For the Love of Quilting
By Bobbi Jo Palmer

My love of quilting started about 14 years ago when I attended my first county fair in Santa Cruz. It’s the epitome of an old fashioned country fair with my favorite stop in the crafts building where they have the quilts and baking on display. I longed to know how to create one of the many works of art that graced the walls, which at that time was so out of reach for me with my career and raising two daughters in a new town and planting roots. Quilting has come a long way since then, when double knits were often used. We still have one my mother made and 100% cotton was hard to come by. Today we enjoy wonderful tools like cutting mats and rotary cutters that weren’t generally available in the 70s and 80s. Some quilters piece by machine but others prefer hand piecing. Appliqué is also usually done by hand.

My quilting journey started in 2006 when I took a beginning quilting class from a local quilter at the nearby church one day a week. I needed to pick out fabric for my first project, which was a simple block pattern the size of a lap quilt, the choices were overwhelming.  Soon I became addicted to fabric shopping, even shopping online and getting sample sets delivered to my home every month! My favorite fabrics are Asian designs, vintage reproductions and even vintage feed sacks I find online. When I go on vacation one of my goals is to find a quilting shop. This past December while in Kauai, I managed to torture the family by fabric shopping.

Locally we are very fortunate to have Material Pleasure and Quilts and Things in Morgan Hill, The Nimble Thimble in Gilroy and Homespun Harbor, Ltd in Hollister, Judy’s Sewing Center in Capitola and Scotts Valley. All of these shops offer classes for beginners to experienced quilters. You can see them all in one day if you participate in the Shop Hop by the Bay the weekend of June 24th- 28th. Shop Hop by the Bay is a group of thirteen quilt shops plus the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles that work together to promote their love of quilting and sewing.  They strive to bring their love of fabric to customers and to promote quilting and sewing to those who have never ventured into this creative process. They are passionate about what they do and celebrate this passion with their annual Shop Hop by the Bay!