Search This Blog

Monday, August 06, 2007

Minneapolis

This weekend we went to Minneapolis for their Uptown Art Fair which is held outside at three different locations. It was well worth the eight hour drive. We saw lots of pottery, jewelery, leather and coth bags, silk paintings, oil paintings, hand-made furniture and on and on. It was most enjoyable in spite of a drizzly rain on Saturday. I was happy that it wasn't too hot. We were a bit aprehensive about the traffic situation because of the bridge collapse but we didn't have to cross the river at all to get to the Fair so it was no problem. We even got lucky with the parking. On Saturday we got the last spot in a lot right beside the fair and on Sunday we went very early and were also able to get into a lot near Loring Park where that part of the fair was. We didn' t take any pictures of the fair itself. We were too busy looking at all the goodies.

Of course, you can't take a full day's drive without visiting at least one quilt shop. We found one in Fergus Falls and I bought the fabric you see above. They had a nice selection of black and whites so I got some fat quarters. I'm sure I will regret not getting more. I love the green batik with the turtles on it. The fat quarters on the left were on sale so I couldn't resist. I have more fabric in similar colors in my stash so they should come in handy.


We stopped at a Dick Blick art store but it wasn't going to open for another fifteen minutes. As fate would have it, there was a Joanne's right next door that was open. I found a machine quilting book that I have seen online and wanted for quite some time. The book about landscape quilts was from the store in Fergus Falls.

On the way home quilting stores were out of the question because they are seldom open on Sunday in this part of the country. We did stop at Albertville outlet mall and bought some new sheets for our bed and some towels. I have a down comforter that I love and I think I will take the top sheet for a duvet cover. I was thinking of piecing a top for it. My question is, do I line the top so all the seams don't show? If I do it will it be too heavy? If I line it do I quilt it without batting? Maybe I could quilt a very simple pattern using the serger. The serger would work well with K. Alexander's Stack a Deck technique if I do something a bit wonky. It's hard to get an exact seam with the serger but it does finish all the raw edges very nicely.

9 comments:

Silverthimble said...

Wonderful fabric finds! I am also collecting black and whites. I love the turtle fabric!

Thimbleanna said...

Ooohhh, lucky you! I used to love the Uptown Art Fair when we lived in Minneapolis. It sounds like you had a wonderful time.

Libby said...

Sounds like a fun trip - can't hardly go wrong when you get the chance to stop at a fabric shop along the way *s*

Donna said...

sounds like a great way to spend the long weekend! Glad you were able to find such great parking -- leaves more energy for the walking around the fair :-)

atet said...

Oooh, what fun finds! If you develop a solution to the pieced duvet cover connundrum (sp?) let me know -- I will not give up my down comforter and I would love to make a duvet/piece one but have been afraid of interior seams and washing!

Lily Mulholland said...

What a great trip Joyce! Maybe the duvet cover could be backed with sheeting and tied?

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

You could either use the serger to sew the patchwork or line the patchwork with another piece of fabric. You wouldn't have to quilt the lining to the patchwork, just bartack it with the sewing machine every 12"-18" or so. That will keep the layers from twisting away from each other and keep them in place if you wash it. I would use a lightweight fabric for the lining, like a poly/cotton batiste.
Wanda

meggie said...

What Wanda said, for the cover.
Sounds like you had a great trip, & I love your fabric goodies!

molly said...

We used to live in Minneapolis! When we moved here I almost went into a decline, since quilt shops are few and far between here, whereas in minneapolis there was practically one on every corner. Love that turtle fabric too.