Quilt Shop Stop: The Quilt Merchant - Winfield, IL
Thursday, October 4th, 2007Tucked away in the corner of a small shopping center is the Illinois quilt shop in the current issue of Quilt Sampler. The Quilt Merchant looks plain and simple but once inside the quilts displayed on the walls are anything but plain and simple.
The Quilt Merchant specializes in reproduction fabrics especially those of the Civil War era. The staff working the day I stopped in said they did not start out to be so specialized but the demand for the fabrics became prevalent. Before walking into this shop I would not have thought I would really like this style of quilts but then again I haven’t met many quilts I dislike. I was impressed by the colors and styles especially the appliqué quilts like the Vintage Charm quilt which is available as a kit in the store or on their website. Personally I am not a kit person. My favorite part of quilting is selecting fabrics. Another quilt I liked was From the Heart which they had the pattern for. It is a sampler quilt with an appliqué medallion center.
Although there was plenty of patterns I could have purchased I decided to end my trip with fabric instead. Who can’t use more items in their fabric stash? Plus, I picked up some weavers cloth to use for my needle punch projects. They also carried the fusible interfacing that is used to back any fabric you want to do needle punch on, so, I picked up a yard of that as well. The clerk told me it is useful to back regular 100% cotton or clothing items.
Located in Winfield, IL it is a quaint shop to stop in and pick up a little piece of history to add to that stash.
And, if you’re out making a day of shop stopping, check out these others I have been to.
quilting, quilts, quilt shop, Winfield Illinois, Civil War quilts, reproduction fabrics
Here is a picture of just some of the many business cards I picked up. I went down with a friend and both she and I have the same affliction. It’s the “oh, I can make that” syndrome. I know I inherited it from my mother who took me to craft shows when I was a kid. We were definitely the kind of people that the crafters love/hate. They love it when we say how great their items are then discuss how it was made and then hate us when we turn around and don’t buy anything. We feel really bad that we don’t buy anything but I hope they know we are just like them and love to make stuff.