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Anna and G have been on the road, which is always an adventure, but this time it was also a thought provoking quilting adventure. By traveling the country and visiting a variety of quilt shops, you really get a current sense of what is going on in the quilting world. What I know is, although I love saving money...I do love touching the product that I am buying. But, there is a change in the wind. Sometimes we feel that life is out of our control, but in reality, you can make a difference and it is up to you how you want your quilting world to feel.  

In our state of Oregon, nine shops have closed! Which makes me feel anxious. As I have always told my children...all you can count on is change, BUT you can have an impact on how that change feels. One of the shops I visited on this adventure was Creative Fabrics in Wheeler, Oregon. Doris has been providing a wonderful place for those addicted to fabric to come and shop for over 30 years. As with many shop owners, she is ready for retirement and would love to sell her shop, but alas, there are no buyers as the younger generation is not as interested in quilting and prefer to shop online. And so, her shop closed its doors on Saturday. I do know that life is a circle and that one day everyone will be visiting a brick and mortar shop again and a new shop will open in Wheeler!

As we wound down our travels, I stumbled upon a shop in the middle of nowhere. It was only a year old, but I realized quickly that this shop was not only born of a need for fabric, but a need of camaraderie. And, isn't that what quilting is all about?...a time to spend with friends who will listen to our story while stitching? I was emotionally moved by a sign I saw next to a jar. Darla's jar. Darla had opened a small shop in a rural area not so much for the vast amounts of fabric she had...nor the most current in the quilting world...but, because there was a community of quilters that needed one another...and needed a place to gather. Isn't that what quilting is really about? One of the women who meets at the Rustic Quilt Shop set up a Tip Jar where those who gathered to stitch together could leave a buck or two in the jar to help Darla pay for the utilities and rent. What I know is there is a group of quilters out on the edge of somewhere who know that we have to support the brick and mortar quilt shop if we want to feel the fabric and talk to a fellow quilter!

As we ponder the journey, I hope to help the brick and mortar shop one fat quarter at a time...but, for now we recoup and Enzo is so happy to be back home with his toys :)

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