Mainely Quilt Shops

Mainely. I saw that used in several businesses as we trekked around during our stay, so I thought I’d use it in the title in an effort to be clever. Ha.

As I mentioned, I didn’t bring any quilting or sewing with me on the trip. However, I did have one quilt shop that I was determined to see. And I did, along with two more. One is just never enough.

My bucket list shop on this trip was Alewives Fabrics. Kathleen mentioned Alewives in her post here. I knew I had to see the shop.

I was curious about the name. Why Alewives? Imagine my surprise when I found out that an alewife is “a northwestern Atlantic fish of the herring family that swims up rivers to spawn and is also found in the Great Lakes”. Thank you, Mr. Google.

There is a significance to the quilt shop having this fish in their name, but if you want to know what that is, you’ll have to go to their website and find out. Plus, I want you to go there and check it out.

You know it’s going to be a fun visit when you see a sign like this.

As I walked in the front door, I heard a cheery greeting welcoming me to the shop. I looked to my right and saw this.

Then to my right.

Up on the top of those shelves are the cutest little elephants and turtles.  No matter how I tried, I couldn’t get a brighter picture, and I was too short to zoom in on it (BigJ was napping in the car.) The elephant pattern came home with me, so I’ll get one made and you can see the cuteness then.

There was Kaffe Fassett fabric. All those bright colors!

There were softer colors with some low volume prints.

More bright colors, organized by color family. There were several garments on display, as well as bags. A bag pattern came home with me too. I really didn’t need another bag pattern, let alone another bag, but I can’t wait to make it!

Throughout the store were clever displays.

That little basket on the bottom left with the blue fabric in front is all Liberty of London. Did I pet that for awhile? Why yes, yes I did. See that green bag up top? That, my friends, was swoon-worthy. I wanted to take that home with me!

In the center of the shop, near the cutting tables, was this center island. It is full of fat quarters. While I was there, several women were gathered at this island, on the hunt for Anna Marie Horner fabrics. There was so much fun and laughter, you couldn’t help but be a part of it.

There was yarn too, lots of beautiful yarn! About that time, I was getting itchy to do some handwork and considered getting yarn and needles. I thought better of it since (1) I’m a horrible knitter and (2) I have just about every size of knitting needle known to man (thanks, Mom and Grandma) at home.

That’s what I would consider the main room of the shop. Off to the side was another room that had quilting notions, felt and thread.

The ladies, Rhea and her team, were so friendly and fun. If you’re into EPP, you really need to look at their Lucy Boston kits. Oh my, they are gorgeous!

If you’re ever in the Damariscotta Mills area while in Maine, don’t miss this shop. You’ll leave smiling from ear to ear, a little less cash in your wallet, and a beautiful stash of fabric in your bag!

Quilt Shop Surprise

BigJ knows me all too well. On our drive up to the cabin, we made a stop in Freeport, Maine. He said he needed to find a place to stop to stretch his legs. Usually this is a rest stop, but this time we were winding our way through streets until I finally asked where we were going. He pulled up in front of Cotton Weeds Quilt Shop, a cute little shop snugged into a little group of shops. BigJ is like that — he finds me quilt shops. Gotta love the man.

When you walk in the door, you see the whole store. It’s not very big, but it is filled with lovely displays and fabric. They had a nice variety of fabric; some modern, some traditional. They had a large display of embroidery items and mini quilts.

The ladies were friendly as well. I would’ve taken pictures, but they were a bit frazzled that day because their credit card machine was declining every card. Can you imagine that headache? I decided not to add to the chaos by asking if I could snap pictures. At any rate, it’s a cute shop that is worthy of a stop.

Quilt Shop Serendipity

There was one other shop I really wanted to visit while we were on our trip, but when I looked at the distance to it, I decided it wasn’t going to happen. However —

On our way home from Acadia National Park, BigJ again had to stop to stretch his legs. He pulled up at a parking spot in Belfast, Maine in the downtown area. I looked to my left, and there it was — Fiddlehead Artisan Supply.

We arrived just shy of closing time, so again, I didn’t snap any pictures. I was the only one in the store and felt like I was holding them up (I really wasn’t). Besides, I was so excited I’m pretty sure the pictures would’ve been even blurrier.

It isn’t a large store. One side of it is art supplies, the other sewing. My kind of shop.

The fabric. Oh my. Little bundles of Alison Glass. Bundles of Kona solids. So many designer lines. And patterns too. Seriously, I could have spent hours in this shop. It had little nooks, stocked full of fat quarters, half yards, and bolts. Farther back in the store was garment fabric and patterns.

I honestly wish we would’ve stumbled into the town of Belfast just a bit earlier. It would be a fun town to explore!

So, there you go! When you head to Maine, if you go to this area, don’t miss these three shops.

Did I buy lots of fabric? Actually, no. I decided to let my carryon luggage determine what I could buy. (Yes, I know I could’ve shipped fabric home.) So I bought a few fat quarters and some patterns. I’ll show you some of that in later posts.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Wendy