished the 18' block.  I now have the 12" block done as well so month 1 is complete!  I contemplated working on month 2 but decided to change it up a bit so I pulled out a halloween quilt that I started last summer (but bought about 5 years ago) while staying at my BFF Brenda's house (Brenda is a non-quilter and cannot understand my obsession with all things quilting but nobody is perfect).  This quilt is called Boo! and is a Pieces from the Heart pattern. These are the all the blocks and I got them all done during the month I was visiting with her:

  The centers are fussy cut from a panel fabric with the exception of the witches hat block which I hand-embroidered.  Lots of 1 ½ inch squares!  Next step is the sashing

I've started constructing the rows but failed to take pics :-( Oh well, you know I'll be posting the finished project.  My other project that I have been working on is my "travel" project. This is a hand project that I take with me wherever I go. 

This is a finished block. There are NINE of these and I have finished two. Sorry, I probably should have ironed it before the picture but I hate ironing :p

Here is the block in progress..

The quilt is called Antique Rose and was designed by Robert Callaham and featured in McCall's Quilting Jan/Feb 2010 issue.  It's only 2012 so it's a relatively new project for me LOL.  I'm using a template free technique that I really like.  In fact, until I learned this technique I really hated to do hand-applique.  I have been inspired to bring this quilt and get-'er-done because my mom started it in November and already is as far along as I am!  Yikes!

Well, I guess this post is a little long so I'll close for now.  Please leave your comments and/or sign up to follow my blog.  I love seeing the comments and many of you are posting them to my FB page but I'd love to see them here!

Keep on Quilting!

Irene