we have a lot of quilt shops closing in my area (western Mass.)
also Walmart's fabrics just dissapeared .
There's only three left in a 20mi radius :( used to be 7 ) I guess I have been spoiled !! I'm going to miss all the options I had before .

I hope things don't get worse , with the economy and the quilt shops don't survive !!

the little shop near me closed about a month ago. she said she was retiring. Good time to do it. :?

Amazing our quilt shops here are thriving.

I had a wonderful experience at one of our local shops the other day - one of my long arm quilter friends met up with her customer in the shop, and we got to see the first reactions to the work that was done on her quilt! The quilter was telling us how she felt such a family connection to quilting because of her grandmothers, how she was reproducing some of those quilts from the 1800's, and how excited she was that this particular quilt would be in our local quilt show this year.

Then everyone loaded up into their cars to head over to another quilt shop, who's owner was this quilter's mentor - all so this quilt could be shared.

It reminded me that there is a closeness, a connection to be made in local quilt shops that just isn't there (to me) in mass merchandise stores. Not a trip goes by that I'm not asked what I'm working on and when I'm going to bring it in for a 'show and tell.' Don't get me wrong, I love my online shops too :wink: but the trips into my local shops really feed my soul :)

Location, Location, Location. This is so true for quilt/fabric shops.

One here in town is not in the best area, hard to find and the shop itself is dark and not decorated to be cozy or bright. The other one has terrible parking, hard to cross busy front street. All you see when you walk in is sewing machines for sale, then the fabric in the back. Both shops are not doing so great getting the customers in. Another quilt shop about 40 min away is booming. The shop looks like a quilt shop, lots of displays, fabric sections by color and type, easy access and plenty of large parking spaces. And the machines and long arms for sale are in the back rooms. I will drive the 40 min to shop there as many others in town do too.

Well, Loretta - you'll just have to come for a visit now won't you :wink: Believe me, I realize just how truly blessed I am to have quite a few shops around and want to keep them!

(shhh...I have 26 yards of Red Rooster coming in the mail this week :lol: )

i think a lot of people shop online now because the prices are so reasonable instead of shopping locally.

I hope the shop near me doesn't close, I have only the LQS and Jo-Ann's to choose from....

Mary,

Im in Randolph MA, and we have the same problem. there were 2 quilt shops ad a huge store called The Fabric Place close to me that closed. I just found another in Franklin Mass a few weeks back so I now go there.

It's like with alot of little businesses, quilting or otherwise....sort of a catch22 situation really....people want to pay the prices they can get over the internet (as most of them have relatively no overhead) but they also want the commaraderie of a local quilt shop.