Does the inside of the quilt shop matter to you?
 

My usual ones (close by) are very neat, organized, books and leaflets in one spot, supplies in another, machines (if any) in another, classroom separate, and fabric by designer or color, type, weight, flannel, etc. One I checked out today, about 50 minutes away, was chaos. Stuff everywhere. Not much room to view hundreds, maybe thousands, of bolts of fabric, patterns everywhere, books everywhere. To make it worse some things had junk in front of them so you couldn't even get to what was behind them. Funny thing was, the place was packed with people. There was an HQ Sweet 16 mini demo going on which I watched, then went to browse the store and became as lost as I had been getting there. I found myself bordering on an anxiety attack and had to leave.

There were many bolts of really nice fabrics and the people were friendly enough (mostly) but I just couldn't handle the disorganization. I'm not an OC or neat freak or anything but it really threw me and I probably won't go back. Has this ever happened to you?

(so I took the long way home and stopped at JoAnn's and bought a little quilt book and some machine gloves. Now I feel better but still a little off. Weird.)

I can handle 'stuffed' - but not 'chaotic' when in a store.

Sounds like the shop was close to dangerous. I don't mind a little mess but not so much that I can't look properly. Someone posted pictures of a shop on QB that looked like a maze. If I was on a quest for a certain fabric, no amount of clutter could stop me.:D

I'll go anywhere they sell fabric. Could it be the place was a mess because they were having a sale and some quilters just get out of hand when there is a sale going on.

I like them some what neat-need to be able to get at the bolts or no one will buy.

Hi Nancy, I am also in NH. What town is the chaos shop in? Not sure if If I want to see it or avoid it :-)

I need quilt shops to be clean. There is a store near me and it is packed which I don't mind. It's the dust allover everything and a slight smell that keeps me away.

It does matter to me...somewhat. I love the shops that are neat and well organized and especially like the ones with beautiful displays and antique furniture, etc. It just makes it more pleasant/fun to shop in if it's appealing to the eye. Of course, I'll go into just about any quilt shop no matter what. If it's in chaos, I just won't spend as much time there as in others. If it's dirty and smelly, I will leave right away.....although I have to say those are rare shops, at least in my experience.

Nope, not dirty or smelly or a sale. Just everything everywhere and lots of it. Nice fabrics, repeat customers because they were all chatty and calling each other by name. Just a bit wow for me.

I tend to like my shops organized as it makes it much easier for me to 'look and find' things......and my own sewing space is pretty much like that.....admittedly....the cutting table gets a bit cluttered when I am in the middle of 'creating', but it does get to me....then I will stop and take some time to put things back together.