Quilt Shop: Tater Patch Quilts

While we were in Klamath Falls this past weekend, I drove south about 25 miles to a quilt shop I've visited before:  Tater Patch Quilts in Merrill, Oregon.

I checked back to see what I'd written about the place before, which left me with mixed feelings about what to say this time around.  Apparently, the last time I was in, the service was better.  I'll say more about the service in a minute, but first I'll tell you about the store.

Tater Patch Quilts is located in the tiny town of Merrill, and it is very easy to find because it's right on the highway.  There is plenty of on-street free parking, and with such a wide street, it is easy to get in and out of your car without feeling as if you're going to be run down by passing traffic.

They have an excellent supply of fabric, notions, patterns, books...in essence, everything you'd want to find in a good quilt shop.  Their fabrics ran the gamut.  There were lots of batiks, calicoes, civil war prints, and a good selection of flannel.  There were also plenty of blenders and florals.  I would say they were a little light on novelty prints, which was disappointing.  I was hoping to find some cat fabrics, but only found them in the flannels.

The last time I visited, I completely missed the downstairs, which is a significant part of the shop.  Although the stairs are right in front of the door when one walks through, somehow I missed them...both times.  This time I had the presence of mind to ask, and was then embarrassed to realize that they couldn't have been more obvious to the even most casual of observers.  I think my eyes must have been looking up at all the beautiful quilts hanging on the walls and from the ceiling.

The downstairs houses a great sale area with fabrics marked 40% off.  I found something here.

They also had quilts for sale arranged by size, as well as pillows and bags.

There were some stunning quilts hanging from the walls and ceiling.  I was especially taken with these panel quilts made from photographs of the local area.  I've cropped them and left the photograph in the image so you can get some idea of the beautiful work the quilter did.

The one below was just wonderful.  Klamath Falls is the home of the Winter Wings Festival which is held in February of each year.  Each year millions of birds migrate south from the Arctic region to winter over in the relative warmth of the area...although it's hard to believe when you visit Klamath Falls in February.  It is quite cold during the winter.  We attended the Winter Wings Festival several years ago, and I saw my first bald eagles.  There were dozens of them, and so it was quite exciting.  This quilt is meant to depict Klamath Falls' significant part in bird migration.

I did find some fabrics I liked.  I got a couple of yards of this green one.  I had a fat quarter very similar to this which I used up long ago.  I have just little scraps left over, and always wish I had more.  Now I do.

I went specifically looking for a piece like this next one.  I think this will work well for my thatched roof in the next Doors of Ireland block.  Add some thread work, and this should work out very well.

Finally, I got this blender from their 40% off shelves.  Nothing in mind for this.  It'll just go into my stash for future use.

This little wall hanging was made up and hanging in the shop.  I liked it and so I bought the pattern.  

So I liked this shop both times I visited.  This time, however, I was quite put off by the service.  While I've said many times that I don't like service in quilt shops to be hovering, I also don't like to be ignored completely.  While there were three employees and four other women in the shop, not a single person spoke to me until I went to have my fabrics cut.  All of the other women in the store knew one another by name, and were gossiping about this thing and that thing to the point that I felt as if I'd intruded into a private quilting bee.  

Even while I was paying for my purchases, I was ignored, while they chatted amongst themselves.  Now, call me petty, but when I'm spending my money at the cash register, I like to be the center of attention.  It wasn't until my fabric was bagged up and I was walking out the door that the woman who took my money smiled and said, a little too cheerfully, "Have a nice day!"  Thanks.

While I would visit this quilt shop again, I can't rate it any higher than three rotary cutters out of five.  (Some day I'm going to come up with an actual image for the rotary cutters.  Just you wait.  Then, my ratings will really be sought after.)  The poor service annoyed me this time around.  Maybe I was just crabby because of the heat and the smoke in the air, but whatever.  These women were just plain rude.  Poor service is one thing.  Bad manners is quite another.  So I would completely recommend visiting Tater Patch Quilts if you're in the area, but go for the fabric, and for no other reason.  It is a great store.  Maybe one day I'll visit again and be able to say something more positive about the service.

And now I'm off to make dinner.  I'm so looking forward to getting some sewing in tomorrow.