Quilt Shop: Quilt With Class

There have been a surprising number of quilt shops in the Middle of Nowhere, Montana. I used my Quilt Shop app to find this one in Shelby, Montana, where we stopped for lunch. Mike and the kitties ate lunch while I visited the quilt shop, and everyone was happy.

Here's how the front of the store looks.

When you walk through the front door, this is what you see.

I like quilt shops with lots of color, and this one did not disappoint.

If an award were given out for friendliness, this shop owner would certainly be a contender. When I asked her permission to take pictures, she not only allowed it...she encouraged it. "Free publicity!" was her attitude, and I agree. It always seems silly to me when a shop discourages or disallows picture-taking. 

She proudly showed me her most recent finish, this "Wizard of Oz" quilt made using Wizard of Oz fabrics and the Fire Escape pattern. (I think I have this pattern somewhere in the archives.) I like how this turned out. She told me it had only just come back from the long-arm quilter that day, and I think we can all appreciate what a happy day that is.

Her favorite fabrics were batiks, and she had a wall filled with real beauties.

Look to the extreme right of that image above, and you'll see where the "pattern room" is. I liked this way of organizing.

She had a good selection of books and patterns, including quite a few from this designer, new to me. Patch-Abilities seems to specialize in what they called "door banners". They were seasonal and monthly quilts, mostly around 6 x 20 inches that could be hung on or near a door in a narrow space. They were very cute. Since I've never seen these patterns before, I wondered if the designer was local. I found her web page right here, which also contains a link to her blog. I did only a cursory glance, but didn't see where she's from. Anyway, I intend to spend some more time exploring her site and possibly ordering some of these.

But to get back to the shop, she had a good selection of fabrics in her small shop, including these fun polka-dots.

There were lots of small quilt patterns and kits available as well.

Pretty poppies.

As you know, I'm on a sunflower kick right now, and so I bought the pattern for the one below.

And because traveling always puts me in a "barn mood"...yeah, I just made that up...I got this one too. This is the same designer that used to design for Bigfork Bay Cotton Company. (By the way, we traveled through Bigfork Bay, Montana, the same day I visited this shop. Just sayin'.)

When we're traveling and visiting quilt shops, I'm always on the lookout for regional prints. In this part of the world, that often means western prints...horses, cowboys, that sort of thing. I loved these barbed wire fabrics, and I got a yard of this one:

and a yard of this branding-iron fabric.

But I loved this one of wheat bundles. It's hard to see in this image, but there's a little bit of metallic gold in it. It's very rich in appearance. I got two yards of this one.

So for its friendly atmosphere and great selection of fabrics and patterns, not to mention the owner's clear enthusiasm for quilting, I'm giving this shop my highest rating of five rotary cutters out of five.

Definitely stop in if you find yourself traveling the Montana Hi-Line and driving through Shelby. You won't want to miss it.

*Disclaimer:  Cat Patches accepts no advertising, nor any sponsorships.  The opinions expressed on this blog are based on the personal impressions and perceptions of the author. They are formed  on the basis of one short visit, on one day, and may or may not reflect the experience of others visiting on a different day.  They are no more descriptive than a single snapshot image can be, and nothing written in a review of a quilt shop should be construed as objective fact.  The reviews are strictly the author's subjective opinion and should not be interpreted as anything more.