Plans to visit Florida.
 

We have just been invited by some British friends to visit them mid September.
They live in Bradenton, Florida and I am SO excited. Can anyone point out any nice quilt shops / groups in that area please ?
We will fly into Tampa and go down the 275 or 75.
Thanks for any help.
Regards,
Dot in England, UK.

A cute shop just across the river (north from Bradenton - take Highway 41) is called The Quilter's Haven. It is on Highway 301 west of 75 and minutes from Bradenton. See their website at:
http://www.quiltershavenandmore.com/

If you go 275, I hope you have a stout heart, and the driver isn't afraid of heights. I can never go over that Sunshine Skyway again. It is straight up. Pray you don't get behind a slow truck and cant make enough speed to make it to the top!

I loved your reply Material Witness ! We have gone that way twice now - as once before we stayed in St Pete's and I wanted to go to Ellenton and then a second occasion when we visited the friends in Bradenton. On both occasions as we got onto the SS bridge, Cher's song - Believe was playing on the car radio. we call that our bridge song now !!

Also, thanks Kathy T for recommending Quilters Haven and more - will have to go and find it !

There's a nice shop called Cotton Patch in the area: http://www.cottonpatchquiltshop.com/index.htm

It's north of Tampa but all the towns around Tampa seem to run together, one of my favorite shops is Rainbow's End in Dunedin. If you have free time, it's worth the trip.

I love Rainbow's End and it really isn't too far from Bradenton but yes, you do have to go across the Sunshine Skyway. I love going across that magnificent bridge.

There are several around Bradenton. One of my favourites is Alma Sue's. It is in the Amish/ Mennonite area and there are usually 2 or 3 quilt frames set up with women hand quilting. They don't mind if you watch and their stitching is amazing! Also good Amish food near by at Der Dutchman or Yoders.
Cotton Patch on University is also good, along with A Quilters Journey and A Quilters Stash on Lockwood Ridge Rd. The last three are in within 10 - 15 minutes of each other.
I also love going to Deborah Quilt Basket in Venice and have done a class there.
http://www.almasue.com
http://www.cottonpatchquiltshop.com
A Quilters Stash 6388 N Lockwood Ridge Rd
https://m.facebook.com/AQuiltersJourney
http://www.debsquiltbasket.com

Have fun!

thank you!!! I am in Bradenton right now and am sitting at the racetrack. I brought lots of projects to work on while we are here. In between working on the car and making test runs, I have been working on a quilt from Anita Goodesigns. It is in-the-hoop appliqué. I am doing it a little different from what is instructed, as I will be teaching this using a Silhouette cutting machine to cut the appliqué.
I went to the grocery yesterday and decided to find the Hobby Lobby. What a disaster! Traffic was horrendous (well, I did decide to shop at that time, due to the fact that we finished racing then!). I needed a new mat for my Silhouette, I ran in and out as quickly as possible. The 22 mile trip back to the track took me nearly an hour!
I am excited to see this list. We are racing here this weekend and next then heading to Gainsville for the NHRA nationals. Husband and grandson are going fishing in the gulf on Monday, so I found a laundry mat not too far from A quilter Haven, so drop them off at the marina, do the laundry and check out the shop.
i have been to Rainbows End. What a cute shop full of goodies! Not all that close to Bradenton. I will try to check out a few of these shops, maybe we will run into each other!
Crossed that bridge many times in a motor home with a 28 foot long trailer the is 13 feet high (imagine we are as big as a semi-truck).....scary the first time, but hey, live dangerously!!!

September will be a perfect time to travel. Traffic will be lighter than the winter months and you can get to areas quickly. I live in Lakeland, FL love a really nice quilting store in Temple Terrace (suburb of Tampa) called Bernina Sewing Center. Their address is 5405 E Fowler. It is a husband-wife store and I'm always treated with "white glove" service when I visit. They have a large selection of the newest fabrics, too. If you plan to stop there, pm me and I can give you my personal information & you can tell them I recommended them to you. (I find it's always nice to be recommended.) No, I am not affiliated with the store, I'm just a happy customer.