North Coast Quilt Shops

We spent the weekend on the North Coast. I wasn’t excited about going, but, for various reasons, agreed and was glad I did. The North Coast is beautiful and I found as the car left the City behind and my eyes took in more green than concrete and metal, I felt calmer and more relaxed than I had in awhile.

To prepare for the trip, I looked up quilt shops in the area and came up with four. On the way up, we also saw a shop in Laytonville called Fat Quail Quilts that got good reviews from the other shop owners, but I wasn’t able to stop.

Fabrics from North Coast Weekend
Fabrics from North Coast Weekend

We did stop at Kim’s Fortuna Fabric and Crafts, Itsy Bitsy Quilt Shop in Ferndale, Scottie Dog Quilts and Ocean Wave Quilts, both in Eureka. The first shop I visited was Kim’s Fortuna Fabric and Crafts. It is in a strip mall (a nice one) off of Rohnerville Road and Main Street right as Main Street turns into Fortuna Blvd. I am telling you this because I had to call since I couldn’t find it by driving up and down Main Street.

It is a nice store with a good selection of fabrics at about $8.99 a yard. the woman behind the counter was helpful and friendly. They also have yarn and other craft supplies. there was a Tumbling Block class going on while I was there and the teacher has quite a selection of classes going on during the next few months. I bought 3 flannels I like to use to make some receiving blankets (top 3 fabrics, above).

Food Fabrics for Mom
Food Fabrics for Mom

I bought some food  fabrics for my mom for one of her quilts and a couple of dots for myself. I saw a pink and white flower print that went with a black and white and a stripe. The three of them would have made a fabulous Anna Maria Multi-tasker tote, but I resisted. I have a full box of tote bag fabrics and need to make a few tote bags before I buy more fabric.

Ferndale Victorian
Ferndale Victorian
Ferndale Victorian
Ferndale Victorian
Ferndale Victorian
Ferndale Victorian
Ferndale Victorian
Ferndale Victorian
Itsy Bitsy Quilt Shop
Itsy Bitsy Quilt Shop

Famous last words, however, after I stopped in at Itsy Bitsy Quilt Shop in Ferndale. Ferndale is a cute little town off the beaten path with gorgeous buildings on its Victorian Main Street. Itsy Bitsy Quilt Shop had a very chatty man sitting behind the counter when I walked in. He turned out to be the owner’s husband. They had fabulous fabrics and I succumbed, including two tote bag fabrics.

Kaffe Fassett tote fabric
Kaffe Fassett tote fabric
Kaffe Fassett tote fabric + inside dots
Kaffe Fassett tote fabric + inside dots

The store was really bright and cheerful and I think that was part of the attraction. I think it was my favorite quilt of the four I visited. The 2 tote bag fabrics are Kaffe Fassett prints. I also bought some dots, of course. The one above will go on the inside or the pocket panels. Not sure what I will use for the inside, perhaps a black & white print? I have plenty already.

After Ferndale we went up to Eureka to see Scottie Dog and Ocean Waves. Scottie Dog Quilts was a nice shop as well. I am amazed at what quilt shop owners can cram into a small space. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t feel crowded in Scottie Dog, but it wasn’t Best Buy either. I bought more dots and a conversational on turquoise with coffee cups that I want to use on the back of the Tarts (see above on the left, 4th from the top).

Scottie Dog Quilts had 2 diamond quilts hanging on their wall. I asked if they had the ruler or template they used to make it and the shopkeeper said that they used the Accucut. I never considered that machine as an option for me, but that offhand comment opened up a whole new world for me. Cutting diamonds for the FOTY 2010 would be absolutely no problem, however. Hhmm. I wouldn’t buy that machine just to make one quilt, but I will look around and see if a shop has it and I could try it. I have a lot of questions:

  • do they have the sized diamonds I have started to cut?
  • can you put one layer of fabric and have it cut?
  • how large of a piece of fabric can you put in, e.g. can I cut a 2×6″ piece of fabric and cut the diamond from that or does the piece have to be larger?

Finally, we went to the Ocean Waves Quilt Shop. It is housed in an old Victorian house, which made it adorable, but also a bit dark. I bought a pack of charm squares and another food FQ for mom. I think I was tired of fabric shopping by then.

I find it quite hilarious to listen to what the quilt ladies talk about while I am shopping. In my travels this weekend, I heard about the tribulations of the world including prescription drug addiction, surgery, a sister determined to have 4-6 children though she doesn’t have the money to raise them and a multitude of Valentine’s Day anecdotes.

If you spend any time up on the North Coast, you won’t have to worry about a shortage of  fabric.

Author: Jaye

Quiltmaker who enjoys writing and frozen chocolate covered bananas.

7 thoughts on “North Coast Quilt Shops”

  1. Credit for this goes to a Cricut thread written by Azdizzylady…
    Here is a post with tips I copied and saved for my files for future use – hope it helps you out! So sorry about your sister, my heart goes out for the whole family!

    Cutting fabric with cricut

    1. I used 100 cotton poplin fabric, but you could use anything that is cotton. Pre-wash your item with NO fabric softener and with your fabric. After you have washed your fabric, adhere Heat-n-Bond to your fabric. DO NOT USE PELLON….IT DOES NOT WORK! 🙂 It is too “stringy” and will stick to your mat. Okay, enough of that. You can get Heat-n-Bond in the fabric store, or they also sell it in the crafting section at Walmart pre cut (near the sewing notions”. Do NOT let them talk you into Pellon.

    2. Peel the paper backing off the fabric and adhere it to your mat. Take your scraper thingy from the tool kit (I’m so professional!) and smooth it on the mat nice and tight. This will ensure that you will get good clean cuts. This is a VERY important step.

    3. Here are the settings for your machine. Put the blade on 5, the speed on the lowest and the pressure to max. This will ensure that you will not go too fast and pull your fabric. If you have made sure to rub your fabric really well on the mat, this should not be a problem. I suggest using a NEW BLADE if possible. In fact, I have a “fabric” blade that I use only when I cut fabrics out.

    4. I cut my images on portrait mode on the Expression. Most of them were 8-10″ high. I tried to use the least intricate designs as I could, but one of the boys HAD to have a tiger. (You should have seen 5 boys piled into my craft room rummaging through my Cricut stuff!) On his, what I did with the tiger, and the Zebra for that matter was to cute the “shift” version, or the shadow version. On the Zebra, their shirts were white and I cut the Zebra in black on the shadow (shift) function and it worked out great.

    5. I also practiced on paper first to make sure that my sizes were good. I bought the t-shirts at Walmart for $4.50 a piece in the men’s section. They were Hanes 100% cotton and worked great. Honestly, the hardest part of the whole thing was figuring out the settings and which bonding material to use. After that they went really fast.

  2. This gives a whole new meaning to the Coast Drive!
    I have written them all down and sending them to my sister so we can go off gallivanting and visit them all!
    I can see how you scummed to the tote fabric… I love it! I have a thing for bags, and it seem I can never have enough!

    1. Lutra: you definitely have to visit Itsy Bitsy in Ferndale if you like this fabric. Let me know how you like the shops. I am still sorry I missed Fat Quail in Laytonville.

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