I'm looking for some help from my fellow quilters... those that know best! :-D

I am hoping to purchase a LQS, which will be pretty much turn-key, but not probably til closer to fall. However, would you share with me your personal likes and dislikes about any LQS? What draws you there? What turns you away?

Children's play area?
Coffee?
Rude sales people? Yikes! (One of my personal turnoffs)
Smells?
Kits?
Samples?
Music?
Sewing area?

Just some ideas... please share your thoughts with me! Thanks!!!

Lack of help, snobby clerks. There are a couple of shops in my area where I feel like I'm doing them a favor by going in.
I would like a teaching shop, where they had hands on tutorials.

Like... just a short little tutorial midday or throughout the day?

It would depend, I would like a class on something like a Twisted Log Cabin, which would run a couple of weekends. But I would also like a class on hand applique which would run an afternoon. I would take a class in how to make an organizer or a tote bag. The one LQS with the nasty clerks offer them, but they were so rude to me the one and only time I went in, I'll never go back.
JoAnn's offers classes, I have never attended as it is taught by their staff, who aren't the best trained in short cuts.

I've attended a couple of the quilting guild only meets once a month and the ones I have attended tend to be more of a "show and tell" format. I need to learn something from someone who is equal or supeerior ro my sewing skills.

I lilke lots of fabrics, lots of threads, lots of books and patterns. I really don't care about any of the rest of the things you mentioned. I come to shop and want as many choices as I can possibly have.

I like shops that give me a coupon for something after I spend a certain amount of money. I also want the shop to keep a record of my purchases - every store in the universe (quilt and not) wants customers to carry a discount card. They make my purse heavy so I frequent stores that don't require it as much as possible. And make sure that the coupon is meaningful, especially since I travel for work a lot and can't make it to the sales most of the time. I went to store recently that said they give you $10 after you spend $250. That's 4% - big deal. $20 would have been less than 10% but I could still buy a couple of yards and that feels significant.

I hope this helps.

Also, many of the woman I know work and need the classes after work hours. I go on Sat, but my neighbor can't attend a class unless it is in the evening. Most classes tend to be during work hours. So a variety of hours would be wonderful.

Music is fine but keep the volume down!

There are alot of threads on here you need to read about how women feel. What would be good for one isn't necesarily good for someone else. Cover all your bases and make everyone happy, if you have the room. I have to admit the #1 is great sales clerk's.
Best of luck in your new adventure.

I just took a machine quilting class yesterday at my LQS and was so disappointed. I felt the class was misrepresented and a waste of my time and money. So, on that note, I would strongly recommend that if you do classes, you make sure your students don't feel like they have to purchase items for class that they don't end up using in class. I was told I had to have a book (didn't use it once) and that I needed basting spray (didn't use it once). So, I put out $25.00 on top of the $25.00 for the class and $16.95 for supplies (not counting the book) that I totally did not need to spend. The instructor spoke for over 2 hours of the 3 hour class and the "hands-on" part was pretty much on our own instead of with instructor support. The ONLY thing I got out of the WAY TO SIMPLE class was a comment she made about how they attach their quilt backings on their long-arm to the canvas leader. (Certainly NOT worth the time and money to get that tip!) Anyway, had the course description stated that the class was for those who had never attempted machine quilting, I would not have attended. I thought it was to help us learn techniques, not about what a walking foot was or how to lower feeddogs on the machine! I doubt I will take another class from the store after that one, especially if I knew the same lady was giving the class. She could have condensed her talk into a thirty-minute ORGANIZED lesson (she was VERY disorganized in her thinking and took a bunch of time talking about herself as a quilter that really didn't pertain to learning machine quilting) and then given us more practice time and more guidance, using the book as a resource.

You all are great!