There's No Place Like Home - by Trixie

What is your first thought when you hear someone talk about Las Vegas– Gambling, bright lights, lots of skin, quilt shops? Wait a minute—she said quilt shops. Did you know there are 5 quilt stores in the Las Vegas area Yep! Sin City really does have something for everyone!

When I first visited Las Vegas in 2006 there were 7 quilt stores in the Las Vegas area. I convinced my friends to visit one of them. I know it’s hard to believe, only one quilt store– but the rest of the group were not quilters so visiting one store was kind of a big deal. No problem, I picked one—Fabric Boutique is the only store in Las Vegas that carries an exclusive Las Vegas, NV fabric.If you visit Vegas and you’re a quilter then you need a Vegas Quilt, Baby!! I bought a fat quarter bundle of Vegas fabrics and made a quilt that always sparks conversation at quilt retreats. I never leave home without my "Vegas" quilt!

Last year, when I went with my husband, (his first trip to Vegas in 20 years) we stayed on the "strip" (see, they even use quilting terms in Las Vegas) and we didn’t rent a car. I tossed around the idea of taking a city bus to a quilt store, but found that I would have to transfer buses at least once and well, once you leave the strip, Las Vegas becomes a real city with plenty of challenges. Also, I wasn’t about to spend good quilt money on a cab so no quilt store visits last year.

They say "with age comes wisdom" and this year, while researching what to see in Las Vegas I found a website for a quilt shop tour. They pick you up at your hotel and take you to 3,4, or all 5 quilt shops for a well worth it fee. I signed up for the 3 shop tour. Next year my hunny is going to have to gamble faster and win more because I am definitely going on the 4 shop tour!!

The three shop tour was great fun. Susan Tracy, our tour guide pulled up in a van with a huge quilt emblazoned on the side. Actually, a van with a large quilt on the side doesn’t attract the stares in Las Vegas that it would get in Minnesota. I climbed inside and off we went to Fabric Boutique where I bought more Las Vegas, NV exclusive fabric. My partner in fabric crime that warm sunny day was a lovely lady visiting from Australia named Barbara. I don’t recall how she heard about the tour but she had a great accent and kept asking for a "measure" of fabric (which I think is a meter). We also visited Nancy’s Fabrics (my friend Nancy would have loved this place) and The Christmas Goose. Each shop had a unique style with thousands of bolts of fabric to choose from.. Nancy’s Fabrics had a great yarn section and all the shops hadfriendly staff at the ready to help with any questions.

I declared myself the winner of the game "The One with the Most Fabric Wins" - though this was strictly between me and Barbara and not the doing of the tour company. I definitely have one more reason to return to Las Vegas next year—The quilt shop tour is permanently on my Las Vegas agenda!

So why would Debbie allow me to write about the quilt shops in Las Vegas? Because it proves one thing—There’s no place like home! While it’s fun to visit quilt stores in other areas of the country and see how they interpret the newest fabric lines into beautiful quilts, I came home with the pride that we have incredible quilting resources right here in our own back yards. I was pleased to find that all or most of the fabrics I saw in Las Vegas, were available right here at Bear Patch and our Minnesota quilt stores are on the cutting edge of the quilt world with pattern and quilting tool designers that live here in the great Midwest. While some may still think of Minnesota quilters as snow bound, lefse loving, good natured Thimbleberries fanatics, we enjoy one little secret—that 9 months of cold and snow produce a lot of creative and talented quilters! (Who just happen to need a little warmth and sunshine in February or March.)