Every other Wednesday, the ladies in our small mountain town in Panama get together to chat, snack, and hang out. This week, they decided to meet up at our local quilt shop! I love going to the shop as I am a quilter at heart (time doesn't allow for much quilting these days).
Our whatsapp group of expat women is around 70 now I think, and that doesn't even include all the expat women in town! We have women from all ages, stages, and backgrounds. Many interesting women participate in the group. They said about 14 of us got together to meet up this time.
There were some local Panamanian women sewing at the shop while we were there. One of them showed us how to use the long arm sewing machine. I used this once before on one of my quilts and it was amazing. I hope to find time to go use it again in the future! It made quilting so easy!!
The shop is stuffed with items the women have made and are selling. You can find anything from pillows to aprons to table runners to king size quilts. They have it all...and in every color! I love getting project ideas from the store!
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The quilt shop is about five rooms of the building. You can find the best quality fabric in Panama here. Most of the stores around don't sell 100% cotton fabric, but you can find as much as you need at this store! And in lots of colors and patterns!! The picture below is only a fraction of the fabric.
The shop is run by another expat. She's been here many years and quilting is (obviously) her passion. She imports the fabric and teaches classes to the local ladies. She also imported the long arm machine and rents it out.
In the store, you can also hire them to make items for you. One of the ladies was talking about how they made her Roman shades for all of her windows. They also were commissioned to do this amazing wall hanging (below) with so many detailed appliqued pieces on it depicting a little town.
We had some great options for food and even a door prize! There was plenty of time and space to hang out and chat or do some shopping (I did both). It was a great time!
The above quilt is to be auctioned off at a silent auction to raise money for a friend who just had brain surgery to remove a tumor. I am excited to see how much it goes for and who is the winner in the end!
How often do you meet up with your friends?