Sunday, May 3, 2009

More Quilt shop reviews

(Grabbed this hibiscus close up yesterday at Lowes)

A correction for my previous list of quilt shops: I mistakenly listed Sew Original as Sewing Yours in Boone. My apologies! I love both of these places and appreciate their awesome staffs!

Continuing on my impressions of quilt shops:

In Morehead City, NC, I have visited The Quilted Butterfly, which is part of ALB Decorator Fabrics. The quilt fabrics side looks deceptively small. There is a ton of incredible fabrics here! I was struck by the beautiful oriental and batik fabrics. There are fabrics here you won't find easily in other places! The shop also has a great selection of kits using original patterns. The only drawback for me was the small space. With the beautiful unique fabrics, kits and samples, it would be nice to have more space. Also, if there are more than 3 people in there, it gets crowded!Worth the visit.

Also in Morehead City is Sew it Seams. This shop has a large inventory of many, many fabrics! All arranged by color, it is a visual delight. This shop also features a nice selection of quilting notions and kits. At my visit, I did wish they had better lighting. This shop is large and has a nice layout, but seemed dim. I will revisit!

I mentioned the Whistle Stop Quilt Shop in a previous post. I will reiterate the fun atmosphere and great selection of fabrics and patterns! A very nice, helpful proprietor as well (Connie).

And now, I will try to write about Mary Jo's. This cannot be called just a quilt shop. Mary Jo's is a sewing destination. There are 10's of thousands of fabrics here. Wedding, pagent, apparel, wool, upholstery, trims, gimp, and an incredible array of quilting cottons in 32,000 square feet all under one roof! You can spend a day here! In the parking lot you will see license plates from all over the US and Canada. Not kidding, this place is HUGE. Now, it is not just the selection, the staff here is awesome as well. The quilting fabrics are arranged by themes (animals, fruit, stripes, batiks) and by color. She also carries Michael Miller, Amy Butler and Kaffe Fassett fabrics. There is a huge wall of notions to choose from as well. Mary Jo's is a treat for me. I current live only an hour away, but I force myself to finish projects before I go there and stock up on more!

No comments: