Wendy writing….When we lived in Alberta I knew many quilt shops and frequented the ones I liked on a regular basis, sometimes just to look for inspiration and not necessarily to buy! I liked the layout of those shops, the people who worked there and of course the wonderful quilts that hung on their walls. Some shops mostly sold machines, others also sold fabric. There too it was wonderful to stop in, look to see what was new or if there were any attachments for my machines that I could use – there was learning in most visits.

Finding a quilting community here has been a struggle. It doesn’t seem to be as obvious, and it sure isn’t the same. Some days I long for my favourite shops!

Saturday we drove to Hamilton, to an area very familiar to me. This is the area that I knew well as a child and went many times a week for church activities. Although the street (and area) along Ottawa Street has changed significantly it is still known for the numerous textile shops – something that has been well known for decades. On the beautiful Saturday with amazing weather for January, Fred and I wandered the street to see if they still had some of those shops. I wasn’t disappointed, many of the shops have been updated and carried current textile lines. And, I did find several shops that carried cotton for future quilting projects.

concrete thread spools

I laughed when we discovered that one of the men at the Nova Sewing Centre…knew my shop keeper friends from Alberta – he named them all off. It turns out he once worked for Janome and travelled the country.

I have found a couple of shops now that deal with Janome machines – things are looking up!

(Having a photographer husband makes him happy about these adventures)

above to the right is a newly developed concrete park along Ottawa Street – many features are notions for the sewer…