Quilt Shop: R & R Quilts and More

We rolled into Amarillo, Texas, this afternoon around 3:00, which gave me enough time to check out the quilt shops in town.  I can only assume there are a lot of quilters in Amarillo because they have several quilt shops to choose from.  I decided to visit two of them today, and both were excellent.  We're only here for one night, and so I won't have time to visit the others.  Nevertheless, I enjoyed the ones I did see.

R & R Quilts and More was a large shop.  I note on the website that it has been sold, which I already suspected since the woman answering the phone answered using a different name (which escapes me right now).  The three women working there couldn't have been friendlier or more welcoming (as everyone in Texas and Oklahoma has been).  The shop was empty, except for one other customer, but more customers came one by one.  It comprised one large room in front and a very large classroom in the back.  It looked like a comfortable place to learn.

They had a nice selection of books and a table and chairs so that one could sit and browse comfortably.

I suspect the appearance of the store will change shortly because two of the women employed there were discussing changes to the displays, including the hardware.  It must be so exciting to take over a business like this!  If I were younger, I'd love to open my own shop in my home town of Newberg where there are no quilt shops.  (There's probably a reason for that, and not a good one.  I just like to dream.)

I spent more money than I should have in this shop, but I loved their fabrics.  I found this one for the back of my Winter Wonderland quilt--the blue work with the snowmen.  I think this will be perfect on the back, and I was excited to find it.  I needed five yards, and so that was the bulk of my expense in this shop.  I tell myself that this will get used within the year, and so it's okay to buy such a large quantity.

Also, I liked this batik for it's brick look.  I'm a landscape quilter wannabe, but I wannabe really, really badly!  I swear I'm going to do my first one when we get home.  Will I use this fabric?  Probably not, but eventually I will do something with it.

Finally, I thought this one was so cute:

Do you see what it is?  Bales of hay!  I have some wheat fabric at home and I think the two would be cute together in a quilt.

So, I thoroughly enjoyed this shop.  I give it five rotary cutters out of five for quality of merchandise, comfort, store layout, and friendliness.  If you live in Amarillo or find yourself passing through, definitely stop in and see for yourself.  While things are due to change because of the new ownership, these women really seemed to have their minds right about it.  I'm going to take a break, but I'll be back to tell you about the other shop I saw today.