Shop number 2 of 2 as we visit New Hampshire for a wedding, Portsmouth, NH

A visit to Portsmouth Fabric company was icing on the cake to our trip.  A short walk from our hotel and a small tour of the village as I strolled the sidewalks was a joy.

But wow, when I walked in the door my heart skipped.  Walls filled with glorious fabric of all sorts dominated by my favorite FreeSpirit fabric friends Kaffe Fassett Collective and Tula Pink.  Whoop, whoop!

I was told they have the largest collection on the east coast, and I believe them.  They even have some oldies; but for me, the selection of basics that I rarely see is what got my credit card ringing.  Wowza, I am so glad my husband does not pay attention to the cost of fabric!

2 things.....

1. They also rip their fabric.  Is this an East Coast thing?

2.  They will be celebrating a big anniversary this year!

If you live in New England and you love fabric of color you need to go to this shop.  I know it is touristy, I know parking is a struggle, but it will be well worth the stop.

They have quilting supplies ,sewing machines and notions, a web site and they will ship.

I mean, look at the color! This place is small but packed full of a seamstresses joy!  Prices are good and I know that even though I live thousands of miles away this will be a go to online shop for me.

I hope you have enjoyed my shop visits.  I love the fabric and now I have to get my act together and start using some of it.  Oh my poor non sewing boys are going dislike my fabric purchasing problem; someday, when I am 6 feet under.  (A family joke)

Until the next journey.

With love from your retired FACs teacher, Jane

A New Hampshire wedding = Opportunity for more fabric/quilt shop checks. #1 of 2

Some, may have been following my blog as I motorcycled through Canada and then U.S.

We drove back to the Midwest, Chicago to be exact.  We got our sons car, drove to Iowa, stayed the night at my 93 year mother in law's home, washed our clothes, drove back to Chicago, with my mother in law, and flew to New Hampshire for our nieces beautiful wedding.

(Speaking of my mother in law, I will blog about her someday soon.  Amazing seamstress in her day)

Any who, I made time to visit two fabric shops while there.  The first was in North Hampton, NH, approximately 8 miles from Portsmouth.  North Hampton is a beautiful community set on the ocean.  At first glance you will be overwhelmed by the grand homes that indicate nothing but wealth.  Frankly it is worth a visit just to see the homes.

The shop, Pintuck Purl, is set back off of a main road in a small strip mall.  This shop has fabric for everyone.  Quilting, garments,  and upholstery.  It also houses a fantastic collection of yarns (and it killed me not to buy, but yeah I have too much already).  Some of the yarns were locally dyed for that shop specifically.  Along with the yarn and fabrics it has patterns for garments (including retro patterns, many that I made in my youth) and all notions that your heart desires.

They house a nice classroom/workspace too!

The people were lovely, helpful and enthusiastic.  They will ship.

I may even put my nose in their business when a customer asked about putting a zipper in a cosmetic bag.  ( always a teacher, sometimes a busy body )

And yes, I purchased.  Got me some Tula.  I have restraint on yarn, not fabric.  One thing different, because they started as a garment shop, they rip their fabric.  This is a great debate among sewers.  It is what they do.  For those of you that wonder why, it is about strait of grain.

If you live close and haven't been, live far and are visiting, check it out, a nice shop.

With love from your retired FACs teacher, Jane

Day 14 and 15 on our Motorcycle journey with a side of quilting

Today I am doing my last blog from our motorcycle trip.  We have family obligations for the next few days and no time for side trips.  I didn't go to a shop yesterday because on Sundays shops are often closed or have short hours.  I had difficulty making it to an open shop.

And, on a side note, three cheers to my husband for supporting my crazy quilt store stops and  supporting my hobby, quilting and sewing.

Yesterday we traveled from Lake Placid to Rochester.  Today we traveled through New York, Pennsylvania and stopped in Sandusky, Ohio.  Tomorrow we stop in Chicago for our family "stuff".

We stopped early on our journey today in Buffalo, NY.  I intended to get to two shops today but it just didn't work out.

But wow, I hit a gold mine in Buffalo.  I stopped at " Sew What?"  The shop is filled with novelty themed prints and I mean filled.  I couldn't possibly list all of the options but some are: sports, holidays, foods, summer, east coast,  outdoors, characters, cartoons and more. They have a ton of panels,  a huge wall of colorful blenders and a generous selection of white on white.

The shop also houses a small classroom, notions, and cutting supplies.

This shop has a good online presence and sells on their website and Etsy.  The owner and I had a great chat about surviving in business.  They decided 5 years ago to sell online and this decision has helped them find their niche in the fabric world.  Make sure you stop in to see the shop or look it up online.  It is well worth a look.

I hope that you have enjoyed my journey with quilt shops in North America.  Watch for more reviews as I travel.  I like doing these reviews and of course buildings my stash.

  Although I love fabric and I admit to buying more than I need, I truly do want to help small businesses survive and grow.   I feel as though making others aware of shops it does help the industry. I once owned a gift shop and I know the challenge that many business owners face.

Keep sewing, keep teaching others to sew, and continue to be creative!

With love from your retired FACs teacher, Jane

Day 13: Trip home from Nova Scotia to Minnesota, with a side of quilting in Littleton, NH

Today we traveled from Maine through New Hampshire, Vermont and ended our day in Lake Placid, New York.

We stopped in Littleton, NH for lunch and quilt shop investigation.  😄 Littleton is a wonderful community full of shops and restaurants.  It is set in a play ground for summer fun and thrives on tourism.

This banner is on the street but when you walk in the door you are in a book store.  You need to find the steps and go to the lower level.  You can also enter from the lower level.

The store is filled with yummy fabric.

There is an adorable New Hampshire panel with fun matching fabrics on display.

There are many bolts of fabric along with a class sewing area.

There are many quilts on display for inspiration for a quilter.

I had so much fun browsing,touching, and feeling the fabrics

There is a great selection of bright fabrics, grunge, batiks, kids prints, holiday prints and more.

It was nice chatting with the shop employee.  We had a motorcycle chat.

They do not ship but upon request will mail.

I recommend! Stop in and buy some fabric......I did 😁 Shock! Haha!

With love from your retired FACs teacher, Jane

Day 12: Our journey home from Nova Scotia to Minnesota with a side of quilting, Bar Harbor

Guess what the view was across from our hotel in Bar Harbor?  Yep, the local quilt shop.

But, before I went there I had to go to the Post Office to ship my fabric.  As I gathered it from all of the nooks and crannies of the motorcycle I stunned myself with my stash!  Eeeeek ALMOST embarrassing!

Fa-bri-cate is a lovely quilt shop filled with beautiful fabrics featuring east coast fabrics, blueberries, outdoor fabrics, batiks, solids, bights, darks, themed fabrics and more.

There are quilting tools, thread, patterns and more.  

Prices are reasonable and what you would expect.

The shop is rather large and really has something for everyone.

I had a lovely chat with the owner.   She runs this shop in her own and is open during peak season from 9 to 8.  I asked about getting customers in a mostly tourism area as Bar Harbor is in a National Park..  She said it is good.  The cruise ships are good for bringing in people, although it is crazy expensive to advertise with a cruise ship line, so she does not.  Remember Fabricate when you do your fall cruise, it isn't a bad walk from the port and well worth the bit of a hill.  

A very nice shop with everything one needs to quilt.  I recommend!

With love from your retired FACs teacher, Jane