Rural City Girl

Of course people will only submit or omit what they want. Of course that is their decision. I think that is obvious. But to exclude a shop just because you don't like it makes this list incomplete and for my purposes, unusable. I never said anything about a "don't go to shop" Just list the shops in your area, with no comment about + or - . To exclude shops is a very poor data collection procedure.

But if the standard is going to be something is better than nothing, then I think the list will be no better than what is already available to us.

patricej

i think we'd have no way of knowing whether somebody had included all possible shops in his/her area..

and how wide a radius is "area"?
what counts as a shop?
what doesn't?

the list of variables can get quite long.

it won't be merely better than nothing.

it will be "i can't believe one of our members has offered so generously to spend uncounted hours of time and effort to compile this great list that i might not find anywhere else on the internet."

this glass is definitely full.

bearisgray

Do you want to include only "brick and mortar" shops?

Do you want to include stores/shops that have only a few supplies and fabrics (some small town stores might have an "area" like the old Ben Franklin stores had)?

Will there be a way to let you know when a shop has closed?

An aside/question: Do the shops that are listed in the guides need to pay a fee to be listed/included?

Are you still in the data collection stages? I was wondering what format you will use to share the information. (My computer expertise is pretty limited)

Are you/we giving estimates of whether the shop is small, medium, or large? Or just if it exists - where it is - and when it is open?

I applaud you for taking this on. I really like the idea of having a "as of this date, this info is correct" notation on each entry.

momski

I was driving to Central Wi last weekend and was thinking the SAME thing. We should have a master list.

dmackey

The list is free, not for sale, and open the public. It will be a Google Spread sheet accessible by a link.

I'm not doing anything more complicated than simply creating a list. This will be a great thing for those who travel and will be able to find shops on their route.

I just started collecting data from members and it will be an ongoing process. The most important thing is that the list be compiled of shops that are currently in business. I will state in the list if the shop eventually closes.

I will not put anything judgemental about the shops in the list. I am simply verifying that the shops exist and are open for business, and noting any specialty of the shop.

Shops such as Ben Franklin and Walmart that have fabric are certainly considered a source for quilt shoppers and should be on the list.

Published books are out of date before they are even printed. A complete and accessible internet list for free, will be the most reliable source.

I am not including shops that are only have a website and not a retail outlet. It doesn't matter where they are located because they are only accessible on the web.

Diane

bejay28

WOW!!! I didn't know! Thank you!!!! I wanna play tooo!!!!

PurplePassion

The Cotton Patch
110 W. Broadway St. Owatonna MN 55060
507-451-5979
www.thecottonpatchquilts.com
[email protected]
Mon.-Fri. 9am-5:30pm, Thurs. 9am-7pm, Sat. 9am-5pm

bearisgray

My understanding of this is:

(1) dmackey has offered to compile a list of quilt shops and stores/shops that sell fabric/quilting supplies that are open to the public

(2) the information will be coming ONLY from board members - the information will only be as accurate and complete as to what dmackey receives from the members and her transcription of the info

(3) reviews of the shop, service, etc. will NOT be included

(4) specialties of the shop - such as civil war prints, 1930's reproductions, etc, may be included

Now I'm confused as to how to make #3 and #4 compatible

I think, almost by definition, that a list of this sort will always be incomplete.

bejay28

The way I see it....it's not hard....just post "YOUR" favorite quilt shop in "YOUR" area..... right?

dmackey

I am simply compiling a list of shops that members are aware of that are currently in business and their locations for those who travel or for those who were not aware of what was in their area, so they can easily find the shops and I have offered to keep it updated. That's all, nothing more, nothing less. I certainly hope it is better than nothing.

We all have had problems with shops at one time or another, but that doesn't mean they should be excluded, and no one is required to include all available in their area.

I would like to see this thread go back to it's original intent, and that is a request for members to send me information requested in my original post about current shops, so I can compile the list.

Thanks!

Diane