Great idea! My very favorite LQS is Little Blessings Quilt Shop, just off Exit 317 on Interstate 40 in Crossville, Tennessee. You will never enter that shop without one of the terrific women greeting you. They offer lessons, long arm quilting, gorgeous fabrics, and Pfaff machines. Julia is the owner and is almost always in the shop. Her husband, Robert, takes care of the machines and does much of the long arm quilting ... he's great! I go on Tuesdays for lessons or to work on my quilt with 8-10 other women ... great fun!

Grandma's Attic in Dallas Oregon, is my fav. Rachel (owner) is a very unique individual, and the whole staff is ready, willing and able to help you. I can't say enuf good things about this shop.
I also go to Greenbaum's quilted Forest in Salem, Oregon, and the staff there is very friendly and helpful. This shop is where Karla Alexander got her start in the quilt world. She has now authored several books, all with themes of Stack the Deck. She teaches all over and is an awesome person.
Their shops are very different as far as fabric is concerned, so going into one shop isn't like going into the other. And their classes are different,too. Grandma's Attic has more of the basic, to mid-level quilt classes, and Greenbaum's goes with basic all the way to extreme art quilts. I should mention though, that Greenbaum's is in a VERY much larger city than Grandma's Attic.

I like Bunney Hutch Quilt 'N Sew in Los Alamitos/Cypress,CA. They always greet you when you come in and they are very helpful if you need help and they leave you alone if you don't want help. I especially appreciate that because sometimes I just want to look around. They offer lots of classes and have a great website. They also have a terrific guy who does machine service at a reasonable rate and warranties his service for 6 months! And, even better, they are less than a mile from my house!

If I hadn't missed the exit coming home from Gatlinburg I would have went there last month :(

Hi I live in La Verne, CA. My LQS is the Fabric Patch in Montclair, CA about 20 minutes. As a matter of fact I pass another quilt store to get to the Fabric Patch. I have nothing against the other store but the women at the Fabric Patch are just so very helpful and friendly.
Each and every time I go in I am greeted very warmly.
When I am stuck on colors they always come to my rescue.
I can go in with my pattern and they will spend hours helping me pick out just the perfect colors.
I love my LQS and staff.
:-)

Some of the great shops I've shopped in are (in no particular order): Somewhere Sewing in Johnson City, TN; Tennessee Fabrics in Jonesborough, TN; Mamaws Quilting in Knoxville, TN; Roosters in Maryville, TN (now closed); and a new one, Mountain Creek Quilting in Greenback, TN. After meeting some of the people from Batiks Etc at the quilt show, I'll be stopping in at Wytheville, VA on my way to visit my DD in Hagerstown, MD where I like to shop at Wilsons, already mentioned on this thread. I'd also like to send a thumbs up to a few of the ladies at JoAnn's in Knoxville who were so helpful in ordering drapery material for me this past Spring.

In New Braunfels, Texas (between Austin and San Antonio) there are two wonderful local shops: The Quilt Haus and Oak Leaf Quilts. The stores have different vibes but both carry fabulous fabrics and have friendly, helpful staff who have been great help to me as a beginner. New Braunfels is a vacation spot for water recreation, so these shops fit in with a weekend trip.

I've moved to the coast now, and discovered a great small shop in Port Lavaca, Texas: Beefore It's a Quilt. Nice selection of fabrics and unusual kits and very friendly owner and staff. Beautiful quilts on display.

Another new favorite of mine in Texas: The Quilter's Patch in Victoria. Smallish space but loaded with fabric and ideas. The owners and staff have been wonderful and very helpful when I've needed help with colors or pattern solutions.

I overheard a conversation at the Port Lavaca LQS today that Stitchin' Heaven in Quitman, Texas might put together a state-wide Texas Shop Hop. Now that sounds like a girls' road trip!

Thimblecreek in Concord, CA is great. They always have answers to the questions, have classes of all sorts from beginner to the expert. We were up in Kellseyville last year and their quilt shop is very friendly. They stayed close enough to help and far enough away to let me look.

In Stevensville, Mt. there is a quilt store called About Fabric. It isn't a very big store, but Jane, the owner, is friendly and nice and always invites you to bring your machine and sew with her. She offers some classes, but if you want a one-on-one class she is willing. Her fabrics are nice, some a little expensive but nothing over $9 a yard (so far).
The other wonderful shop is our Valley Drug Store. I has a craft and fabric dept. and the fabric is quilt shop quality and is $4.99-8.99 a yard. On Mondays the cotton is 20% off and on thursdays all notions are 20% off and on Friday all the flannel is 20% off. They carry yarn, batting, fabric, notions, books,sewing patterns and whatever you need. I personally know the two ladies who run the dept (small town, you know) and they also sew.