Pam Buda posted (here) about
something near and dear to my heart. I often find myself spouting off to
students and friends to support their local quilt shop. How many of you have
lost a wonderful quilt shop to the ravages of the internet and/or discount
fabric houses?
Don’t get me wrong. I like a
good bargain as much as the next person. And, there is a place for both the
large and the small. However, if we spend all
our designated quilt funds on the “best deals in town”, there will be nothing
left for that little neighborhood shop. The one that helps you out when you
need advice. The one that will bend over backwards to get you a piece of fabric
that you just have to match and has long ago been discontinued. The one who is
always happy to see you.
This is a stack of Pam Buda's "Old Plums" at Busy Thimble. - YUM!
I have mentioned before on my
Blog how lucky I am to have a very good friend (Cyndi) who happens to own the
best quilt shop ever! Grab a cup of tea and head over to her Blog (BusyThimble) and scroll through the years of wonderful posts. Your head will be
spinning from all the inspiration!
I should add that by local I mean 35 miles from my house! There are a lot of us still living in rural communities, where local means anywhere within a 50 mile radius.
I should add that by local I mean 35 miles from my house! There are a lot of us still living in rural communities, where local means anywhere within a 50 mile radius.
So, what is your favorite
shop? I’d love to hear about it.
Cyndi's is my favorite, but it is just a tad out of my way. I loved my visit there! : )
ReplyDeleteThere is a shop 15 minutes away from me that I try to support as much as I can, but they don't carry Marcus fabrics and that eliminates many of my favorites (Pam Buda, Paula Barnes, Judie Rothermel). So whenever I can I go over the mountain to a shop just over 30 minutes away and spend as much hard earned cash as I can! They have a big, beautiful wall of repro fabrics and always have fun things for displaying little quilts. I don't want to see them close! : )
She had such a nice visit with you! I wish she was closer, but I still am LOT closer than you!
DeleteI can only wish there was a LQS closer than 35 miles away. When we were in Oregon Boersmas was my favorite and I still stop there when we get back to the west coast. I did buy a half-yard bundle of Pam's luscious plums for an upcoming quilt. Love them! Found very few places even online that carried the entire line.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, those of us who live in rural areas have a harder time finding a "local" shop. Have fun with your plums!
DeleteCyndi's shop is absolutely fabulous! I would describe it, though, as being quite a trek from your house, through all those windy roads! Beautiful drive, though.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had a LQS near me that had fabrics I"d be interested in. It doesn't exist, unless I'm up in Oregon, where there are several about 15 miles away. i do not buy fabric online, generally. And I certainly don't need any more fabric, either.
I will make an exception for Cyndi's fabrics, though!! ;-))
GREAT shout out for her!
I did edit the post to say that "local" for me means at least 35 miles away. We surely did have fun that day!
Deleteyes it is cyndi's but also a bit of a trek...have to make do with capital quilts in gaithersburg, about 20 min away..but haven't been to web fabrics yet in VA where there are real dutch chintzes....droooool
ReplyDeleteI think being from Maine we don't always think of 35 miles as being very far to go!
DeleteOh Wendy this post really resonates with me! My favorite LQS - the Quilted Crow - is only 13 miles away from me in Bolton MA.. and another gem - Cobblestone Quilts in Townsend MA - is only 15 miles away. I agree with you - it is so important to support our local quilt stores. I hope to make it up to Cyndi's sometime because it seems to me that she has a phenomenal selection of reproductions!
ReplyDeleteOh Cynthia, it would be a great time if you did come up. There is a great restaurant right on the lake about 5 minutes from Cyndi and we could spend the whole day talking quilts! Let's make a plan!
DeleteClosest shops to me are well over an hour and they don't generally carry any repros. Kind of leaves me with online or not at all.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid this is the case with so many. I do truly realize how lucky I am that Cyndi is only 45 minutes away!
DeleteMy local quilt shop closed in November--They had been in business for years--broke my heart.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to here this. I don't know what I'd do without Cyndi.
DeleteI'm in a bit of a dead zone here but I like Bolt in western CT and also Sew Inspired both are at least an hour away
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of people are in a dead zone. I sometimes forget how lucky I am. If you ever want a road trip, I would love to meet you at Cyndi's There's a great restaurant on the lake 5 miles up the road from the shop. Fun!
DeleteI hate to say this after hearing that many Quilter's have to drive longer distances but I'm within 20 minutes of 5 different shops. Each one different and carrying different lines of fabrics. But even then, with so many designers and manufacturers there are still some items I can only find online. I do help locally to keep them in business!
ReplyDeleteMany of my favorite local shops have closed, but they really were not that local (at least an hours drive or more). There are two shops I try to get to every few months, although they do not carry many repo fabrics, the owners are super nice. I have to travel about 75 minutes to those shops. Unfortunately, the shops that are within 30 minutes do not carry the fabrics I am looking for most of the time. It is tough!
ReplyDelete