Hi! I'm in Mechanicsburg. I've been here for four months now. I lived in Philly for years, moved away, moved back to the Main Line for another several years, now here about 15 minutes SW of Harrisburg.

Love how well trained (or loving and considerate) your DH is!

Well I am back and more frustrated then ever. The only place that was open was Pa Fabric Wear house. It has a very small selection of quilting fabric. I go to the PA Fabric Wear house in Lemoine (Lisanne see this)several times a year and go nuts on the HS's dime for the Theater program. So I guess I will just have to go back to Lancaster again when all of the great shops are open and I do not have four hundred other things to do in 36 hours. I will post pics tomorrow. Right now all I want is my own bed.

Lisanne: Our niece and family live in Mechanicsburg. They are Jim and Brenda Schambach. Jim is a Pastor at Christian Life (I think that is the name). Anyway, it is a huge church (about 3,000). I know it is not far from a prison. We have a Mechanicsville here in VA and I have to be careful when writing to them since I have been know to write the "ville" on the end of the PA address. :D We are going to Gettysburg then Harrisburg in Oct. In Nov., we are traveling to Lancaster so I will be anxious to visit "the shops." Please excuse the long message.

Lisanne: My DH is very loving and considerate and such an encouragement to my quilting. He actually has great taste in selecting fabric and shows so much patience. Celebrating 49 years of marriage this Nov.

Well here are the purchases I got. Not much but I will just have to go back.

more

Nice K - I especially like the neutrals - have you got something in mind for them? :D

Gorgeous picks.

kwhite, sorry you didn't get to see most of the shops, but you got some beautiful fabrics! Yes, I saw your mention of Fabric Warehouse (Wearhouse?) in Lemoyne - thanks! - have been meaning to check it out. Lookinf forward to seeing what you do with those fabrics!

SSteacher - ulp, there's a prison near Mechanicsburg? I had no idea. It seems to be mostly Messiah College and military base - haven't heard even the mention of a prison.

I know what you mean about miscalling it "-ville." In Philly, there's a park that runs the length of the west end of the city, Fairmount Park. It's one of my favorite things about Philly. When I travel, I often stay in Fairfield Inns, and I constantly get strange looks when I say "Fairmount Inn" without realizing it.

Great selections. Maybe you did not buy a bundle but what you bought is beautiful. I visited our local quilt shop, Newport News, VA, today and sometimes I go there just to "smell" the fabric. They have such beautiful prints and color combinations. I envisioned all kinds of quilts but have to finish what I have started.

I saw the grey and brown one and I like grey and brown together so well I thought I would choose them. Then the othes seemed to fall into place. and anythime i see a fabric that looks like a jester fabric I have to have some of it. I may make myself a purse with them. My frien bought some too for a purse she wants to make. I imagine I will be making a purse right along with her so I can help her with the instructionsthesewords are undulatingin the lines and talking to other words i odnt think theklikmy choices
so should I why al i out htatsdrtbig groups are too scarry
I lik e littlelgrous this is too big
ans we aare sooo tired,poop is cleaned,boob oo he ran away
ithought brown black cream animal prints nice purse very soft strap. hidden compartments. no on = smart enough. fingers heavy. Soft piollw, quilt washed again. and again no more
going now bye

Hey K I hope you had a good, loooong sleep - looks like you needed it! :shock: :lol:

Lisanne--my niece has a street address of Canyon Creek--not too far from their church--yep, there is a prison there.

kwhite--do you know of a nice and easy handbag pattern? I know there are oodles of patterns. I have never made a "bag" but would love to--you may have to talk me through it too :D Hope you got some good rest. Also, I am a little confused--did you find great deals at PA Fabric Warehouse in Lemoine? At first, I thought you did not get a "bang" out of going there.

Good Lord I really shouldn't try to type after my sleeping pill. I don't even know what I was saying there. My GF bought a purse pattern and we will be using that. Though if you do a search on this boadr you should fins a link thread that has lots of easy bag patterns on it. some were really cute.

Phew! Glad it wasn't only me then! :shock: :lol:

Nope the Fam tells me I am not human after the pill. I guess i was speaking whatever language what I turn into speaks.

You mean harlequin motley, like this? I love it, too. I'd like to make a quilt using a motley pattern. By the way, I got this at The Old Country Store, yup, in Lancaster. Specifically in Intercourse. Not to taunt you - you will just have to come back. They also sell over the Internet. http://www.theoldcountrystore.com/

ssteacher, I'll check it on the map. Thanks! Good to know where it is.

A must stop, IMHO, is Hayloft Fabrics. It's off the PA turnpike. They have a website but to me there's nothing like in person.

It's been awhile, but there's another called The Quilt Shack or Fabric Shack. It looks like a brick front house but is just stuffed with fabric in rooms all over. To the back is the bargain room. Great prices!

Yes this is exactly what I mean. My DD is a Theater Geek and I love things that are Theater/Renaissance related.

Quiltluver: Is the Fabric Shack or Quilt Shack also off the PA turnpike or is it in Lancaster? Going to Lancaster in Nov and want to hit as many places as possible. Already have DH exercising arms to build up for "holding bolts." :roll:

It's going into Bird-In-Hand and Intercourse. Route 340 or something like that. It would be on the left side. Maybe three miles (?) or so further down is the People's Place Museum on the right.

I used to have a map of the area with all the shops but I can't find it at the moment. Should I come across it I'll definitely get back to you.

Hayloft has about 8,000 bolts, charms, jellys, scrap baskets to dig in (my favorite), battings, flannels, repos, 30's, the latest new lines, patterns, books, made for sale items, fat quarters. I love how their fabric is organized and labeled. It's upstairs overlooking a little grocery store, which the whole thing is made to look like a barn, thus the "hayloft" fabrics above. And they have a coupon on their website to use each month. Just print it out.

(Your husband will thank you at this store, they have carts for the bolts. Thing is you may need more than one!) :mrgreen:

Ooh, wonderful! I'm hoping to design some quilt projects with a medieval/ Tudor/ Renaissance look. (Yes, I know these are different centuries, but I meant all of them.) Have you made any quilts with your jester fabrics and are there pictures of them? I tried doing a search, couldn't find any - but I didn't check every thread.

Thanks so much, quiltluver. You are a dear. I am not sure I can wait until Nov. to get there :D . My DH also thanks you for the "cart suggestion." We are going to Gettysburg in Oct. for a short visit so will not make it over to Lancaster, but definitely in Nov. Going to the Am. Music Theater Christmas Show also.

OH! I am totally in! What fun! And there's a whole year to plan! Woo hoo! Come on ladies, this could be a blast! Terri, you'll be back by then too!

I'm ready Lets hit the road.

Wow, quiltluver, you "outdid" yourself with all of those wonderful store names and locations! You are an angel. We will try to get to as many as possible and will post our success on the Forum in November. Thank you so very much for all of that valuable time you spent giving the info (you could have been quilting :D . Anyway, I appreciate it so much. I am sure others do also.

:oops: :oops: Aw, shucks! :oops: :oops:

This is what the board is all about, passing along good info and all. Glad I could contribute.

I can't wait to see what all you come home with and if your husband survives the workout! :lol: Half the fun is combing thru all the shops, shelves, bins and baskets. Many hidden treasures await. :D

(Now, if I could find a way to minimize myself and email me to you I could hitch a ride and plunder the shops too! I got Monopoly money if that'll help!) :lol:

Thank you for this info for I am also heading up this weekend and plan on spending tuesday and wed in Lancaster, and the way things look maybe even this Friday on my way to North NJ... cant go through the area with out planning a shopping trip. taking a friend to South Jersey so I figure well instead of driving in one day might as well go a day early stay over night and shop half a day away and it is worth the hotel stay.. we were supposed to just drive straight up and not shop till tuesday but heck I cant go that long without fabric! I have a whole list made of stops but didnt know of Dutchland so I think it will be worth swinging by and seeing what they have. We used to live in Southern NJ so we used to shop up there all the time

Did the meeting that was discussed in early posts ever happen? I would love to meet some of you there, outside of quilt show week. I always promise myself that I will visit another time of the year and then I don't. A chance to meet some of you would give me the perfect excuse. :D

Oh' the food in Lancaster is sooooooooooo good!

dont miss hayloft fabrics!

K3N, what's funny about your post is that a nearby town is actually called "Paradise"!!! :lol:

I've been to almost all of the quilt shops mentioned and they're all wonderful. Good's is a store located in the same parking lot as Shady Maple Smorgasbord Restaurant in East Earl - it's about 35 minutes away. It's a fun store with a small fabric area; the draw to going there is Shady Maple and their gift store downstairs where you can get Jim Shore figurines for great prices.

Did y'all notice that the original post is more than a year old! :lol:

How funny! I like the idea of the smorgasbord too - shop til you drop then go in and refuel! :-D