Quilt Shop: Southwest Decoratives Kokopelli Quilting Company; Albuquerque, New Mexico

When life gives you lemons in the form of a closed national monument, it's important to make some lemonade as a salve for the soul. And what could be more soothing than a visit to a great quilt shop. I found a dandy here in Albuquerque.

We ended up driving a long way out of our way to Carmel "Road," when what we really wanted was Carmel "Avenue." Our navigation unit hiccupped along the way, and we can't help but think she'd been on a bender the night before. Oh well. We found our way, and it was worth the trip, even if it did turn out to be a longer trip than expected. Here's how it looked from the front:

It was located in one of those industrial parks, and when I saw the front door, I feared we'd found someone's long arm business. I was immediately reassured once I stepped through the front door.

Indeed, there was another suite just to the left where there was a long-arm business. Just to the right was this quilt. If you're not familiar with Albuquerque, just know that they host a hot air balloon festival each year.  It starts this weekend. Our timing could have been a little better. We'll miss it this time around.

Right away, I noticed these southwest themed fabrics. I love the colors and designs of the southwest. We actually lived in Albuquerque for a short time when I was four years old. It's the one place my dad had to ask to be transferred from before his tour of duty there was complete. My mother had severe asthma, and the New Mexico wind and dust nearly did her in. I only mention this because it could be the reason I'm so drawn to these colors and designs.

This sign hung near the ceiling, and I knew right away I was going to like this place.

These food fabrics were enticing. I considered buying something for the backing of my New Mexico Kitchen quilt, but then I wasn't sure I didn't already have something picked out from my stash at home. 

The store was ram-packed with fabrics everywhere I looked.

This corner held a nice collection of batiks.

Here was a small display of holiday fabrics.

In another room was a much larger supply. 

As I wandered through the store, I snapped pictures randomly. There was a lot I liked on this display. I only wish I'd paid more attention to that dragonfly fabric. When I saw it in my pictures after we arrived back in the campground, I immediately regretted not buying some of it. I liked those two colorful fabrics on the top row just next to the pink too. As I was paying for my eventual purchases, I knew in my brain I was forgetting something, but I was drawing a blank in the moment.

There was a lot to look at here. Fabric started in this corner...

and stretched all along the adjacent wall.

Over here was some sale fabric. I looked briefly, but didn't really see anything.

Also, I checked their supply of fat quarters. They were priced kind of high at nearly $5 per fat quarter, and so I didn't select any of those. But, oh, be still my beating heart. If I didn't already have several cat panels at home, this would definitely have come back to the camper with me.

What really caught my attention more than anything was the huge supply of southwest fabrics. These are among my favorites.

There was more than just fabric though. They had a very large supply of counted cross-stitch kits. These were mostly from local designers. There were also a lot of framed cross-stitch pieces lining the walls. I'm thinking the owner must enjoy cross-stitch.

There was a nice supply of quilt patterns from local artists too. I noticed my blackwork baskets close to the middle of the image below. That one is probably going to be my next new start once a slot opens up on my embroidery dance card.

What really caught my eye, though, were these beautiful southwest quilts lining the walls everywhere I looked.

Isn't this cute? Friars of the southwest. I loved this.

This one really caught my eye. It's called "Ancient Spirits of the Mesa." It was a block of the month, and you could sign up at that link I've given you. The whole quilt was also available as a kit. 

I was most interested in how each block was framed, and I considered buying the pattern and using it as a setting template for the Blackwork Baskets, whenever I get around to making it. I inquired if just the pattern could be purchased, and it could. The kind woman cutting my fabric found it and brought it back to the cutting table. I was all set to purchase it when I noticed the price: $50. Gasp! Well, I didn't like it nearly as much then. Actually, I did, but the price discouraged me. 

Okay, so what did I purchase, you ask? Well, for my regional print, I purchased a yard of this balloon fabric. Ordinarily, I only purchase a fat quarter for my Shop Hop quilt, but in this case, I decided I could use the extra fabric some other way. I love the colors in this.

Also, this one. I just liked it, and I bought a yard. It gave me about four rows of those button jars, and the woman cutting the fabric, cut it very carefully so that I wouldn't lose any of the rows and I could use all of the fabric. 

So, that was quite a treat, and a good substitute for the national monument. We made a good day of it even if the day did start with disappointment.

This is a must-visit shop if you're in Albuquerque, and I can encourage you to check out their website if you saw anything you liked here. I just might make another website visit for some of that dragonfly fabric when we get home.