We’re right smack dab in the middle of Sonoran Restaurant Week, when around 100 (!) restaurants in Tucson and surrounding cities offer special prix fixe menus for $25, $35, or $45 (plus tax and tip). The price often includes several courses that would regularly cost more.
The idea is to encourage diners to try restaurants they haven’t been to, as well as revisiting old favorites. You many need to ask for the Sonoran Restaurant Week menu if you’re at a participating place and don’t see one. Find participating restaurants and menus on TucsonFoodie.com.
View of the city from inside the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson.
Happy Fall! Or should I say “happy last-gasp-of-summer”!?
Even if it doesn’t feel like autumn, we’re heading into September and October, and fall things are going on!
The Tucson Meet Yourself festival going on in front of the Old Pima County Courthouse.
So here’s the current Happenings List, my seasonal selection of goings-on for lovers of art, craft, culture(s), and nature.
*Goodies: The List is peppered with extras, freebies, and discounts! Just look for the asterisks (*).
While the in-person events are pretty much all in Arizona, you can skip down to the last section for Happenings and Goodies you can enjoy from virtually ANYWHERE!
I link to artists’ Etsy sites and may earn a small commission if you click through and purchase something. But no one has paid to be included in the List.
What Happenings on the List have you gone to? I’d love to hear about it! Send me an email or hashtag social media posts about your experience with #TCJreco.
now – September 30 / Gallery 4 at HD South, Gilbert Historical Museum, Gilbert / Included with admission.
Photography exhibitions inspired by two books by Ken Light, a documentary photographer and UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism professor.
With These Hands: A collection of Ken Light’s images of undocumented migrant children working in oppressive conditions on farms throughout the United States.
Picturing Resistance: Images from marches, protests, rallies, and demonstrations, showing people in the public view voicing their passion for change. Public protests embody dissent and express the urgency for policy change.
September 1, 4-8pm / Heard Museum, Phoenix / Free.
Grand opening and U.S. debut of the Early Days exhibition, a survey of Canadian Indigenous art from coast-to-coast-to-coast and from historical to contemporary pieces. Artist James Johnson (Tlingit) from Southeast Alaska will be demonstrating centuries-old carving techniques and sharing his approach to art.
Organized by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in collaboration with Indigenous scholars, artists, and traditional knowledge keepers, the exhibition will be at the Heard through the end of the year.
6pm: Artist talk with James Johnson about his perspectives on key pieces from the exhibition.
As part of First Friday, the museum, Café, and Cantina are open late.
Sept. 1, 2023 – Jan. 2, 2024: The exhibition will be at the museum through the end of the year.
September 9, 10am-2pm / Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix / Included with admission.
Re-opening of Yayoi Kusama’s interactive infinity mirror room installation, “You Who are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies” (2005). This special Fireflies-themed Creative Saturday features art programming, workshops, and specialty food and beverages.
*Save 10% on PhxArt memberships if you purchase by September 6 + use code FIREFLIES10. As a bonus, you’ll get admission to member preview days to see Fireflies before it re-opens to the public!
September 23-30, 7pm / Fountain Hills, Glendale, Goodyear, Phoenix / Free. (Donations accepted.)
Ballet on an outdoor stage with lighting and costumes! These performances kick off Ballet Arizona’s 2023-2024 season. Dancers perform excerpts from both contemporary and classical ballets, so you get a preview of what’s ahead.
Bring a blanket or lawn chair.
Go early to save your spot and watch the dancers warm-up against the backdrop of an Arizona sunset!
*If you go to Fountain Hills, you can take a self-guided art walk tour before the performance. There are 35 pieces in Fountain Park alone! (PDF map)
September 27 + October 11, 6pm / Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix / Tickets $8.
The last half of a four-film series celebrating Cuba’s complex history, which provides deeper context for the museum’s current exhibition Juan Francisco Elso: Por América (which runs until 9/17). Each monthly screening will be on a Wednesday at 6pm in Whiteman Hall on the first floor of the Phoenix Art Museum.
The special-engagement Juan Francisco Elso exhibition is in the Steele Gallery and requires a $6 ticket for adults (youth 17 and under are free)!
*Enjoy free general admission to the museum before the films (starting at 3pm), because all 4 screenings take place during Pay-What-You-Wish-Admission evenings!
October 6-14 / Quilt shops throughout the Phoenix area, Phoenix / Passports $10
The Hop Around the Valley: Maricopa County Shop Association Shop Hop is a Valley-wide celebration of local quilt shops with demonstrations, giveaways, and activities. Purchasing a passport to the Shop Hop allows you to join in the extra festivities and be entered for prize drawings. If you “hop” to all 9 participating shops, you’re eligible for even bigger prizes!
Now – September 14 / ‘Tis Art Center in the Mezzanine Gallery, Prescott
Exhibition of ceramic and mixed media sculptural works by Denise Incao. She creates her art using a spontaneous process, drawing inspiration from nature and her past travels.
*SECRETS: Guide to Prescott’s public art that includes a map to public art sites in Prescott, photos, and historical facts about each piece. It’s available at ‘Tis for a suggested donation of $3.
September 2-4 / Yavapai County Courthouse Plaza, Prescott / Free.
Art festival on the lawn of Prescott’s town square with artwork, crafts, and food vendors. Old West re-enactment group the Prescott Regulators and Their Shady Ladies will perform hourly.
*National Cabernet Sauvignon Day Special: $10 off a bottle of award-winning 2019 Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon at the Del Rio Springs Vineyard Tasting Room Sept. 1-3! The Tasting Room is located in the Old Firehouse Plaza, about a block away from the Faire.
Fine arts and crafts festival that takes place over the Fourth of July and Labor Day weekends in a grassy park in Downtown Flagstaff.
Vendors: Juried selection of 70 artists from across the Southwest. Crafters include Created with Repurpose (upcycled lamps and book art), Kimbajul (jewelry) and HatsNThings By Shelly (crocheted hats. And things.)
Food + beverage: Square Root Foods, Hot Bamboo, Safari Samosas, Cody Coyote Kettle Corn, Lulu’s Italian Waterice, Single Speed Coffee Roasters, and the Shady Beer Garden, which features local and regional breweries and benefits Special Olympics Arizona.
Entertainment: Nonstop live music, including Craig Yarbrough, Flag5, Matt Bingham, Matthew Henry Hall, Rideshare, Sister and the Sun, Two Hand Union, Stan Clark and Tim Hogan, Paul and Friends, and TheatriKids.
Via Pinetop Lakes Golf + Country Club on Facebook.
September 2, 3:30pm / Pinetop Lakes Golf and Country Club, Pinetop / Free.
Live music and dancing on several summer Wednesdays and Saturdays. The event is free and open to the public! Bring your own lawn chairs or blankets to sit on.
Food + beverage: Hamburgers, hot dogs, adult beverages, and soft drinks available for purchase. (Cash only.)
Entertainment: Free line dance lessons at 3:30pm. Music by Lakesides 4:30-7:30pm.
Necklace on display at a past Prescott Indian Arts Market. Photo via Sharlot Hall Museum.
September 16-17 / Sharlot Hall Museum, Prescott / Admission $15 per day.
Juried show featuring artwork from over 100 top Native artists in a variety of media, including oil painting, beadwork, pottery, and weaving. Plus music, performances, demonstrations, and food!
September 22 – October 1 / venues throughout Northern Arizona (particularly Flagstaff) / Free.
Annual 10-day event designed to promote awareness and enthusiasm for science in Northern Arizona and beyond. Established in 1990, it is the longest continuously running, entirely free science festival in the world.
This year’s theme is “The Mammoth World of Science” to highlight research and scientific discovery by Beth Shapiro, PhD, a pioneer in the field of ancient DNA.
Sept. 22, 7pm: Keynote Presentation “How to Clone a Mammoth” at NAU. Dr. Beth Shapiro will share her expertise on the science of de-extinction. Free keynote tickets are now available for reservation.
Other event reservations will be open for booking on Sept. 8.
September 30, 5pm. / High Country Motor Lodge, Flagstaff / General Admission Ticket $75
All-ages festival outside a refurbished mid-century motel off Route 66. Featured performers include Color Green, Sylvie, The Senators, Spencer Cullum + Rich Ruth, and Kacy + Clayton. Proceeds benefit the Glen Canyon Institute, which is working to restore the ecosystem of Glen Canyon and Colorado River.
Doors open at 4pm. Bands start at 5pm.
Food trucks and a full bar will be on-site. All attendees will be carded.
The show will go on rain or shine!
*Complimentary valet parking for all attendees presenting a valid Flagstaff Fadeaway ticket.
Masquerade + Fancy Dress Ball Advertisement from The Weekly Journal Miner, Dec 5, 1884 via The Sharlot Museum.
October 27, 10am – 1pm / Sharlot Hall Museum, Prescott / Included with admission.
Learn about the history behind masquerade parties in the Arizona territory, while making a mask of your own during this pop-up program held in one of the museum’s exhibits. These monthly mini-programs give you the chance to engage with Arizona history in an interactive, hands-on way through crafts, games, and activities!
October 28 – November 1 / Tlaquepaque Arts + Crafts Village, Sedona / Free.
Five-day celebration of life and remembrance with large-scale installations and vignettes throughout Tlaquepaque. It’s also a commemoration of Mexican culture and heritage.
Oct. 28: Special performances.
Oct. 28 – Nov. 1, 11am-5pm: Marigold Mural Project. Visitors can paint tributes to their loved ones on a 26-foot long community remembrance wall on the Calle Independencia. Paints and brushes will be provided on site.
now – October 20 / Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson / Included with admission.
Exhibition that looks at the traditions of Maya storytelling and image-making from ancient times up to the present. As a starting point, it uses the Mayan creation story, Popol Vuh, and a series of images by Guatemalan modern artist Carlos Mérida, which were inspired by it.
*First Thursday. On the first Thursday of the month, TMA offers extended hours (5-8pm), pay-what-you-wish admission, art and gallery activities, entertainment, and a cash bar. Reserve your free ticket online.
*Second SundAZe. Focused on intergenerational learning, the Second Sunday of the month features activities and art-making for kids, as well as docent talks, free performances, and pay-what-you-wish admission.
Catalina State Park, also at the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains.
now – October 28, on Saturdays / Sabino Canyon Visitor Center, Tucson / Tickets $15/adult, $8/child + $8/vehicle Sabino Canyon Recreation Area fee
Evening tours through beautiful Sonoran desert on the Sabino Canyon Crawler. Normally, the electric shuttle’s daily rides end at 4pm. However, during the hottest months, they add an extra tour time on Saturday nights. Night tours start at 7pm in September and 6:30pm in October.
The Crawler offers year-round tours on a 7.4-mile route with automated narration about Sabino Canyon.
*Now through 10/14: Summer Family Rates to Sabino Canyon Dam. $15 per family rides on the Bear Canyon shuttle to Sabino Canyon Dam, where you can picnic in a shady spot.
“Solar Tower” by Jerald Jacquard, outside Tucson Museum of Art.
Now – October 1 / Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson / Included with admission.
Every-other-year exhibition of innovative and diverse new works by Arizona artists. It provides an opportunity for emerging artists to exhibit their art in a museum setting and to introduce it to the public.
A new juror from outside the state is selected to curate each Arizona Biennial, reviewing the works of hundreds of artists to create a cohesive exhibition that becomes an overview of artistic creativity in Arizona.
Copper spiral earrings, handmade (and photo by) by Patricia Healey Copper, an exhibitor at the upcoming Colors of the Stone show.
August 31 – September 3 / Casino Del Sol, Tucson / Free.
Colors of the Stone with To Bead True Blue and Artisan Workshops is a show that includes established and emerging glass artists, gem cutters, ceramists, bead makers, jewelry artists, mineral hunters, lapidaries, and goldsmiths.
Shop from a collection of artisan handcrafted products made from sustainable materials in natural colors and buy directly from the source.
September 1-3 / Tucson Convention Center, Tucson / Adult Full Weekend Membership Pass $64
Community-based pop culture event that seeks to be America’s friendliest convention! The 3-day con features Q+A panels, workshops, costume contests, photo ops, and a large exhibitor hall. There will be actors, authors, comic book artists, and cosplayers appearing as special guests.
Artist Alley: Meet writers, pencillers, inkers, and colorists from all over the world. Some offer one-of-a-kind sketches and commissions at their tables (usually grouped together in one aisle or section of the exhibitor hall).
Game Area: Play video games – including vintage arcade games – board games, card games, and role-playing games!
Inclusive Quiet Zone: A welcoming place to take a break from the hectic convention floor.
*Hotel McCoy offers 15% off stays of 3 nights or more with code STAY – that means that for a 8/31-9/3 stay you’d pay $286.45 instead of $337!
Hub Restaurant participated in a past Sonoran Restaurant Week. (I think.)
10 days when many Southern Arizona restaurants offer special prix fixe menus for $25, $35 or $45 to encourage diners to try restaurants they haven’t been to, as well as revisiting old favorites. Ask for the Sonoran Restaurant Week menu at participating eateries.
Each year, part of the proceeds benefit a local non-profit, like the San Xavier Co-op Farm, a Tohono O’odham landowners’ cooperative committed to using healthy farming practices to grow traditional crops.
Over 60 local vendors, plus music, food trucks, and extended hours for MSA Annex shops the last Friday evening of the month. It runs from May through September, so this will be the last one of the year!
Annual three-day celebration of the folk arts of the Sonoran region that’s been going on for 50 years! It features food, artisans, dancers, musicians, and special exhibits from the richly diverse communities in Southern Arizona and Northern Mexico.
Where to start? Here are some TMY artists we’ve seen before:
Bonyang Michaels, who demonstrates beautiful Lao weaving on a large loom.
October 14-15 / Patagonia Town Park, Patagonia / Free.
Festival to showcasing the Patagonia community’s talent in a park nestled at over four thousand feet in the mountains of Southeast Arizona.
Vendors: 100 booths of the region’s top artisans who work in ceramics, textiles, glass, jewelry, wood, painting, photography, and metalwork. Plus, a library book sale!
Food + beverage: Food court with Patagonia Fire Department’s annual barbecue and a variety of food trucks.
Entertainment: Bluegrass, rock, jazz, and classical music performances from regional and local acts throughout the weekend at the Town Park Gazebo. For kids, there will be arts experiences, crafts, and youth music acts.
October 14, 2023 – March 23, 2024 / University of Arizona Museum of Art (UAMA), Tucson / Included with admission.
Exhibition of approximately thirty weavings and paintings created by Marlowe Katoney. The multidisciplinary artist combines elements from painting with traditional Navajo iconography and designs to create pieces that take inspiration from popular culture, street art, nature, Navajo culture, and his own life.
October 20-22 / Railroad Park, Willcox / Admission $30-45
Festival with over 15 Arizona wineries, along with live music, and fine arts, artisan foods, and vintage vendors. Admission includes 10 tasting tickets + commemorative wine glass.
*Save $10 by purchasing admission tickets in advance instead of at the gate!
*Outside of the festival,wine tasting flights at Willcox wineries usually include a souvenir glass, which you can take with you for a discount at the next Willcox tasting rooms you visit!
November 5, 7pm / Fox Theatre, Tucson / Tickets $20-67.50
Screening of the animated film Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse with live musicians and a DJ on stage playing the film’s soundtrack, which blends symphonic orchestral music with hip-hop. Into The Spider-Verse’s score is composed of of boundary-pushing original music that supports its themes of resilience and universal heroism.
September 1, 15, 29 + October 6, 5pm (ET) – 5:45pm / Free.
Informal discussions with National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) educators about selected artworks from the museum’s collection. Each chat will have a different theme and sampling of artworks, which you can see in advance.
All chats are scheduled on Fridays at 5pm (ET) for 45 minutes.
Registration is required in order to get the link to the event.
Limited to 45 participants each chat.
Art Chats will be all virtual until the Museum re-opens in late October, when some will move to being an in-person/virtual hybrid (“”Art Chat Live””).
September 6 – October 18, 10 am-3 pm / Class fee $360 + materials
Two-session Zoom courses using embroidery to explore the history of the national flowers of the United Kingdom. It is part of a series on the symbolic flora of the UK’s four countries taught by Lucy Barter, SFSNAD Creative Director. Each classic design will consist of cross filling, blackwork patterns, gold couching, pearl purl, and padded satin stitching.
Upcoming courses will be centered around the thistle of Scotland and the daffodil of Wales.
Materials: The kit for these classes will be sold separately. Your instructor will email you with further instructions.
October 14, 9am PDT / Free.
An annular solar eclipse is when the Moon only covers the center of the Sun, and there’s still a ring of light around it. The October 14th annular eclipse will be visible in parts of the Americas. However, the Exploratorium will be providing live coverage of the eclipse from the Valley of the Gods, Utah, so you can see it from anywhere in the world!
When it didn’t work out for my mom and I to make a day trip for the Northern Arizona Quilt Shop Hop (part 1 of this saga), we opted instead to visit a couple of her favorite East Valley quilt shops. Both of them participate in the official Phoenix-area (Valley) shop hop that usually takes place in the fall, so we were hoping to get the scoop on that while we were there.
A Quilter’s Oasis in Mesa, Arizona
Quilt Shops
The stores we visited were A Quilter’s Oasis and Mad B’s Quilt and Sew. Afterwards, while we were in the car headed to see Barbie, we recorded a few thoughts about the two shops.
Mom: Both places [A Quilter’s Oasis and Mad B’s] are always very helpful to get you what you need and help you find what you’re looking for! You see the owner’s characteristics in the shop, just like if you go into somebody else’s home. It shows their personality.
Mom: I think they’re exceptionally helpful in A Quilter’s Oasis. They have a really big collection of batiks, so that would be a distinctive for them.
Me: I think A Quilters Oasis also had more “cutesy” fabrics, which is good if that’s what you’re looking for.
Mom: Yeah. And so many quilts displayed, which is really nice!
Carrol’s Garden quilt for an upcoming class with instructor Brittany DeVries (October 28).
They were indeed very helpful at A Quilters Oasis, which was our first stop. I think by the time we’d been there 10 minutes, three different people had asked if we needed anything! We checked out their classroom space, and even the class participants were super friendly.
We ended up in a whole conversation with the staff about our attempted trip to the Northern Arizona Quilt Shop Hop and the upcoming one in the Phoenix area. They shared what they could about shop hop plans that were already in the works.
Instructor Kathy Reynolds will teach a class on making this “Vintage” quilt on October 3.
For their store specifically, that includes deciding where to get cookies this year, because, apparently, they give away tons of them during the shop hop! The fact that they’re already working on this tells me their priorities are in the right place.
Mad B’s t-shirt collaboration with State Forty-Eight.
We followed that up by visiting another Mesa-based quilt shop, Mad B’s Quilt and Sew.
Me: Maybe the fabrics were a little more modern at Mad B’s.
Mom: Yeah, maybe a little more modern. Mad B’s always has their projects out for you to look at – if you can find them!
She laughed, because we had gone around the whole store trying to find a particular sample project that she wanted to show me. Turns out the teachers make their own demonstration samples for classes and take them home once the class is over, so it actually wasn’t even there anymore.
Space patterned fabrics at Mod B’s.
We turned our attention to gathering supplies for the next class Mom would be taking there. Sales associates helped us locate the right zippers and figure out how much of different types of fabric she’d need for the project.
The entrance to Mad B’s in Mesa.
She’s been taking extra classes at Mad B’s this summer. They offered this great deal where you’d buy a Class Pass and then could take all the classes you want in July and August without paying additional class fees.
It seems like a nice way to liven up a time of year when the heat is feeling oppressive and not much is going on!
Mom: A quilt shop hop is a regional opportunity to see different quilt shops. For us here in the Valley, they’re spread for – I don’t know – 50 miles? So a lot of times people will divide and do the West Valley one time and the East Valley another time. But there’s also groups of quilters who will just rent a bus or a van and go, for the whole day, from one shop to the next!
While many of the details were yet-to-be released, we did find out a few things about this fall’s Phoenix-area shop hop, which is more formally known as…
Hop Around the Valley: Maricopa County Shop Association Shop Hop
Dates: October 6-14, 2023
Passports are $10 and are now available for purchase at any of the shops.
Get passport stamps by visiting all 9 participating shops during the Shop Hop dates to be eligible for the grand prizes!
Have prize drawings, including two $50 gift cards for their shop!
October should be a much nicer time of year to be hopping around Phoenix. I think my mom has already bought her passport!
Another participating shop is Sun Valley Quilts. I met owner, Barbara Connoyer at the Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival., and took a photo of her and a rep from The Grace Company at their booth.
In case you’re not familiar, you can think of a quilt shop hop as kind of like a pub crawl, only with less alcohol and a lot more fabric.
Different quilt shops in a region will participate with demonstrations, prizes, and fun activities. You “hop” around to the different ones. Instead of tickets or admission, you can purchase a single passport that allows you to join in the extra festivities at each shop.
Banner project via Quilt N Sew Connection, Prescott Valley.
To join in, you just start in any of the 6 participating shops and buy a passport for $5. That gets you entry into prize drawings and a 10% discount on merchandise, as you visit the rest of the shops (or as many of them as you’d like).
Route on Google Maps.
The Plan
My mom wanted to go check out that Northern Arizona Shop Hop, so we hatched a plan to make a day trip while I was visiting her recently.
The plan was to time our two-hour drive from Phoenix so we’d arrive as the shops were opening. We wouldn’t get to all of them, but we might be able to go to 3 or 4 out of the 6, and then get back to her house in time for Phillip and I to drive home to Tucson (two hours in the opposite direction).
What actually happened was a different story – more on that in a minute.
While the day did not go as planned, I had looked up a bunch of stuff about the shops ahead of time. And had done some deep dives into Google Maps street views of our destinations, because even map apps can be confusing!
Via Sew-n-Sew Fabric, Notions + More.
Let’s Go to the Hop
In case you’d like to plan your own Northern Arizona quilt store expedition (during a shop hop or not), I wanted to share the information I found about the shops I was planning on going to.
Before you drive across the state, it’s always a good idea to check AZ511 for road closures because of construction, weather, wildfires, etc.
Exit to Chino Valley, via Google Maps.
Start here!
Take the I-17 north out of the Phoenix area.
When you get to Cordes Junction, peel off onto AZ-69 North (take exit 262 for Cordes Lakes) towards Prescott.
You’ll get to Prescott Valley first, and that’s where you’ll find the first two shops on our list…
One of the town trails via Prescott Valley Parks + Recreation.
Prescott Valley
In case you’re not familiar with the area, yes, Prescott Valley is a different town than Prescott, which is almost 100 years older!
Find them at 6546 E. Second St., Suite A, Prescott Valley
From Cordes Junction, stay on AZ-69 for about 30-40 minutes.
Take a left onto Valley View Drive – which may look less like like a street and more like the entrance to the Mattress + Furniture Gallery parking lot.
Quilt N Sew Connection is in one of the Santa Fe style buildings on Second Street, across from the Post Office.
“A great selection of quality quilting fabrics, battings, books and supplies,” as well as “a passion for batiks!” On the home decorating side, they carry an assortment of upholstery fabrics for both DIYers and pros – and (heads up, cosplayers!) they also have an entire foam department.
Find them at 6479 E. Copper Hill Dr., Prescott Valley
From Quilt N Sew, cross AZ-69 and turn onto Copper Hill Drive.
ClothPlus is in a warehouse-looking building on the south side of the street.
Prescott Courthouse via Visit Prescott on Flickr.
Prescott
Prescott’s Courthouse Plaza is home to craft fairs, festivals, and lots of other outdoor events! It’s surrounded by a town square full of quirky shops and restaurants, historic hotels, and old-timey saloons. We were hoping to be there by lunchtime.
Snow falling on the shop! Via Prescott Quilt Works.
A new full-service quilt shop with “a curated selection of both traditional and modern fabrics, patterns, and supplies.” Their goal is “to inspire and help you create your vision while having fun from start to finish.”
Open Tue, Thr-Sat 10am-4pm / Wed 10am-6pm
Contact hello@prescottquiltworks.com / Instagram / Facebook / Pinterest / (928) 515-2276 Find them at 1781 E. AZ-69, Suite 29, Prescott
Get back on AZ-69 North until you spot Frontier Village Shopping Center on your left.
Prescott Quilt Works is a couple doors down from Sportsman’s Warehouse.
Overlooking Chino Valley in Northern Arizona at sunset. Via Discover Chino Valley.
Chino Valley
If we had time to squeeze it in, this would be our final stop of the day.
Antique sewing machine at Sew-n-Sew Fabric in Chino Valley.
“This store has been a dream of mine for over 30 years and to see it come to fruition has me beyond words. Our goal is to provide a one stop shop for all your basic sewing needs.”
Open Mon-Sat 9am-6pm
Contact yoursewnsew@yahoo.com / Facebook / (928) 636-3769 Find them at 1120 S. Hwy 89, Suite E. Chino Valley
Get back onto AZ-69, but prepare to take a pretty quick right.
Exit onto AZ-89 North.
Go through like 6 traffic circles. Make sure you’re still on AZ-89 when you come out the other side of each one!
At the stoplight intersection with Rt 2 S, make a U-turn. (Where are those traffic circles when you finally need one?!)
Sew-n-Sew will be on the right, in a strip mall with a blue roof.
Quilter’s Quarters shop, photo by Paula Fleming via Google Maps.
Cottonwood + Flagstaff
The other two participating shops that we knew we wouldn’t be able to fit into our day trip…
Usually, going to Northern Arizona in the summer means cool weather instead of Phoenix heat.
However, as the shop hop got closer, the whole state seemed to be scorching. Even in the high country, they were expecting temps of 98-100, which is not cool. But cooler than Phoenix by about 20 degrees, so that’s something.*
I checked in with Mom.
Me: If it’s hot up north, do you still want to go?
Mom: Sure!
Mom remembered she had a doctor’s appointment scheduled for the morning of our trip. It would mean heading north a bit later, but we could make it work if the appointment didn’t go too long.
Me: If we leave straight from your doctor’s office, do you still want to go?
Mom: Sure!
The appointment went too long. It was midday before Mom finally reappeared in the waiting room. We started talking about if it made any sense to try to drive up just for the afternoon. Then Mom had an idea.
Mom: Instead of making a long drive, do you want to visit a couple nearby quilt shops and then go see the Barbie movie?
Me: Sure!
That was a plan that worked out perfectly. The Barbie movie was great! And I’ll fill you in on the Phoenix-area (East Valley) stores we visited in the next few weeks.
*Temperatures were around 37 Celsius in the normally-much-cooler northern Arizona region. Hot. But slightly less hot than the Phoenix area, where it was 47 C!
“We … find our way on canoes as we travel across the ocean where there are no street signs.”
Even in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with no land in sight – and no GPS – Lehua Kamalu knows where she’s going.
Hōkūle’a was designed to replicate traditional Polynesian voyaging canoes. Photo courtesy of the Polynesian Voyaging Society.
I learned about Lehua through an interview on the Overheard at National Geographic podcast. As part of the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS), she has learned to find her way across the waves by employing ancestral knowledge and constant, keen observation of her surroundings.
Captain navigator Lehua Kamalu before departing on a voyage from Hawaii to California in August 2018. Photo by Hye Jung Kim / Polynesian Voyaging Society.
“Wayfinding for us really is the idea that with the naked eye, with all of your senses, [you] immerse yourself into the signs of the natural world around you.”
The Polynesian Voyaging Society was founded in the 1970s, part of a Hawaiian cultural renaissance of pre-colonial arts, language, knowledge, and skills. They re-learned how to build the large, ocean-going canoes that had originally brought Polynesians to the Hawaiian islands centuries ago, as well as the navigational methods that guided them.
“Waves create regular, readable patterns in the ocean that are long range and very consistent, particularly in the tropics, particularly here in Polynesia, and are very reliable to find your way.”
The first voyaging canoe PVS built was the 62-foot long Hōkūleʻa, which was launched in 1975 and has since traveled over 140,000 nautical miles! The next canoe, Hikianalia, was built in 2012.
Photo courtesy of the Polynesian Voyaging Society.
In 2018, after years of honing her navigational skills, Lehua Kamalu became the first woman to captain one of these canoes on an extended voyage.
It was fascinating to hear her describe what it’s like to sail across the Pacific Ocean without present-day navigational equipment.
“The navigator’s job is to spend as little time sleeping as possible. And as much time watching for consistency, watching for patterns in the sky and in the ocean, and also for changes and comparing what’s going on between the two.”
Currently, she’s one of the 400 crew members of two Polynesian voyaging canoes (Hōkūle‘a and Hikianalia) that are circumnavigating the Pacific on the 43,000-nautical-mile “Voyage for the Earth,” Moananuiākea.
All quotes are by Lehua Kamalu, from her Overheard interview with Eli Chen. All photos courtesy of the Polynesian Voyaging Society.
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The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
