Arizona Shops: Part One

My time in Arizona is drawing to a close so I thought I would tell you about a few of the shops (three quilt shops and two needlework shops) I visited this month. I’ll do this in two posts so it won’t get too long to read in one sitting.

First is A Quilter’s Oasis. This is located in East Mesa on Baseline and Crismon. It is a small shop but very pleasant. It is very well lit and was quite busy when I stopped in on a weekday morning. All of the ladies in the shop were very helpful and engaged the customers in conversation. They had a nice variety of fabric for a small shop including Moda, batiks, children’s prints and a very good selection of Civil War/ traditional prints.

I picked up a few more pieces for the quilt I am making for my daughter’s baby. She and her husband are waiting to adopt a child and this grandma wants to be ready!

I also picked up a fun book by Anni Downs called Some Kind of Wonderful. I will have to say that the title describes it well! It has a lot of fun, cute projects that all have a sewing theme. There’s a sewing bag, a needle book, a quilt, a warming bag for your neck, and several others. The patterns include a mixture of simple embroidery and patchwork.

My second quilt shop was the Cutting Edge Quilt Shop. It is located in historic downtown Chandler. It is a small shop with batiks, Moda and some novelty prints. They had a clearance room in the back they call the Stash Room. All bolts in that room were at a reduced price with a minimum one yard cut. I ended up buying a pattern for a large zippered pocket to store some of my stitching projects. I have some sampler fabric that I think will be perfect for it. 

Even though the shop is small and doesn’t have the stock of other shops, it is worth the trip. The ladies are all very nice and the surrounding stores make for a nice afternoon of shopping with friends.

The last quilt shop on my list was my favorite! It is Olde World Quilt Shoppe in Cave Creek. (The address indicates Phoenix.) I stayed in the East Mesa area so this was a bit of a hike, but well worth the effort! As I entered I was greeted by two different clerks who both welcomed me. I was almost afraid one of them would need to revive me because my knees were beginning to buckle as I started to take in all of the wonderful fabrics! This is a reproduction quilting heaven!

They have a large collection of Civil War fabric including Jo Morton, French General and a nice display of fabrics well suited for Dear Jane. Next to this section was a wool section with a good compliment of wools and patterns. In the middle of the shop was a small section of children’s prints and a teeny amount of 30s prints. If you looking for these types of fabrics I would suggest you try a different shop as this was not their specialty.

They carry patterns included designers such as Lori Smith, Jo Morton and Blackbird, among others. They offer a variety of kits, especially in the wool area.

Now the fabric impressed me, but I was even more impressed with the way they handled their customers. EVERY person who entered the store was welcomed, told to enjoy their visit, asked if they could be helped in any way, etc. They used the phrase, “You’re our guest. Please enjoy your visit to our home.” One of the women would rush to the door to open it any time she saw someone arrive. If she didn’t recognize them she would offer them a brief tour of the layout. This is definitely a place I will visit again!

There are a number of other quilt shops in the Phoenix area and I have touched upon just a few. Watch for my next post when I’ll tell you about the needlework shops (did someone say The Attic?) I visited.