Binding for my Wavy Seam Log Cabin quilt.

I scared myself looking at the date of that post. The top pieced quickly. The re-work took a few weeks. I did a brain freeze on the sizing and ended up taking off the bottom row and adding two side borders.

Then it sat. And sat a little longer. I ultimately reached the point of feeling overwhelmed. I wanted to get my pattern out the door which coincided with the final weeks of the school year and two kids’ birthday parties within 6 weeks. The thought of pin basting a queen size quilt and actually quilting it was keeping me up at night.

Time to raise the red flag.

As a perfectionist it’s very difficult for me to admit defeat and ask for help. Fortunately for my sanity I sent the quilt to a friend for a little long arm magic. Mary Beth of White Lotus Quilting came to my rescue. I’ll share pics next week… after I get the binding on… you’d think I could do that much!

Anyway, the point of this post. Fabric. Where do I get it. I’m not a huge stash kind of gal and I generally buy fabric with a specific project in mind. You will not see me on a shop hop, ever.

My all time favorite shop is Esther’s Fabrics here on Bainbridge Island. I can’t say enough about this place. I really thought I’d died and gone to heaven when we moved here and I entered the store for the first time. Jenn Rhoads, the owner, has a beautiful eye. The shop has everything from quilting cottons with a modern twist to gorgeous linen, wool and silk for clothes sewing. Home dec, thread, wool felt, groovy patterns, cool books, and very talented gals working the shop. I LOVE it here and would try and live in the back if I wasn’t married with two children.

I fill in my projects with a handful of online shops.

Superbuzzy has really been providing some unique finds of late. The binding fabric above (the blue version of that print also appeared on my pattern cover) and many of the prints on Marci’s table runner came from this fabulously unique place. The scale and understated beauty of their Japanese prints is really doing it for me right now.

Purl Soho. Fabulous selection of upscale goods at fair prices. The Etsuko Furuya linens that I used for my Note Taker pattern cover came from here. I feel like I’m shopping in New York without the red eye.

Hancocks of Paducah. They have every color of Kona cotton solid in stock and this is where I buy mine.

Sew, Mama, Sew! I just received some fantastic Joel Dewberry prints from here. I first learned about this shop when I received a pack of organic cottons they donated as prizes for the Whip Up challenge. I received my order REALLY fast! Kristin also has a great selection of handbag handles.
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Follow up on the reverse directory thing: I got a lot of comments and I discovered myself with a bit more sleuthing that there are free reverse directories all over the web. I think the Google version caught press because it’s just so right in our face. I called the phone company and requested that our address be removed from our listing. We’ll still be in the book but only our name, not our address. I’ll trust that you’ll let me know if I’m still missing the boat on this issue 🙂 (ps I could easily put smiley faces all over every post I write, it often seems like it could be the best expression of what I’m trying to say and who I am, but I’ll spare you :))