Crafting on Sanibel

I’ve been a little quiet these past several weeks. I’ve been on Sanibel Island in Florida enjoying the sun, surf and sand!

I brought along a few projects to work on while there… the baby quilt I am making for my newest grandchild who was born on Christmas Day and the huge flag from ByGone Stitches. The biggest project was sewing together an adorable cottage that fits over a card table, a gift for my granddaughter’s birthday this month. Photos will be posted when I get it set up properly!

When not enjoying the warm weather or stitching I found time to visit the three crafting shops on the island. I had been to two of them in the past but the third was new to me.

My first stop, and I made several here, was at Three CraftyLadies. They are on the main drag of the island, Periwinkle. This shop features a variety of crafting supplies. About half of the small shop is quilting fabric. Here you will find a nice selection of seashore/ocean themed prints and batiks. There are also other non-beachy fabrics to be found. You can pick up bits and pieces for painting, beading, needlework, scrapbooking and there’s even a small children’s section that features books and activities with a beach theme. I purchased quite a bit of the fabric I needed to make the cottage here as well as a couple of patterns and a  batik I liked.

Next on my list was Geez Leweez. This is a combination needlepoint and yarn shop. It is a small, family owned shop. The day I was in mom, dad and daughter were all working. They have canvases on display all around the shop with a nice selection of Sanibel Island and seashore pieces, including the Sanibel Lighthouse. I picked up a few hanks of cotton yarn in bright tropical colors. I forgot to ask for them to be wound so now will need to do that myself, which will be tricky without a yarn swift! 

While there I learned that this shop will be moving “off island” in April to a new space near the outlet mall that is just on the other side of the causeway. They said they need more space but I imagine they need more visibility. Right now the shop is located in a small strip mall on a side street and the bridge toll of $6 may keep some from driving over. 

On an interesting note, I needed to find either Q Snaps or stretcher bars while I was on the island and neither of these shops carried them, not even the needlepoint shop! I found that to be somewhat curious.

The final crafting shop on the island is the Sanibel Bead Shop. This is on Periwinkle and in an almost hidden shopping center that is right across the street from the Dairy Queen (one of the very few national chains found on the island). The shop is small but the woman working that day was very personable and helpful. I purchased a fun bead with Sanibel inscribed on it. They also have them for Captiva.  I picked up the supplies to make a Sanibel bracelet. Don’t you love the fishy toggle? The Raku beads are exclusive to their shop. And, of course, I had to pick up a little drill to make all of my shells into jewelry!