I have been working quite hard since Christmas so I felt quite justified taking a day off for a little road trip…
My English friend Pat (who lives in Naperville) has her English friend Carol (who lives in Essex) staying with her. Carol has just started quilting…
As we all know the US is a quilter’s paradise, so what better way to spend a few hours than visiting some of the many quilt shops in our area?
I fueled the vehicle at half the price of this time last year and then took my very patient dad to pick up Pat and Carol.
Our first stop was Oswego for Prairie Stitches Quilt Shoppe.
Situated in down town Oswego, it is a very pretty shop with lots of displays,
and beautiful quilts on the walls.
Lots of reproduction type prints with some batiks and contemporary fabrics. Fat quarters are ready cut, near the full bolts,
making it very easy to find whatever you happen to need. I kept my hands in my pockets but Carol made a few purchases.
We retrieved Pat from the gift shop across the road and set off for Batavia and Prairie Shop Quilts.
More displays to tempt and inspire,
and lots of novelty prints.
Carol bought a few more things and it was time for lunch at the cafe which is very just along the same strip mall.
Back in the car and on the road for Winfield.
It’s been a long time since I last stopped in at The Quilt Merchant.
If you remember I travelled to Quilt Market back in the spring with Valerie and Ute. Valerie is the owner of this delightful store.
From Christmas quilts,
to bright and contemporary,
with reproduction fabrics in every color and design,
Valerie has such a lovely shop. I almost wanted to make a reproduction quilt… but I resisted! Carol shopped…
Next on the list was Quiltfabric.com in Westmont.
They advertise their batik selection and here are some of the greens and blues,
the purples, pinks and reds,
and the oranges, yellows and more greens…
That’s only about half the batiks available…
I actually bought a charm pack and co-ordinating yardage for a table runner for my newly painted dining room. Carol did some more shopping and we were back in the car for our last stop…
The sun was setting by the time we reached Quilters Quest in Woodridge.
I have a new project in mind so I bought two jelly rolls of Downton Abbey fabric (There’s a deadline on this one so it shouldn’t be too long until you see something…) and Carol made her final purchases of the day.
This not very flattering picture shows one happy English quilter after 80 miles on the road…
We had her home in time for a hockey game. Another one of the delights of the USA!!
Now it’s back to work. I have a binding to put on one quilt, another two pinned ready to quilt and two more, still in my head, to be finished in the next three weeks. It’s a good thing that I love what I do…
You showed great restraint during your shop visits. I’m not sure I have your strength. It was fun to glimpse the shops along the road. Thanks
You have no idea how envious I am seeing so many quilt shops within a day’s drive! The shops all look amazing! Of course, I might find myself in quilter’s overload and be unable to choose anything….No, not likely.
Every shop was amazing and a true delight – being a very new quilter I was over whelmed with the choices – I think trips from the UK will now feature quilt shops to stock up – I can’t wait to get started with my purchases.
What a great trip! I do miss the mid-west with a quilt store round every corner. Road trips with Catherine are always fun!
and two Catherines are definitely better than one?