2/2/18

Quilt Shop: The Quilted Skein; La Grange, TX

Could it have been a better day yesterday? Right next door to the Texas Quilt Museum was a quilt shop. It was almost as good as winning the Power Ball jackpot. (And think of all the fabric I could buy with that!) Out the door and to the left...there it was.


Walking through the front door...it was what I love most about a quilt shop...so much color. It's like I imagine Dorothy felt when she walked through the doors into the Land of Oz.


This is more than a fabric store...it's also a place for yarn. On the right side of the store was an entire wall of yarn. Sometimes I think I should take up some kind of yarn craft just because the yarn is so beautiful. And, when you think about it, what I really need is more scraps.


On the left side of the store was quilting fabric. Also, through the archway to the back was more fabric and more yarn.


They had a big supply of Kaffe Fassett fabrics. I love all the color and the design on these. They're good fabrics for the Ruth McDowell kind of quilts. The colors and shapes lend texture to those quilts, and there are lots of good "eye" fabrics for doing animals.


Walking down the wall, there were some pretty tone-on-tones.


Above them...solids.


And, oh...be still, my beating heart.


Next to those colorful polka dots were these more understated ones.


And lookie here! I have this pattern, but I've never seen the quilt made up. I actually have this one with me. It's a wool applique kit. I've never worked with wool in quilting before. This was almost selected for my February OMG goal. Maybe next month...


Here's another pattern by the same designer. My friend Sue loves pigs and chickens, and this was very tempting. It made sense to pass it by until I'd made the one above. Wisdom says I should probably see whether I like working with wool doing hand applique before I purchase another one. (This is why I almost never listen to Wisdom. It's such a drag.)


Continuing on down the wall there were some beautiful batiks.


Turning around were neutrals. These make good fabrics for doing pawtraits.


On the back wall was a good supply of notions.


Turning directly around, I saw these mugs. Cute.


Oh my...yummy stripes!


Standing out from the wall were more shelves of fabrics, and more Kaffe Fassett. I like the ones there on the top left. They're prints of rows of houses. I looked those over for quite a while before putting them back on the shelf.


Heading into the back of the store there was another long wall of fabrics.


On the wall opposite those was a wall of fabrics that were marked down and embroidery floss...it was Finca Mouline...a brand I've never heard of.


They had a nice supply of landscape prints.


Also, lots of regional prints. I chose this one for my Quilty 365.


It's going to be so much fun to get home, assess all the regional fabrics I've collected, and get a start on that quilt. It'll be like taking the trip all over again!

Oh, and you didn't think I was leaving without this, did you?


It's a little quilt pattern, and there were a number of these designed by Mouse Blankets...another designer I've never seen before. The quilts are little wall quilts (mouse blankets), suitable for scraps. What made them so cute and irresistible was the packet of buttons included with the pattern.


There was another one of a house with quilts hanging on the line that was very tempting. You can see more patterns right here, but they can only be purchased in retail stores. The website also provides a list of stores where they are available. I noticed there are a couple of stores back home that sell them, and there are links to online resources. Very handy...and smart of the designer to make it so easy to purchase them.

Instead, I purchased two yards of this fabric. It isn't the kind of thing I usually buy, but I have something in mind for it. It came in other colors as well.


While I was waiting for the store employee to cut my fabric, I noticed this basket of buttons.


Who can relate?

This was a really nice store and with the quilt museum right next door, how can you go wrong paying them a visit? Also, La Grange was a cute little town. The museum and quilt shop are on the extreme left in the image below, and across the street, historic buildings. It was easy to imagine horses tied up to hitching posts.


Kitty-cornered from the museum was this structure. I'd think it was a church except for the absence of any religious symbols. It might be a courthouse.


The train passes right through the middle of town, and it went by blowing its horn and scaring the bejesus out of us. It would have been fun to stay longer and explore, but we still had miles to go.

We're at McKinney Falls State Park today. Having arrived a day early, we tacked an extra day on the front of our reservation via a telephone call to the park yesterday morning. For some mysterious reason, we aren't able to access the deposit we've already paid that way, and so we have to return to the park office and re-register this morning. It was one of the more frustrating telephone calls of my life since the woman on the other end seemed to be making everything intentionally difficult. Methinks it was an issue of not understanding their own computer software, but it started seeming easier to do what she said than to question the necessity for it. In any case, we're hopeful they'll have a map of hiking trails, and we assume there are actual "falls" associated with McKinney Falls. More about that later. We have some business to take care of in Austin today as well, and so I won't meet up with my cousin until tomorrow.

10 comments:

Susan C said...

What a wonderful,shop! I’m going to Texas on a tour in the fall and one of our stops is the Texas Quilt Museum. I’m sure they’re including a visit next door. Thanks for the great tour so I can begin planning my shopping list!

Tilly said...

O what a fantastic shop,so much different fabrics.
Have fun in Texas.


regards Tilly

Lou said...

The Quilted Skein is one of my favorite shops!!! I try to go down to LaGrange once a year or more if possible:) The next little town of Giddings right down the road is a great place also... they have 2 shops and a great ACE Hardware store!
The museum has always had good displays... some controversial but still beautiful!!!

Will you be anywhere near Kerrville? Great shop there also!!!

Marti said...

What a neat shop! I've never seen a small town quilt shop with that much variety, and yarn and embroidery floss too. And that building across the way does look like a court house. I like to explore those too.

Maybe that will be worth a day trip! Thanks!

crazy quilter said...

Great store there in La grange. The building you see there is indeed a courthouse. We have these courthouses in each of the county seats in Texas and a lot of them in the smaller towns . Usually several small cities share the courthouse . There is a really nice one further north in Waxahachie , which is in Ellis county. Dallas has an Old red courthouse which has been there many years, not used so much anymore . Keep having fun in my home state.

Karen L. said...

As others said, that is a great looking shop with lots of wonderful fabrics. I am betting that you will like appliqueing with wool when you get to it since you do some much embroidery. Just last year I have become fascinated by it and am working on several wool projects. I especially like making Christmas tree ornaments with wool and have made some for the last couple of years for my daughter and her family. They get four ornaments, one for each member of the family. Hoping that the two boys take them to put on their own trees when they set up their own households when they are older. I love the look and feel of the wool and it's so easy to work with. It will be interesting to hear what you think about it once you try it.

piecefulwendy said...

Oh my, what a lovely shop! So much beautiful color and warm wood! I really enjoy stitching with wool; it's very forgiving. Look forward to hearing what you think when you work on your project.

Brown Family said...

I made that wool kitty. It was fun. Texas counties have very interesting courthouses. I know you are not going through Eastland, but their courthouse is nice, too.they have a Horny toad, horned lizard, on displat. He was found alive in the corner stone of an older courthouses 23 years after it was built. He was named Old Rip for Rip Van Winkle. He went on tour and met the President. When he died, the local undertaker enbalmed him and built a casket for him. My Grandfather claimed to be there when he was removed from the stone and saw him move. My system and I played in the courthouse when that same Grandfather was a county judge.

quiltzyx said...

So drooling over all the colorful fabric & yarn at The Quilter Skein! That is an interesting fabric with the brown "paint swatches" on it. Looking forward to seeing what you use it in. Funny button quilt kit. That will be a nice addition to your cat quilt gallery!

Stitches said...

What a wonderful quilt shop and it seems to have every possible fabric covered!! I have loved your sharing of the quilt shops you have visited, so much fun for you and for us too.