Conveniently located in an industrial park about seven and a half miles from Interstate 74, this wonderful collection of fabric is a wonder to behold. Owner Becky Boline started out doing quilt shows and online sales, and then moved into a warehouse to have a place to stock her fabrics – which arrive by the pallet load, not by the box!! The showroom came later, and Miss Becky continues to do shows. The warehouse is normally open during shows, but if you are traveling do call and check.
Fabric is the focus here. There are at least 10,000 bolts in the main showroom, plus two large back stock rooms that are not open to the public. There are solids, blenders, batiks, and tone on tones. I saw hundreds of large prints that just beg to be stacked and whacked! There are also small prints, and well over 500 different wide backings. A full aisle of wildlife prints is available to choose from for for the man (or woodsy woman) in your life. There are also a lot of panels. The shop does a large volume of five yard kits in both cotton and cotton flannel, so if you’re looking for a quick top do check these out. Miss Becky has written over a dozen patterns for these, so pick one or two or more that you like!
I know most of us have see rotary cutters, but have you ever seen one like this? It is a Wolf Cutter and has a 7 inch diameter self sharpening blade, and the table it is resting on allows rolling out an entire bolt of fabric. To make five yard kits, the fabric is rolled out in steps so all fabrics are visible, and then this monster slices the stack at one yard intervals. I suspect it could slice right though a full bolt if you took the cardboard out… Fold and package and they are ready to go!! It saves hands and hundreds of rotary blades! The stops on the table allow sliding the machine at 1/4 yard intervals, so the cuts are always straight. It is air powered, and the Manufacturing Engineer in me was drooling. Yes, there are safety mechanisms to keep the operator a five fingered person!
There are not a lot of samples here; the room is taken up by fabrics. I do love the 108″ square dinosaur backing, though!
If you go into the classroom area, you can get a look at Miss Becky’s great grandmothers Hemstitching machine. These were used to embellish the hems of linens and other household items. It saved pulling threads and embroidering them in groups to get the same effect. I’ve seen this done along the edge of linens to allow a space to embroider and edging.
There are two other really fun things in the shop – a rescue piano and a weekly clock. If you are traveling and miss your home piano, feel free to play the one in the shop. For those of us who are retired and don’t really care what time it is, there is a clock that shows days of the week rather than hours. I was obviously in the shop Friday afternoon. It works just fine; the gearing takes 24 hours to go from day to day. I need one of these… Please plan to spend at least 30 to 45 minutes here, or you will miss a lot of fabrics!
| Boline’s LLC Quilt Fabric Warehouse | Hours: 9:30 – 5 Tues – Sat |
| 414 Olympia Drive | Phone: 309-808-2179 or 888-214-3819 |
| Bloomington, IL 61704 | Becky@bolines.com |
| http://www.bolines.com/ | Mail Order: Yes Fabric Online: No, kits only |
Stop back on Thursday to see where the North American Shop Hop is visiting next!