Located just three miles from the Trans Canadian Highway (NB 16), this shop is well worth the detour. Loretta Cole has wonderful; fabrics, and four full hookups for RV’s – more about why in a bit. The shop has been open for eight years, and is near enough to ocean that non-quilting partners can fish while the quilting partner quilts. Definitely the best of both worlds! Also, there is a Quilt Block sign at every turn once you leave the main highway – VERY useful!
Let’s start with long arms. There are two Gammill machines, Lilly and Louie, available for you to quilt your own masterpieces with full supervision from shop staff. Reservations run about a year in advance, so make your reservation, start making flimsies, and bring the family in the RV for a quilting vacation. That’s why there are four full hookups. The ladies on the machines when I was visiting were using panto-graphs, neither had run a long arm before, and their quilts were beautiful!
Next stop fabric. There is a great selection of woolens, dyed in house, as well as wide backs. Linen is available for quilting or clothing. 100% Cotton selections range from large and small prints to solids and blenders, with a couple of shelves of tone on tone just for fun. There is a nice selection of children’s prints for kids or grand kids quilts (or your own; who says adults can’t have teddy bears?) Don’t miss the batiks! All together, there are over 1,500 bolts of quilting cottons to temp you. Imagine camping with that right across the way! Don’t let that stop you from coming… and while you’re here, check out the scrap bags for small projects and applique.
Samples are both folded on display racks and hung from the walls. I absolutely love the three dimensional block as part of this One Block Wonder! There are two Block of the Month clubs each year; this year one is in cotton and one in wool. There are also Five Yard Quilt Kits, with each coming with a free pattern of your choice.
The shop also does a Sunday Morning Parade of Quilts on Facebook, showing all of the quilts done in the shop that week. If you want to see some beautiful quilts, make sure to tune in! I would plan at least thirty to forty-five minutes here.
| Spruce It Up Quilt Shop & Quilting Services | Hours: Monday – Sat 10-4 |
| 2063 Route 960 | Phone: 1-506-538-7888 |
| Port Elgin, NB E4M 3Y9 Canada | lorettacole@gmail.com |
| http://www.spruceitupquilting.com/ | Mail Order: Yes Fabric Online: Some |
Stop back on Monday and check out the North American Shop Hop’s progress across Canada!