Spring Creek Arts Guild: February 2014

Writing this column today poses a special challenge as it's being entirely done on my phone as I sit in the lobby of the beautiful The Nines hotel downtown Portland, Oregon. The trip here was a birthday gift from my family. I arrived Thursday for the Modern Quilt Guild's SewDown. The original plan was to arrive a day and a half ahead of the event so a couple of friends and I could drive out to Astoria, Oregon to see the Columbia River meet the Pacific.

I have quite a list of things I want to see, such as this particular river/ocean meet-up. Most of the things have no particular reasoning or logic behind them, other than that they have somehow become lodged in my mind as something I need to see/do/experience. The trip to Astoria was not meant to be, however, as the forecast changed drastically in the day or two preceding our flight and we arrived to find a very, very windy, snowy Portland. My friends had plenty of experience driving on snow, so we rented a car and explored the city.

So excited to see even this little glimpse of Mt. Hood.

We are quilters, so our idea of hitting the hot spots is to find the best fabric stores. I will hold back on the details in this space, but let me say that Modern Domestic was wonderful! The details along with photos will be on my blog if you are interested.

I need to emphasize that Portland is only slightly more experienced and prepared for snow and ice than are cities in Texas. A day ahead of our arrival, Portland television stations were warning of the impending "Snowmageddon" and people were frantically preparing to bunker in for the duration.

Portland was beautiful and peaceful in its white blanket. Most of the motorized vehicles stayed home, so people were walking, cycling, and even cross-country-skiing around town. Even on the major thoroughfares and freeways, the vehicles were cautiously creeping along.

As we ventured out Friday morning, I was able to cross one item off my list as the clouds lifted just enough so that Mount Hood could be seen in the distance. It was beautiful and entirely covered in snow. We drove through one neat, cute, bungalow-filled neighborhood after another until one of my friends asked, "is there an un-cute part of Portland?" We later found the un-cute area, so we know it exists.

I was impressed by the number and variety of bridges around Portland. The city is bisected by Willamette River and borders the Columbia River, so bridges are very important. Apparently other people have also noted the distinctive bridges as fabric designer Violet Craft, who lives in the area, now has a fabric out with toile-like images of the bridges of Portland (Called "Bridgetown"). I NEED some of this fabric!

I found Portland to have a mellow, creative atmosphere. People have commented that it is much like Austin, and it is in many ways. Perhaps it was because of the snowy weather, but it did seem much calmer--less frenetic than Austin seems to be any more. I would highly recommend Portland as a destination should you have the opportunity to visit this part of the world. Check my blog for the quilty details and some photos then let me know what you think.

The Additional Quilty Details
The shops we visited:
Modern Domestic: This shop offers a selection of modern-leaning quilt fabrics, interesting garment fabrics (especially knits), notions and tools (including those by Merchant & Mills), and patterns by independent pattern companies such as Collette , Wiksten, Sewn, and Deer and Doe. They also sell Bernina sewing machines and offer a variety of classes and open sew studios.

Bolt Neighborhood Fabric Boutique: This is a small, but packed shop offering lots of modern quilt fabrics, garment fabrics, patterns from many, many independent companies, classes, a large variety of notions and accessories, and a friendly and helpful staff.

Fabric Depot: This is kind of a must-see in Portland just because of the sheer size and variety. It is a warehouse-type store and has every kind of sewing-related item imaginable including garment, quilt, upholstery, and specialty fabrics; every sort of tool and notion imaginable, and even a wide selection of imported foods, candies, and snacks. There were signs everywhere declaring "25% Off Everything," but upon close inspection I found that the prices on almost everything were about 25% higher than every other fabric store. For even money, I'd rather shop at the smaller shops with better atmosphere and staff.

Drygoods Design: This shop is actually in Seattle, but the owner, Kelli, set up a "pop-up" shop at the SewDown. She also made up kits for our classes for which she pre-cut all of our fabric to the instructor specifications--how nice!!! Those of us who elected to buy kits from Kelli could get on with our sewing without having to spend hours with rulers and rotary cutters in hand. Kelli brought a nice selection of fabrics, books, tools, notions, patterns, and other fun things such as notebooks, notecards, pens, and pencils to stock her shop. I ended up with a couple of books, some tools, and enough Liberty lawn to make myself a loop scarf.