Sewing in Circles

We drive from Edmonton to Calgary on a regular basis.  And along the way we often stop in Red Deer - to grab a tea for me, coffee for Fred.  Sometimes we top up the tank with fuel and if we have a bit of time I love to pop into another one of my favourite shops - The Red Deer Sewing Centre.

That brings me to add to my list of "things I love in a quilt shop"!  Okay so it isn't really a quilt shop - it's a sewing machine and supply shop.  First of all - they know my name.  I feel like I have a connection there, like I'm important to Karen (the owner).  She's patient and knowledgeable.  She spends time in helping me find what I'm looking for or takes the time to show me something new.

As I've continued to add feet and attachments for my sewing machine this is the place that I keep returning to - they have an excellent selection and if it isn't in they will order it for me.  I've even taken a class or two here.  This week I spent some Christmas money in acquiring a circular sewing attachment.... hmmm, never thought I would want to sew in circles!!

There's a couple of quilt shops I've decided I'm not returning to - they have hurried me out or given every indication that I'm in their way.  I've never had that feeling at The Red Deer Sewing Centre.  Customer service is what's at hand here...and for me it makes the difference.  In this day of on-line ordering I could probably be a quilter and never enter a store.  However quilting has a community element to it, a sense of working in a world where people share a particular passion.  Finding a store that understands that is both satisfying and adds to the joy of the journey.

Did I ever mention she got me hooked on an embroidery machine?  More on that another time.

Quilting is not for the faint of heart

No one enters into quilting half hearted. 

It is the kind of hobby or art work, if I can be that elaborate in description, that requires a fearless commitment.  By the pure cost of a good sewing machine you must be willing to equip yourself with this major investment.  Secondly, by nature quilting means buying fabric - often before you need it.  A good fabric, good colours, a good sale - and there you have begun your stash!

Know what a stash is?  It's the accumulated pieces of fabric that are awaiting their call to be part of an heirloom.  It is those saved bits that will fit perfectly into a project that is started and awaits a certain look or combination.

Quilting is not for the faint of heart.  It is for those who are willing to work at detail and do it with passion knowing that the final product is worth every muttered frustration.

This recent article in The Globe & Mail by Oliver Willms outlines something of the way quilting sweeps away not only the quilter but all who share their residence.