Sew Inspired, Simsbury, CT
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009When I taught recently in Connecticut, my contact told me there was a great quilt shop…since I’m watching my pennies, I had thought I wouldn’t stop in so as to avoid temptation. Hah! And I’m so glad I did stop in…what a treasure of a shop! Here’s a photo of what you see as you walk in the door of Sew Inspired!!!!
To backtrack a bit, the shop is located inside a small complex known as Fiddler’s Green, on the main drag in downtown Simsbury (well, I think it is the main drag!). Here’s the entrance to the complex:
And the entrance to the store:
Once you get inside, it just gets better and better. The staff is friendly and helpful, and I had a great time talking to Viv and Sandy. Here is a close up of the glorious array of batiks:
And over on the left are Amy Butler, Kaffe Fassetts, notions, patterns, friendly staff, great lighting… in the back is a class room to die for: great and adjustable chairs, the best lighting I’ve ever seen overhead, a big window for real daylight and a view of what is going on outside….
There is a good selection of notions and, better yet, art quilting supplies!
Then it continues, downstairs. The shop opened 3 1/2 years ago in the lower level. They’ve grown so much they expanded upstairs, and the lower area is now studio-for-rent space with 8×8 foot designs walls, a longarm (for rent also), a separate room for co-owner who does quilting-for-hire on her Gammill, and an office area. They also have a die-cutting machine, again available for rent…..Can you say DREAM STORE?
The design wall area:
The for-rent longarm:
The store is also an authorized HandiQuilter dealer, and recently added a sit-down HQSixteen to the upstairs classroom….drool!
Clearly, I could not escape unscathed….here is my haul –and this was from two visits… I resisted the Goergia O’Keefe morning glory prints, an Alexander Henry that I lusted after when it was first printed 6 years ago… now that it is back out I had to indulge! Plus the three on the right are from Alewives Fabrics, in Damariscotta Mills, Maine (I’m teaching there in July, stopped to drop off patterns for sale, and had to add to the loot.)
Finally, I took my aching, throbbing feet (this was after the night lecture and the full day teaching) next door to the Japanese restaurant which had impeccable service and my favorite, Chicken Katsu, for dinner:
What more could you want…good fabric, good staff (in both the store and the restaurant) and good food? The store is just northwest of Hartford; if you’re anywhere in the vicinity, it is WELL worth a stop!