Doing my part! Visit your local quilt shop day!

Today was visit your local quilt shop day and while I was excited to support the cause, I actually don't quite have my LQS yet. When I lived in the Midwest, my two shops were The Needle Shop (in Chicago) and Patched Works (in Milwaukee).

 Patched Works

I even claim this quilt shop, Kapaia Stichery, as my LQS for whenever I go back to Kauai (sadly, I've only been there once!).

Since moving to Southern California, I've been to Sew Modern in Los Angeles, but as LA is not that close to me, I don't really consider it my LQS... yet.

I happened to be close to Ginger's Quilt Shoppe today and popped in. The store has an amazing amount of space, long arms to rent, and lots of tables that allow for their various classes. The fabric selection seemed more traditional to me. What I really enjoyed was their wonderful notions section filled with hard-to-find goodies, such as specialty rulers, thangles (that's for you Emily!), and this little guy:

It may just look like a seam ripper, but it's got a very fine tip so it can really get into those small stitches. It's going to come in handy as I continue to work on my scrappy trip blocks! It may have been a small purchase, but I'm glad that I had the chance to participate and it also reminded me how much fun it is to actually shop for fabric in person! I'm looking forward to checking out more of my local quilt shops!