I found a new quilt shop!

So, last fall, I hurt my back. I had surgery on a ruptured disc in December, and was laid up for 6 weeks, returning to work this past January. It was a LOT of time cooped up inside, and I did most of the handpiecing for the Split Nine Patch quilt during that time (currently a UFO, but I intend to change that by this fall).

As my first solo outing, other than doctors' appointments, before going back to work--I went to take a trip to my favorite quilting store. It was about a 20 minute drive, and I couldn't wait to get there. Imagine my shock and horror when I pulled into the parking lot, and saw the FOR RENT sign in the window. I sat and sniffled for a minute, then drove home, crestfallen and emptyhanded.

I went online to look for a new shop, and there really wasn't anything nearby that was JUST quilts--there's always Joann's, but that's more like "lots of craft stuff, oh, and some fabric, too". And I won't lie, the last time I went to Joann's, the selection was eh and the quality wasn't that impressive. So I shopped at my favorite online stores, and made do with my stash, and tried to put it out of my mind.

As I've mentioned, I'm totally addicted to quilt blogs, so when I ran across the blog for The Quilt Shop in Danbury, CT, I hopped around like a mad thing for a minute, then quickly wrote down directions. THEN I found that there is a second fabric store in Danbury, The Fabric Tree (over 4k sq ft of quilterly goodness??! Oh baby!). And wrote down more directions.

Now then.

I've pledged to myself that I am NOT purchasing for projects when I can work out of my own stash. And for my last few projects, I've really been quite good. I bought some background TOTs (tone on tone fabrics) for the Xmas Stars quilt, and beyond that, I've been a model citizen in recent months. (Mostly.)

BUT. I also know that I do need to go out to buy fabric for borders for the Split Nine Patch so that it can be a finished top, ready to head to the longarmer's. And now I don't have to do that online! My plan is to save up a little extra money, and then go on a shop-hop at the end of the summer, and case out the two places. YAY! *prepares to pinch pennies til they squeak!*