Laume's Studio

I brought a quilting project with me so I'd have something productive to do down here at my son and DIL's. Something I could work on without needing every doodad in my studio. So I took a basket of green and blue fabrics that I've wanted to make into a simple scrappy Ohio Star quilt for our bed for a couple of years now. It all started with this ONE print. It was a really old fashion, think grandma's couch, floral print I spied at a local quilt shop. I fell in love with it, in particular the thought of making a quilt in all greens and blues, with no yellow or pink accents. I spent quite a bit of time collecting fabrics without any of those extra colors in it. For awhile it was hard, then I guess the quilter's collective unconscious had my idea/desire float across it and suddenly green and blue prints exploded onto the scene. In any case, I set everything up to start ironing and cutting out different combinations of prints yesterday only to discover.... sniff, sniff....ARGH.....that a cat, either mine or perhaps my son's, had, uhm, peed on the fabric.

Cats are evil, cats are evil, cats are evil, cats are evil, cats are evil, cats are evil, cats are evil......

So, instead Lisa and I went to the quilt shop that her friend was telling her was the best one in San Diego County, Rosie's Calico Cupboard. Frankly, I wasn't expecting much with a name like that, but a quilt shop is a quilt shop and any port in a storm, y'know.

We found the shop and.....

OHMYFREAKINSTARS!!!!!! This shop wasn't in a strip mall. It WAS a strip mall! It took up four or five storefronts.

The first thing we noticed was a huge sale going on outside. $2 a yard on the bolt, cut and FQ's for about a dollar. It was rainingand storming and windy but we braved the cold to dig for gold (and pink and blue and orange and....) and it took us over a half hour just to get in the store.

Inside, all I can, I was overwhelmed. There was too much fabric. Yes, I said what you thought I said. Too much. I couldn't possibly look at it all. And the prices were cheaper by a dollar or two or three from most quilt shops. I guess when you are selling in that much bulk, you can make your profit margin slimmer and still make a living at it.

The shop was completely packed as it was the last day of a week long shop hop of twenty stores. I overheard a lot of women discussing where they'd come from and what shop they were going to next. As Lisa's and my stacks of fabric bolts kept towering higher and ever higher, I couldn't even imagine having enough money (or room!) to go to more stores after that one.

We were there two hours and left lighter of pocket book but heavy of bag. I am quite proud of myself however for mostly getting useful purchases. I bought five or six different sale fabrics for backings, a savings down the road when I make the quilts. And just a teensy bit of this and that in the nonsale fabrics. I couldn't resist getting a yard of this really neat print, apparently it's for Quilt for a Cure, bright blue background with ladies dancing all over the top.

Lisa is doing a quilt for Quilt for a Cure. I brought her down an entire basket of pink fabrics to use for her project and i was feeling quite smug at having lightened my stash by that much. I guess not, as I'm bringing back at least that much more in new fabric.

What can I say - I am an "ah-teest", I must have my colors to create.