Last week I flew to the West Coast. I went to Portland, Oregon, one of my favorite places. I went there to visit my Auntie Jude and also attend Quilt! Knit! Stitch!, a quilt show by International Quilt Association.
Besides having a great time visiting family, I did some shopping. One of the first places we went after my plane landed was Ikea. I had never been in one of these stores before and since Auntie Jude needed to look for something, I was very willing to go. I enjoyed walking through the store and one item that caught my eye was the round placemat below. Made from a natural fiber, I thought it would be fun to use as a stencil.
Another stop on my list while there was to visit Allen Designs Studio in Vancouver, WA. I was hoping to get to meet Michelle Allen in person, but she wasn't there. :( I did buy some wonderful items from her shop though and this kitty clock is one of them. It is just too fun! The eyes and tongue both move from side to side and it just puts a smile on my face every time I look at it.
I also purchased these two bags with some of Michelle's fun and quirky cats printed on them.
We spent one day at the quilt show and I didn't do too much shopping there. I did buy these two knit fabrics at the Indonesian Batiks booth. I have never seen batik knits before this and they had only a few colors/designs to choose from. The vendor did tell me they have a new shipment coming in soon and they should be on their web site within a month. They were giving away a free scarf pattern with the purchase of a batik knit fabric and I am going to make the scarf with the fabric on the left.
Another store I visited was Dick Blick. I bought a few small items, like pens and pencils. I knew I could order most anything from their web site so didn't make any large purchases because of luggage space. I love browsing through art supply stores because I have nothing like it where I live.
I hope to share some more photos from the quilt show soon.