The Uncommon Thread Quilt Shop- Fallon, NV

On a recent Saturday morning I sat down with Julie Lamb, owner of the Uncommon Thread Quilt Shop in Fallon, NV. 

Fallon, NV

Fallon, located approximately 60 miles east of Reno, is home to the infamous "Top Gun" Naval Base. It is a relatively rural town, home to ranchers and farmers alike, many with families having owned and worked the land for multiple generations.  

Five years ago, Julie, a chemist by trade, moved to Fallon when her husband relocated  to a new job.  At that time, Julie owned a quilt shop in Enterprise, OR.  After exploring her new town, Julie realized that a quilt shop would fit in perfectly and as she says, "she brought the quilt shop with her"!

Fallon is the only large town in Churchill county and thus serves a large population of people living in smaller communities.  People travel from Austin, Lovelock, Winnemucca and Hawthorne to buy their quilting supplies.  In addition, she also captures the attention of traveling quilters as her store is easily accessed from the main highway.

Shop Favorites

Julie's favorite designers include: "In the Beginning", "Red Rooster", "Kona Bay", "Michael Miller" and "Alexander Henry".  She admits that she enjoys fabric that is a little wild and bright.  She tries to carry contemporary fabrics and says that this seems an obvious choice in contrast to the brown Nevada desert!

Her store is delicious!  A true treat as you can see from some of the pictures.

Patterns

The Uncommon Thread has a website and it's own line of patterns.  The website is just getting started and can be found at: http://www.uncommonthreadonline.com/. Julie's patterns can be found in the shop along with samples of her work. 

This is an ADORABLE pillowcase pattern and, yes, I couldn't resist, I took this one home!

"Crazy Patch Pillowcases"

Placemats and Tablerunners...

 

Panels have become a popular element to her shop and she has a terrific stock as you can see here.  The panels are packaged individually and usually come with a finishing suggestion on how to turn the panel into a quilt!

Short Arm Quilting

While the shop itself doesn't offer quilting services, they do offer classes on their "Short Arm" quilting machine.  The working width is 6-7" but it can easily accomodate up to a King size quilt.  The cost is only $30/day once you learn how to use the machine. 

An interesting bit of trivia is that Julie brought the idea of a Shop Hop with her from Oregon.  Once here, she asked around at various shops in the area to see if anyone was interested in participating in a Shop Hop and eventually partnered with a shop in Reno.  All of the local shop owners were invited to a meeting and the Sierra 2 Sage Shop Hop was born.

Sierra 2 Sage Shop Hop, Sept 2010

This year's Sierra to Sage Shop Hop will be held on September 23rd-26th, 2010 and the theme is The Pony Express.  Every shop will design a unique block using a different technique.  The Uncommon Thread has designed their block to feature Seminole Patchwork.  Other shops are inlcuding themes such as Prarie Points, Applique or Crazy Quilting.  To see all of the stores involved and to get more information go to: www.Sierra2SageShopHop.com

There is a bit more to this year's blocks which I haven't yet revealed that make them exciting and unique.  Check back soon to hear about these details in our upcoming post on Fallon's other quilt shop, Workman's Farms.

One last look at Julie's wonderful store...

Visit The Uncommon Thread and support your local, independent quilt shops!

"Colorful Cats"