The wonderful thing about meeting other quilters is that you know they are good people. Anyone that can commit time, money and brain space to craft a gift for others (often strangers) are my kind of people. So when I was invited to join the Beaconsfield Quilters Guild for a shop hop, I was happy for the opportunity.
For those that don’t know, Beaconsfield is on the west side of Montreal. And last year, my daughter moved to the south shore of Montreal. And I am always looking for excuses to travel there.
One of the lovely people I met at Quiltcon this year was Nicole Brisse and she was the coordinator of the Shop Hop. While talking, I realized that I had never been to a quilt store in Quebec and she suggested that I join them. Her invite was perfectly timed as my son-in-law needed his summer tires transported to Montreal. So I got to be the super-mom and buy fabric and meet new friends. Talk about WIN WIN WIN!
If you have been watching my channel you know that I have recently counted my fabric and found out that I had a 15 year supply! So how could I buy more Well....I needed fabric for my Kapella Cluster quilt since I designed it with 7 colours I did not have in my stash. 🙄Clever, eh? I was able to purchase 6 out of the 7 at the very first store. Tissus Roger et Fils https://www.tissusroger.com And all participants in the shop hop received a discount. 😁
The second shop was small, but absolutely stunning. Elegante Virgule https://shop.elegantevirgule.com Every surface was a carefully curated tableau full of Tilda, Liberty and Rifle Paper. It was somewhere you could happily sit and sew all afternoon. And here I found the fabric that I could finish the last rosette of my New Hexagon millefiore quilt.
After a delicious lunch at a local eatery, we headed to our last shop, Styliste et Complice. This was full of great fabrics too, and unfortunately, no website. It was a bit awkward that they only accepted cash and debit payments. Nicole had warned us of this in an email the day before, but I of course forgot. Despite that, I had an absolutely fabulous day. Thank you to Pat who drove, Claire who navigated and Diane who leant me cash so I could buy some desperately needed fat quarters.
This was such a welcome respite after spending a long week of overthinking a collage quilt that should have been much easier. You can watch the video here:
Upcoming events
The next Live Q&A will be Tuesday, May 7 at 7:00 pm EST. You'll be able to ask me anything! Be sure to turn on notifications in YouTube so you don't miss it.
My next Stitch’n Chat with Karen’s Quilt Crew is on Saturday, May 11th at 11:00am EST. To honour Mother's Day, we are moving from our regular Sunday timeframe. If you are a member, you will find the zoom link on the Just Get It Done Quilts community page.
We are quickly approaching our Fire and Ice cruise to Ireland, Iceland and Scotland. If you’ve been thinking about this trip, we have room for one more person in the class! If you want to join in the fun, you can checkout the brochure here.
Karen's Quilt Circle
Last week on Karen’s Quilt Circle, I had the pleasure of speaking with Rangina Hamidi about Social Enterprise. Through the revival of khamak embroidery, Rangina started Kandahar Treasure as a way for women to generate income, gain financial independence and restore pride in this artistic tradition. She is the recipient of the 2024 O'Connor Justice Prize which recognizes people who have made extraordinary contributions to advancing the rule of law, justice, and human rights. You don't want to miss this one.
Listen to any of my Karen's Quilt Circle podcasts on the YouTube Music app here.
I ended my Montreal trip meeting my daughter and son-in-law down in Old Montreal for a light show at the basilica. It was definitely worth the trouble of getting there. My weekend finished with lots of playtime with my granddogs and grandcat. I couldn’t have had a better weekend.
Take care