Living in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area I am lucky to have access to some great quilt shops. If you are from this area or plan to visit, here are some must see shops. I also do a bit of traveling out of state on occasion and at the end of the California list I am adding two from my recent Missouri trip. If you are an owner and don't see your shop listed here and want me to list it in a future blog post, then please send me the info and I will pay you a visit. I always love to explore and tell people of my travels.
New Pieces Quilt Store and Gallery This is a fun quilt shop nestled in Berkeley with a very helpful staff. They have all of their fabrics organized by type an pattern. Are you looking for that perfect fabric with fish? Chances are they have it in the animal section. Be sure to check out their area of Japanese fabrics. They have a wide variety of classes and have samples of the quilts you can create hanging in the store.
Intrepid Thread This quilt shop was a huge surprise. From the outside you wont expect much but once you enter you will be in heaven! They specialize in modern quilting cottons and are happy to help you audition fabrics for the perfect quilt. Last time I visited with my mother we must have pulled 3 or 4 dozen fabrics for a project and they didn't bat an eye. These ladies are incredible!
Stone Mountain and Daughter This Berkeley shop has it all and is huge! This place has quilting fabrics, garment fabrics and even boat upholstery material. Give yourself some time to navigate your way through this shop and don't forget to visit the upstairs section. Their quilting fabrics are organized according to theme and line which makes it very easy to find coordinating material. They always have classes but they are primarily for clothing makers but sign up for their newsletter.
Eddie's Quilting Bee In Sunnyvale this is a pretty big shop with a fairly good selection. Their fabrics lean towards modern and are arranged by theme and color.
In Between Stitches A lovely Livermore quilt shop with a HUGE selection. Civil War, 1930's reproduction, moderns, and patterns galore. I only wish this place was closer to home for me. I think I would have to set up a tent right outside the front door and take my mail there.
Always Quilting Another must see shop in San Mateo. I could spend hours here. All of the fabrics are organized according to color and shade which I love. This is where I purchased the orange fabric for my Phyllis Quilt. The only downside is the lighting, they really do need to improve it. I found myself having to take my selections to the cutting table where the lighting was better or outside the front door.
Ladybug's Quilts This sweet little shop was a real surprise. It is small but the woman that works here is very helpful. They specialize in repro and civil war fabrics and have a huge selection of patterns.
Here are the two shops I was lucky enough to visit in Missouri last fall.
Appletree Quilting A fantastic quilt shop in Columbia Missouri. They have a huge selection of 1930's repro fabrics. I would have loved to have spent hours here but the road was calling my name and my travel companion (not a quilter) was getting antsy. I ended up purchasing a 1930's repro fabric that I just cannot find here in California. The staff is wonderful and they are happy to help you with any questions. They also do mail order, so awesome! I will be coming back here towards the end of the year.
The Quilted Fox This out of the way St Louis shop was wonderful. The selection is huge, the women that work here are helpful and the fabrics are easy to find. I bought a jelly roll here and am kicking myself that I didn't buy more.
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