We are in the middle of a vacation, visiting my son and daughter-in-law. They live in Delaware and we live in California so we don’t see each other too often. We are having a blast. So far, we have checked out Chesapeake Bay, the Longwood Gardens (the DuPont family), Philadelphia, and – best of all – Lancaster County for my own personal quilt shop hop!
Before our Lancaster day I posted a query on Facebook. I belong to a group called the Nighttime Quilters which has the nicest people in it. I asked which quilt shops I should check out and was given several suggestions. I also checked out some forums on line which gave additional suggestions. Armed with a list of places we headed out. My son was the chauffeur and my daughter came along for the trip. (My husband conveniently caught a horrible cold the night before. Coincidence? I think not! He stayed behind for the day.) It was a gorgeous drive. I lived in Pennsylvania for a couple of years in the early 1990’s and had forgotten how pretty the rolling hills of PA are. With the colors turning it was just spectacular.
First place on my list was Obies’s Country Store in Goodville, PA. I had read a few sites that claimed it was ‘jammed with fabric’. When we pulled up to it I couldn’t believe what I saw. After checking out the front of the shop we decided to go to the next place on the list. It didn’t look particularly inviting. See?
After seeing the front we moved on to the Goodville Fabric Outlet which was just around the corner from Obie’s. This store was quite large and had all sorts of fabrics, not just quilting fabric. However much of it was not first run fabric. It was interesting to see the variety though.
I dug around a bit and did find a few choice pieces though. I collected several neutrals for a quilt that will be shades of cream, tan and brown. This photo shows the pure joy of purchasing fabric for $4.99/yard which is petty much unheard of in Northern CA. (Photo credit to my daughter, Julia.)
When I was paying for these little treasures, I asked the clerk about Obie’s. She smiled and said that ‘while it wasn’t necessarily safe, it was a sight to see.’ That intrigued me. We went back around the corner to Obie’s. Oh my gosh!! It was incredible. Fabric was stacked along the walls from floor to ceiling in this tiny shop. You can see by the floor tiles that the aisles were maybe two feet wide and it made it hard for two people to pass each other. The fabric was somewhat organized by color and theme (for the novelty fabrics at least.)
We went upstairs which was crazy. There were quilts everywhere. They were definitely hand quilted but I think some were machine pieced. The quantity of quilts was overwhelming. They were hanging over the stair railing and folded up and stacked on the shelves along the wall. Digging through the flat folds proved to be fruitful. I found two prints that I loved and both were a mere $3.99/yard! Loved the bargains!
After this experience there was still one place left on the list. I wanted to go to Weavers Dry Goods in Lilitz, PA. This shop was amazing! The selection and the prices were over the top. It was really well organized and she carried all the best brands (Moda, Michael Miller, Benartex, Henry Glass, Alexander Henry and Hoffman to name just a few).
She had a large room full of novelty fabrics and they were beautifully sorted and labeled by theme. Lots of really cute lines.
I found a lot of fabric here – A pile of fat eighths and three different pieces of yardage. Again, the prices were great. California pricing is just ridiculous. I was happy to discover that Weaver’s has an on-line shop as well. I will definitely use them in the future. This was a top notch quilt shop.
Three quilt shops, three totally different experiences. It was a great day. Have you been to any of these quilt shops?
Linking to Freemotion by the River, Let’s Bee Social, Needle and Thread Thursday. All of these wonderful sites have links listed up at the top of the page under Link Ups.
Oh my! Obies sure is interesting!! I would have had to go in just to see too! haha At least you had a ‘productive’ trip! 🙂 I have never been to any of those shops but I am definitely going to check out Weaver’s online shop!
Weavers online shop is called Dutchland Quilts. Go to the fabric section and they list the inventory by manufacturer. At about an average of $8.50 per yard, they are pretty reasonable. The in store pricing was actually a bit lower. Not sure why though? Hope you like it! It was such a fun day!
Thanks for the great tour.
It was a great day Judy. I love traveling over Julia’s October break. A nice time of year for travel and much less crowded. We go to Washington, D.C. tomorrow and Friday before heading back home. Heard it is cooler and maybe raining at home? Hope so.
Take care, b.
We love Delaware! About five years ago all of my brothers and sisters and I rented a house there for a week’s vacation with all our families. It was a riot (almost literally). If you’re going to DC, there is a great restaurant called Founding Farmers that we just love. It’s about 3 blocks from the White House and is very tasty! Usually there’s a quilt or two displayed in the American history museum too. Have a great time!
Hi,
Thanks for the ideas. We were supposed to go to DC today but my daughter and I woke up with horrible colds. We are having a quiet day on the couch and hoping to feel better enough by tomorrow to go out and do something. Crossing my fingers. Take care Mari.
B.
I get claustrophobia just looking at all the fabric and quilts jammed into Obie’s. Not for me, lol! Sounds like you had a fun day – too bad your hubby got that darn cold!
Obie’s was very claustrophobic. Really crazy. My husbands cold is better now but my daughter and I are on the couch with it today. Dang it! So today is a quiet day. Hope you are having a lovely day!
What a riot! I could spend all day in shops like that. So much fun
It was a blast. I was so thankful that my kids were such good sports about all the fabric shops. It was beautiful countryside as well. Thanks for stopping by!
Oh. My. Goodness! What a range of fabric shops! Looks like you found some great bargains. I have to admit…. I would enjoy the last one best. Obie’s would drive me batty!
Weavers, the last one, was surely the nicest. Obie’s was something to be experienced but I wouldn’t want to shop there on a regular basis! It was a fun adventure.
It looks like you had some good times and found some treasures. I love those little treasure hunts. Fun!
Hi Dona,
Thanks for stopping by! I am not sure what the draw exactly is but I love checking out quilt shops when I travel somewhere. They each have some cultural differences. These shops were all Amish owned and run which was pretty interesting.
Take care,
Bernie
How fun to visit all those different stores and also get some bargains!
Yes it was! Nothing better than checking out the local fabric shops when traveling. Love that! Plus the prices! Yikes, I could have gone crazy.
I miss all those wonderful quilt shops of my hometown… I now live in Florida but do get back home to Lancaster, Pa now and then… My Mother in Law lives in Lancaster, Ohio they also have some lovely fabric shops in her town…\
I had so much fun shopping in Lancaster. The fabric was abundant and the prices were great, especially compared to California prices! Thanks for stopping by! Have a good weekend.
B.
My niece lives down the road from Obie’s. We didn’t find it until we started to do some fabric crafting two years ago. We were amazed at the stacks and stacks of fabric. We found Georgia bulldogs fabric to make masks for my brother-in-law. Imagine, Georgia bulldogs in rural Pennsylvania. Did you see the “fabric cave?” We used the phone flashlight to peer into it. You missed Good’s, further west on Route 23. They have a great selection of $3.99 flat folds.
Oh my gosh, Karen. We had so much fun at that shop. It was just wild, and a fire hazard to boot!!! We live in California so I don’t know when/if I will be back there but I did love it. Thanks for your note!
While I don’t live in PA, I discovered the many wonderful shops of fabric there just this year. I have made several road trips since my discovery. I have been to the 3 stores mentioned. I have, in fact, visited 2 of those stores today…and a few more.
Oh, I bet that was so much fun! When we were out there I just loved exploring the fabric shops. So different from the smaller shops we have in my area. Thanks for writing!