Friendship Blues
( aren’t those toes the cutest?)
This quilt is the perfect feature to talk about as I introduce you to a dear friend of mine, Alison Dale. Alison owns Fabric Expressions in Littleton, Colorado.
Alison was the sports photo editor for the Ft. Worth Star telegram when one day she walked into The Old Craft Store in Carrollton Texas where I worked at the time. We immediately became life long friends. Alsion’s worked at several different newspapers moving throughout the country. We always stayed in touch and even meeting up at Quilt Markets if it was close to the town she lived in at the time. Her job took her to Denver, Colorado and she soon learned of a quilt shop for sale. She dove in head first teaching classes, writing books, managing inventory, waiting on customers and sewing samples.
I am fortunate to work for Moda Fabrics, where the President Mark Dunn’s focus for over 40 years has been supporting the independent “mom and pop” shops. He knows how hard they work and I have also seen how hard my friend works.
She is doing the cutest snow globe block of the month now. For info, click the link.
One other thing I want to add to this post about my Friendship Blues quilt is that the name of this quilt has a double meaning. Friendship because my friends shared their fabrics with me, the fabrics were blue and also because I included a few blue squares from a denim jumpsuit that I remember my mom wearing when I was younger.
My daughter and mom were taking care of me as I recuperated from the seizures and brain surgery. During this time my mom got ill and didn’t want to worry anyone. One night she was rushed to the hospital and a few weeks later passed away. Now , my daughter had two patients she was carrying for. Checking in on me constantly making sure I ate, took my meds, got plenty of rest and rushing back and forth to the hospital to pray my mom would wake up became her daily routine. We have the blues without our Gammy but her stories, wit and compassion lives on in all she met.
Back to the Oh Scrap blog hop.
Friendship Blues quilt was made from several of my friends sending me a square of blue fabric. So I am going to pass along their generosity and give away some blue fabrics.
GIVEAWAY CLOSED- WINNER CONTACTED
To be entered in the giveaway, follow Alison on FB/fabricexpressions or Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/fabricexpressions/
Also leave a comment here about where you shop for all things quilty.
I will announce the winner drawn at random on March 24th.
Disclaimer: this is not enough fabric to make the entire quilt and it has not been prewashed.
March 16th- Pat Sloan
March 17th- Corey Yoder
March 18th- Barbara Brackman
TODAYS STOP
March 19th-Alison Dale of Fabric Expressions
March 20th- Melissa Corry
March 21st- Carrie Nelson of Moda Fabrics
March 22nd- Sherri McConnell – A Quilting Life
March 23rd-Kimberly at The Fat Quarter Shop
March 24th – Teresa Silva- Quilting is my Bliss
March 25th- Jane Davidson – QuiltJane
March 26th- Martingale Publishing
Support your quilt shops!
-modalissa
I live close to Amish Country in east central Ohio, and there are five great quilt shops there, but most of the time I shop closer to home at Country Fabrics in Shiloh, Ohio!
We have several shops in the St. Louis metro area.. However, I go to the one with the largest fabric selection to get my border fabric, and my Tiara, Jackman’s.
Hi, first time reading your blog, beautiful words about your mom.
The town I live in has Fabricland and one independent quilt store (that seems to love all shades of brown and rust) so I mainly buy fabric when I travel to bigger cities.
Thanks for the chance
Quilter’s Market and The Quilt Basket in Tucson are the stores I stop at when I need fabric for a quilt.
I live in Wisconsin where there are lots of quilt shops. Lucky to live close to the very best EVER….The Quilt Peddler in Fennimore, Wisconsin. We are blessed to have Nancy and her family own the store with lots of space and everything you need to make quilts ….with lots of Moda Fabrics. There is a downstairs too with lots of room for us to quilt together with ironing and cutting stations and design walls for us to use. It’s a dream space for a community of quilters. If you forget or need anything, just go upstairs!
My first stop for quilty things is my local quilt shop Spring Water Designs.
I try to support my local shop as much as possible and order from other quilt shops.
Your smile is always so infectious! I too am known for my smile so NEVER miss my bi-annual cleanings. 🙂
Love Alison’s site & signed up. My ‘baby’ lives in Denver so who knows…
Our ‘local’ quilt store closed 2+ years ago so I mostly shop at Tumbleweeds in Hyannis (1+ hours away) but for current needs I must shop online. The store group still meets monthly at a local library which is terrific-we have kept it going that long just by enjoying quilting/small quilt challenges. Susan R
While my closest local shop in any direction is 30 minutes, I do try to make them my first stop. Seeing the fabric in person is so helpful when you’re really a color driven person like I am. I’m not close enough to consider Fabric Expressions a local shop, but it’s new to me and is close enough to make it an adventure shopping trip a couple of times a year. Glad to learn of it!
True friends are the greatest. I buy most of my fabric from Fat Quarter Shop and Mesquite Bean in San Antonio.
I now live two hours from my favorite quilt shop, Quilter’s Corner in the south hills of Pittsburgh. But I worked there for ten years–so I have a pretty good “stash”. When I can’t get there I do online shopping because I love getting packages in the mail!
Living in Australia means I often shop online but I do love my local Textile Traders – unfortunately they are about to close their brick and mortar stores
I do not live near any quilt shops so I have to do my shopping on line – I love the Fat Quarter Shop as they a lot of the Moda Fabric lines I believe which are my faves. I have other on line shops I do business with also but I love FQS
My first choice is my local quilt shop but a number of them have closed over the years. If I can’t find what I want in the shop then I do look on line. Would love to win this new quilt book.
Happy Apple Quilts is the only quilt shop in our area. They have a lovely fabric selection plus long arm quilting service. When I cannot find a book or tool I need, I will order online at the Fat Quarter shop or Connecting Threads. Thanks for the beautiful scrappy book. It looks so awesome.
I’m so lucky to have a wonderful quilt shop just blocks away — One Quilt Place in Fredericksburg, Texas!
I shop mainly online, but also at a local store and joann.
I mostly shop online.
I follow Allison on Instagram.
Good morning! I shop for a lot of my fabric online at Fat Quarter Shop mainly because I live 2 hours plus from quilt stores. But we now have a newish quilt store only 30 minutes away and she’s done wonderfully in expanding her store and bringing in many Moda fabrics that she’s asked our opinions on so this is so great for our quilting family in the area. Thanks for all of your wonderful patterns over the years and for this chance.
I shop at Prairie Point Junction in Cozad 90-95% of the time. If I’m out of town, I’ll stop at another shop, but you can’t beat Prairie Point Junction. There are always new fabrics and displays, plus Julie is just one of those people that can put fabrics together to make a beautiful sample for the store and then get it kitted for purchase.
Blues are some comforting. I shop at local quilt shops. Actually I am trying to just shop my stash. Just made a blue quilt, but I would be so happy to make more blue quilts.
Very fortunate to have a quilt shop just 10 minutes from my home but my favorite shop is about a 45 minute drive and I also do lots of shopping online. Fat Quarter Shop is a favorite and so is MSQC. Thank you!
Shopping for fabric on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state is a treat because we have 3 terrific shops within 45 miles, each with their own personalities. “Oh, Scrap” arrived last week in the mail and I am finding it difficult to choose which one to start. Thanks, Lissa.
i love to scour any new place i go for local quilt shops, plus i follow many shops online for all things quilty.
I shop quite a bit on-line, because my nearest shop is 35 miles away. It’s a good one, Sew Sweet Quilt Shop in Brunswick, Missouri, and I shop there when I can. It is owned by a wonderful mother-daughter team, carries lots of Moda fabrics, and has a terrific retreat center attached to the store.
I do most of my shopping online with Fat Quarter Shop. They have fair pricing and quick shipping. Their customer service is great. Thanks for sharing so much about your journey….so glad you are doing well!! =:)
I am so sorry to hear about your mother.
I do most of my shopping online as I live in Ireland.
I followed Alison on IG.
My first favorite quilt shop was The Old Craft Store in Carrollton and one of my favorite things was taking classes from you! Even though I am older than you, I consider you one of my Quilt mentors. I have since moved from Carrollton and my new favorite quilt shop is Happiness is Quilting in McKinney, Texas.
My favorite local shop is Heavenly Stitches in Lima, Ohio. The building used to be a small rural church but now houses lots of quilt fabrics, notions, and yarn. There is also a large room that is used for classes and special sales. It is about 35 miles from my home, so if I can’t get there I order online. Fat Quarter Shop is my favorite online shop.
My area has few small quilting shops so I shop at a chain type store and online for my quilting needs. I like Fat Quarter Shop and Thousands of Bolts for online buys.
Forgot to add that I am following Alison on FB: NIcole Sender and Instagram: @minibea123.
Yikes! Can’t even spell my name correctly: Nicole Sender!!
Lissa, I love this picture of the three of you. Gammy was amazing and so much fun.
I get most of my quilty needs from My Girls Quilt Shoppe in Midway and or in Logan Utah. The staff at both locations is amazing, so helpful and knowledgable. Gotta love the Girlfriends!
I shop all around….. some online and at local shops. Love your blues…. It’s my favorite color.
Oh this speaks to me in so many ways. My fav quilt I have made is one where me and friends bought red , green , and low volume fabric and all swapped to make a Christmas quilt. It forever reminds me of them and friendships . Also blue is my fav color !!!! Love this and what a touching story but cherished memories forever.
We are a long, long way from a quilting shop …140 km one way. We order quite a bit online. You can’t touch the fabric but at least we get good quality fabric. We order from Connecting Threads. They have started to include a colour wheel of the fabrics online so you can be assured the fabrics blend.
The k in my email should be lower case
I follow Alison on FB. I try very hard to purchase my quilt fabrics at our local Quilt Shop, Lulu and Hazel Quilt Shop. It is run by two sisters who named their store after their two dogs. We live in a small town and I am thankful that we have a store here in town. This is why I try to go and see them whenever I can.
There are no quilt shops near me! Sadly I have to view/purchase online. Etsy is a go-to and a few other shops.
Where would we be without family and friends. Thank you for sharing your heartfelt story. Be well my friend. Hugs to you and yours.
Oh, what a touching story. Love Frienship and Blue fabric. I try to purchase fabric that I need from my local quilt shop, Annie’s Pretty Pieces. So many great shops in our area have closed. I do my best to keep Annie in business
I buy most of my quilty things in Tomball, TX. It is outside Houston, We are so lucky to have the International Festival here every year. The name of the shop is Quilters Crossing, and they have or will get almost everything. Very friendly and helpful too. I don’t know where I’d be without them and their advise.
Stephanie,
Congratulations! You are the winner of my Friendship blues fabrics. I will contacting you for shipping details.
I shop at Quilter’s Square in Lexington KY. I also shop a couple of online retailers. Thank you for the giveaway.
I shop and local quilt shops as well as online. I love supporting individual start ups, mom and pop stores and local shops.
I shop at our local quilt shop as well as independent shops online, such as Etsy.
I live in DFW so I have lots of shops to choose from, I also have a few online shops I order from.
Thanks for sharing your story. I have always loved your work, and have missed your quilts and inspiration. I shop at all kinds of places, local shops, quilt shows: the best, and even online when I see someone who has posted something special.
I shop for fabric and notions on Etsy to support small shops, where I also have one. I also shop at Fat Quarter Shop and Brooklyn Fabric.
I shop at Crazy to Quilt in Cedar Falls, IA, and Needleworks in Waverly, IA. Both are fun to “eye-shop” in also! 🙂
I shop at Pass Time Fabrics in Gainesville and Happiness is Quilting in McKinney. Thanks for sharing your treasures bioth in fabric and memories.
I am fortunate to have 3 quilt shops close by, Tomorrow’s Treasures, Sharkys Vac n Sew, and The Sewing Studio.