Last week when Trudie and I went out for our Christmas lunch together, as I was driving her home we decided to take a detour. Annie’s Quilt Shop, which had been in Newcastle, Ontario for many years, had a new location in Orono and we wanted to check it out. We were not disappointed. I noticed the last time I was at Annie’s former location, even though it was very welcoming and well decorated, that they definitely were running out of room as the store was crammed from top to bottom with their inventory. The new location is bright, airy and also very welcoming.

Because of the season the store was decorated beautifully with holiday decor. Christmas trees lined the entry way leading into the main part of the store, each decorated a little differently with themed Christmas fabrics beside each tree. Anne (the Annie in Annie’s), was lovely to talk to and gave us a quick tour of the new shop.

They have some wonderful, whimsical fabrics, a large number of pre-cuts, some great basics and a great variety of notions. Since I’ve been going through so much glue with my English Paper Piecing (EPP) I stocked up on glue pen refills, as well as a couple of plainish fabrics for my EPP to go with the fussy-cut units. As most of you know by now, for the last year or so I’ve shown a lot of restraint and only buy what I need. This was hard to do as I saw many fabrics that I thought were super cute…especially some really adorable toadstools…but I left them behind.

I always buy Moda’s Grunge fabric here and I also bought more of Moda’s Spotted…both are great for EPP as well as background fabric for any other project. They highlight other fabrics really well. And the notions wall was very well stocked.

The classroom was large and well lit with large comfy chairs, each painted an amazing bright colour, and the seats were upholstered with a bright, cheery print. Tables were large and sturdy with enough room to spread out.

So, the next time you’re on a road trip out looking for a new-to-you quilt stop, check out Annie’s…they’re not too far off the 401 at the 35/115. Anne and her staff will be happy to help you find whatever your quilty heart desires. Who got fabric funds for Christmas?!