Road Trip - Maine

Our 2-day trip to Maine was planned to do some row by row shop hopping and also attend the Maine Quilts show in Augusta with an overnight stay on the coast.  As we were driving, we made an impromptu decision to stop in Freeport and we were glad we did!  Cotton Weeds is conveniently located right off the Interstate highway.  When we arrived, the shop was full of people.  A tour bus on the way to Maine Quilts in Augusta from New Brunswick, Canada had stopped for an early morning visit.  The shop was well staffed and the cutting and cash register process was very quick.  We even got a bus tour goodie bag each.  We each liked it enough to buy the kit!  The shop row is a very Maine seaside scene of a sun, two sailboats and a dock in the center and two narwhals on each side.  Unfortunately, they did not allow photos inside.  Next door was a very nice yarn shop called “Mother of Purl”.  The collage below includes photos from Cotton Weeds as well as our second stop in Bath.

From Freeport to Bath is a quick and easy drive down US Route 1.  In Bath we found Mariner’s Compass Quilt Shop on Front Street.  A friendly staff greeted us with the invitation to take photos in their row by row photo “booth”.  It was a clever wall decorated with their row, made with reverse appliqued raindrops (available in two color choices-rainbow and blue gradations), and a rainbow (made from covered pool noodles) along with stuffed raindrops hanging from above and a cute umbrella to pose with if you do not want to have raindrops falling directly on your head.  We thought it was a great way to encourage people to spread the joy of visiting their shop on social media.  Next year, we predict more shops may join that trend.  The store owner was at the Maine Quilts show so her mother, Wendy Ulmer, a children’s author, who recently wrote her fourth book, “My Twelve Maine Christmas Days” was tending the shop along with another employee.  Wendy told us all about the reproduction ship figurehead in the shop, named Amanda Fenwick.  It is a reproduction that was from a ship built in Massachusetts and found in Fenwick Island, Delaware.  The shop owner is named Amanda so it was very fitting.  Apparently, on holidays the figurehead is dressed in costume, another fun feature from this nice store.  They’ve already had a row by row winner and the quilt was hanging in the shop.  Elizabeth also learned that the Whoopie Pie is the state snack of Maine from reading Wendy’s book.

On Board fabrics.  What can we say?  We loved this shop!  It has A LOT of really nice contemporary upholstery weight fabrics.  They specialized in making pillows and have many from which to choose under the name Molly Hutchins Designs. They also have a nice selection of quilting fabrics, webbing, and laminated fabrics.  Both Molly and her store helper were very friendly and helpful.

Their row was two whales and were very reminiscent of the sea coast.  The whales face each other and have a heart in between them.  Cute and they should go together fairly easily and quickly.

We got a bit off track following directions to Alewives in Nobleboro when the GPS said we were there and we obviously were not, so we reevaluated by consulting an old fashioned paper map and soon we were back on track.  Talk about a lot of fabric.  This store really had a large selection; lots we had never seen before.  Liberty of London prints and many samples of bags and clothing were on hand to help sell patterns.  That really does make a difference.  Some of the items we bought were purchased because we had seen a sample made up. They also had some lovely hand screen printed panels for sale.  Their row features appliqued starfish on a background pieced of many squares.

The final quilt shop of the day was Maine-ly Quilts.  We drove right past, luckily seeing the sign as the GPS told us we had another mile to go.  Fortunately, the driver was proficient in making U-turns.  This shop had a lovely quilted stained glass ceiling window over the cash register.  Lots of batiks lined the walls of the porch and the store had many notions and other fabrics as well.  Upstairs was a 40% off sale room.  Who can resist fabric at 40% off.  Their row features elephants playing in the rain.

5 quilt shops and a yarn shop in one day and yes, we picked up the row by row pattern, the license plates and made purchases at every single store!  Now it was time to continue driving to Lincolnville and our rest stop for the night.

Road Trip - Lowell, MASS

This was a week for road trips!  On Tuesday, we went to Lowell, MA to the New England Quilt Museum to see the SAQA exhibit called Seasonal Palette.  The museum is located within a complex of buildings that are part of the Lowell National Historic Park.  We made a stop in the Visitor's Center before heading to the quilt museum, and watched a 15 minute film on the history of the Lowell textile mills as well as browsing the gift shop.   After the museum exhibit and lunch, we visited one of the Mill Girls' boarding houses and enjoyed a leisurely walk along the canal back to the parking lot.

We learned that there were over 50 large mills and many smaller ones in Lowell and that is was really the first "company" town, where workers lived in housing supported by their employer.  It was the blueprint for many other cities during the industrial revolution.

The New England Quilt Museum is located in a building that was formerly the Lowell Institution for Savings (or bank) where most of the mill girls deposited their earnings.  This is the building today.

The Seasonal Palette exhibit was exceptional, and we're glad we made the trip to see it.  Unfortunately, only non-flash photography was allowed and only for personal use, not publication.  But you CAN see the pieces online at the SAQA website - well worth taking a look.  This exhibit was unusual in that the artists were juried in, and after being selected, were assigned their season and then created their work.  The techniques were interesting and varied and the workmanship exceptional.  In addition, each artist kept a journal of their progress, so you could see the work progress from concept to completion.   If you get a chance to see this exhibit, by all means go!

Above is a shot of the gift shop, but we didn't spend much time browsing because the AC was really cold, and we were ready for the warmth of the sun.  (But we did take time to get their Row pattern and license plate.)  We enjoyed lunch outdoors at an organic vegetarian restaurant across the street.

After lunch we decided to visit the Mill Girls' Boardinghouse.  It was about 2 blocks from the museum.

In the beginning, most of the mill girls came from New England farms to work in the factories.  It was the first time many of them had left the farm.  They had to be between the ages of 15 and 35 to be employed.  They worked from 7 AM to 7 PM, paid for their room & board out of their wages, and may have had about $2 left out of their weeks wages, which was a lot in the late 1800's.  But it was also a hard life and some unfair working conditions led to the first labor strike organized by women.

They had 3 meals a day at their boarding house, lots of bread, potatoes, beans for energy for the long work days.

There were 4 to a room, and sometimes maybe more.  It was a hard life, but also these women's first taste of earning their own money and supporting themselves, even helping their families.

 A series of canals were built to power the mills.  This was taken along the walk by the canal.

These engraved stairs were also along the canals.  It says, "Try again!  Industry, not servitude!  As is woman, so is the race."  Our first women's libbers!

A lovely garden graced the outside of this building.  It was a lovely, inspirational and educational day.