We live in Chester County which is right next to Lancaster County, PA, home of the Amish and quilts galore. Not know where to start, I took the advice of Quilter54 and visited some of the shops she did. Here original post:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-122812-1.htm
My husband had the day off today so he took me on a 8 shop excursion around Lancaster County. We started in Intercourse, and ended in East Earl. The weather was stellar, the sun was shining, and the shops were open!
First stop, Zook's. Great place! 10% off of entire store except for the sale items that were an additional 30% off. Got some batting there. Near Zook's, in the Kitchen Kettle Village Shops, is Village Quilts, whose purpose is to promote the art of hand quilting. They have many many beautiful quilts hanging around 2800 sq. ft. of space. Loved visiting this shop! We also stopped in on our friends' open air shop, Paw Prints. Cute store! We have a Bichon and love seeing her likeness on so many products, even socks!
Second, third, and fourth: Bitty Kinna's, The Quilt Shack, and Log Cabin Quilt Shop. Didn't buy anything in these shops but they were fun to visit. Bitty Kinna's was small - I think their main offering is service and teaching. Quilt Shack has lots of creations plus fabric. Log Cabin was mainly a gift shop with fabric for purchase.
Fifth stop was Weavers Dry Goods. Gosh. It's off the beaten track but well worth the visit. The place looks small from the road, but when you walk in, it opens up and they have tons of name brand bolts! Must be a converted old farmhouse. The space goes on and on! I found a nice piece of fabric to go with the crumb blocks for a quilt I'm working on now.
Sixth stop: Burkholders. You feel like you're driving on a little country road going nowhere and BAMMM! There's a sign on the right that says Burkholders. We went past it and had to turn around and come back. On the porch and in the back office they had 1/2 bolts for $2.75 a yard. This place was really hopping. Lots of ladies were rifling through the carts of bolts on the porch. DH and I headed to the back office where we were the only ones searching through the bolts. I picked three that I liked. Again, lots and lots of fabric.
Almost Seventh stop: Ate in Denver. Mmmm. Nice treat! We were hungry.
Seventh stop: Another place that you can pass by if you're not looking. The sign for Sauder's was not very large, but my DH saw it in time to pull in. Again, an unpretentious house. You walk down into the basement and find rows and rows of bolts! Lots of discounted fabric. Upstairs, there is a large room containing lots of fabric sold by the bolt only. Overwhelming but well organized and fun to look through.
Last stop: We had to do it. The pics that Quilter54 took enticed the visit and cannot tell you the overwhelming amount of fabric in Obie's. The place is small, but seemed to have a huge amount of fabric! It was stacked everywhere! The aisles were tight and in one spot I had to turn sideways to get through. If I had more time, I think I would have enjoyed looking more thoroughly through it. Upstairs displays lots and lots of hand quilted quilts. The era of the store was from the time of the little country store with the pop machine that sold bottles on the porch and you could buy penny candy inside and find anything you might need on the shelves. DH loved looking at the architecture and commented on the gas light fixtures hanging from the ceiling. Yes, he did have a good time.
That was our fabulous day! Sorry, no pics. We forgot the camera, but will relive our adventure for some time to come!
DH and I haven't done anything together like this for a while and it was nice to be alone having a relaxed fun day.