Located just a few minutes from Interstate 90 or Interstate 86, depending upon which direction you are coming, this shop is the sister shop to Millcreek Sewing in Erie, Pennsylvania, that I reviewed on May 11, 2020 – but New York was still closed at that time. Owners Judy and Jeff Fenton reworked this dairy barn into a retreat center, and then added fabric – because of course when you are quilting you always need more fabric!
Google will bring up the retreat center when you ask for The Fabric Barn, but they are in the same location. It will also try to tell you they are closed when they are open, because there are no hours listed for the Retreat Center. Call ahead to be sure if there is any confusion.
Speaking of fabric – I counted around 1,500 bolts on hand the day I visited. There are solids, tone on tones, blenders, and large and small prints. Flannels are also available, and the pricing is amazing, to say the least. Kits are also available, as are some precuts. Most of the rooms for the retreat center are up stairs or downstairs, although there is a street level entrance and at least one room on the main floor for accessibility. The facility can handle up to 18 people with Covid restrictions, so if your group is looking for a place to get away – and shop – do check them out.
There are samples hung from the balconies and along the steps, and some are from the family collection while others are class or kit samples. These are changed with the seasons, so you may l see different ones on every visit. Check out the patterns and kits, or build your own kit from a patterns. One section of the shop is the kit building area for classes, so you can preview what is coming next both here and at Millcreek.
Plan twenty to thirty minutes here, longer if you come on a sale day! This shop is halfway between my house and my sister’s, so we met in the middle and had a great time!
| Fabric Outlet Barn & Needle in a Haystack | Hours: Thur-Sat 10-3 |
| 3141 North Road | Phone: 716-769-7878 |
| Sherman, NY 147891 | Needleinahaystackretreat@gmail.com |
| http://www.needleinahaystackretreat.com/ | Mail Order: Yes Fabric Online: No |
Stop back on Monday and see where the North American Shop Hop is visiting next!
Meet in the middle was definitely worth the gas! For any wheelchair/walker bound folk who aren’t clear about the accessibility (I spent time with both after an accident 10+ years ago), there are two levels and both have outside entrances. Comes from being a hillside barn where you drive the hay in upstairs and send it down a chute to the munchers downstairs. A _lovely_ update by the way, a timberframing dream. Also has a restroom with wider doors and turning space.