Lisanne

Thanks, mc-pa!

Kutztown is an hour and a half away, but I'm willing to make the drive. Morgantown is closer (I'm in Mechanicsburg.) AND I keep meaning to check the furniture outlets there for a good computer - I mean quilting - table. (Actually, I want a big, long, cheap but sturdy table for multiple uses.) I'm sure I'll find my way to Lititz, too. :wink:

JUNEBUG

I have 2 LQS within 20 minutes. Lancaster, Pa is only 1 hour away with some of the best fabric shopping available. The Amish are wonderful people and always helpful with putting fabrics together. :) :)

quilting gal

Im feeling very very fortunate..... within 10 - 15 minutes from the sewing room we have, Beyond the Needle, Quilted Crow, Sew Many Quilts, Patchwork Angels, Grandmother's Thimble, Creative Threads, Joanns, and Walmart, within 30 minutes we have Pucky Huddle Delights and Feildstone House. Thats 2 stores and 8 quilt shops.......

KyKaren1949

As a beginning quilter, I've quickly found the best quilt shops are within 2 hours from my home. There's a Joann's about 30 miles away, but I only buy notions from there. There's also a Hancock's here in town, but again; only for notions. I prefer the better quality of fabrics in a quilt shop and believe they sew up better. I always watch for sales and clearance though. Our local quilt shop is going out of business unfortunately. I've really stocked up the stash through her clearance prices.

I'm willing to drive once a month or so to the closest quilt shops. One is about 20 miles away, 2 others are 30 miles away, and the best is about 100 miles away.

Some friends and I did the Southern Indiana Shop Hop in June where I learned about some great quilt shops to peruse. That was eye opening and lots of fun.

Kentucky has a quilt shop hop in the fall sometime that you can be I'll do too.

Pam B

I have to travel about 25 mnutes in any direction to get to either a LQS or JoAnn's (and it is not a very nice JoAnn's so I don't go there often). Now, if I am on a mission for something in particular I definitely will travel farther. For instance, my daughter and I drove 2 1/2 hours to get to a particular store to purchase the wool for her 4H coat. I will be honest...there is not even a place to purchase thread, pins, needles, embroidery floss, etc. in my small town so I do have to plan ahead on projects as I just can't 'drop by my LQS' to pick something up. And, if I do happen to be near one of my favorite stores...I always stop in and see if there is anything that I 'need' that day.

weezie

I have Joann's 10 min. drive from my house and Wal-Mart 15 min. or so (depending on whether traffic lights are red or green). There's a Hobby Lobby just opened another 5 miles further away, but have not been there. If I did not have local fabric sources, I might try going west to Carrollton, which has less traffic than going east toward Atlanta. There used to be huge fabric outlet stores near where I worked (toward Atlanta), but haven't been in that area for about 16 years, so I don't know what's still there. It used to take me about 20 minutes to get to work during rush hour, but traffic has gotten much worse and roads are very busy all day now, so I would investigate that area only as a desperate last resort. I'm counting on Joann's and Wal-Mart to continue to maintain my not-very-large stash.

EagarBeez

I have a small fabric selection about 2 miles right in town, but, the other is a Walmart about 45 minutes from my home.

rosalia856

I live less than three miles from WalMart, but the material selection has been reduced since they built a Super Wal Mart. I live 15 miles from a Joann's ,I do have to travel 30-50 miles for two quilt shops .One called the "Quilting Affair" and "Cotton Pickers" my favorite. While I still have a quilt shop less than 20 miles from me also. I am lucky to have such a varity of places to shop for material.

weezie

Venting here: I'm a bit surprised by the "quality fabric" responses. Joann's has SOME extremely awful quality fabric ... I wouldn't take it as a gift! They also have some fabulous fabric, as fine a quality as you'll find in any quilt shop, I'd guess. They also have name brand fabric that is of horrible quality, BUT that very same manufacturer also produces quality goods. From my point of view, there is no "poor quality fabric" store; you simply have to shop carefully ... plus, a little good luck doesn't hurt. I haven't bought fabric from Wal-Mart for years, but I would if they had what I needed and couldn't get it anywhere else. Furthermore, while it's all well and good for those of you who can elect not to shop at Wal-Mart as guided by your conscience, there are many people who really have no other choice. They simply do not have the luxury of deciding NOT to shop at Wal-Mart.

mrs. fitz

We have really nothing. I'm in northern NJ, right across from Manhattan which has the City Quilter, a wonderful shop, but it means a trip into the city. There are fabric stores in the garment district but it's 99% clothing fabric. I've looked in some of the shops and never seen anything that would be suitable for quilting.

Our Walmart no longer has fabric. Three Rag Shops (think Joann's) have closed despite all of them always being busy. This would be an ideal location for a Joann's but despite emails from myself and other quilters/sewers Joann's has no interest. Joann's could have moved into one of the empty Rag Shops and picked right up where Rag Shop left off. There's one excellent quilt shop about half an hour away but no place to get the little basics.

Right now I'm trying to mark some pieces and need a white marker. There's no place to buy one; the whole project is on hold until a bunch of us make up a trip to the closest Joann's, about an hour away.