Creative Passions...

I saw this quote and it fits how I feel about my creative passions...

True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist.
~Albert Einstein

I visited yet another quilting shop Thimble Cottage Quilt Village (my 3rd in the Rapid City area), this one was unique unto it's self as the woman who owns it also has her own line of quilting & rustic needlework patterns and her own line of quilting fabrics (marketed under the name Pearl Louise Designs)-WOW is all I have to say about that! Once we got to talking we discovered that we had much in common (being passionate about so many realms of creativity) we talked about the crafting industry, Pearl was curious to know my thoughts on where thought some crafting trends were leading towards and so forth. She asked me what I thought about the scrapbooking industry and how come so many people are interested in it and are doing the craft and how the quilting industry can start or rekindle an interest...the first thing to come out of my mouth was "new fabrics". Make some of those lovely classic quilt designs in bold striking batik fabrics (my Hannah is head over heals in love with batik fabric) instead of the vintage looking calico fabrics. The other things is that scrapbooking (and card making) unlike quilting is a rather quick fix- you know...instant gratification ;-)

There's also the intimidation factor of buying a sewing machine. I know how hard it was for me to decide on what kind of sewing machine I wanted, what I wanted to do with it (quilting, craft sewing etc) and the biggie-what I wanted to spend. So when some Quilt Shops shop sell the real high end of sewing machines that cost as much as $11,000 (no that is not a misprint it says 11 thousand US dollars) and there are ones that cost even more- well that's overwhelming and intimidating to say the least. I had started out thinking that I wanted a Bernina (because it's reputation) but soon discovered that the lowest model of Bernina sewing machine starts at $1000 retail- gulp! I started rethinking my ideas of what I wanted...I wanted more bang for my buck and I didn't need to have that status symbol that seems to go along with owning a Bernina. I started looking at other brands and found Janome. For my sewing needs and talents this one is perfect, does the same things all the other brands do and I'm VERY happy with it! By the way, Thimble Cottage does not sell sewing machines and for me that takes away some of the intimidation of walking through the place.

I was especially curious about how the fabric line- she gave me the skinny on it from designing to manufacturing to getting carried in a store and I was quite intrigued. Thimble Cottage is set up in an old Victorian style house, there were rooms set up in themes- my favorite being the little bedroom filled with floral quilts I felt as if I had found a new home. It's really is something to see an entire room set up in a Baby Nursery or Christmas theme. And having beds of various sizes throughout the place really does give such a wonderful visual aide of seeing what those finished quilts look like when display on a bed. Needless to say I spent some money while there (just a little) :-) I have added another quilt pattern to my collection but this one is a small table top size and I'm excited about making it very soon! I also bought a needlework project the Ladybug Delights kit and I was VERY delighted to discover that Thimble Cottage carries the Weeks Dye Works hand dyed embroidery threads- I'm in heaven now! I excited that I can buy my favorite embroidery floss local instead of having to order it on the internet and waiting a week for it to get to me. So now when I want to start a project...I can start it immediately while I've got my mojo going full throttle- woohoo!

I'm going to make a list of all of the quilting stores in my general area and take a trip to each and every one of them. Who knows what little gems I might discover! Why don't you make a list of places that you would like to visit in your own area...you too might discover something new that will spark your creative passions!