I agree! I love Jinny's fabrics, especially the tone-on-tone prints. You can always find something to "blend" with something else. The best part is, they keep reprinting some of the classics! She also has a great book on choosing colors "Color Confidence." That book was very helpful to me, explaining about shading, deep darks and accents and why they work. I've been designing applique lately, and I can see the influence it has had on my color choices. BlueBars

Hi Kelly~ Glad you understand the hesitation (don't ask me about my experience with identity theft...). Anyway, thanks for posting this. I'm in the other Lakes Region...Sunapee area. I know Quilted Threads very well, also Golden Gese and Keepsake. Quilted Corner is the one in the old mill building in Tilton? I haven't been in yet, but have been meaning to. How about Peggy Anne's in Concord (www.peggyannes.com), Constant Quilter in Andover (www.constantquilter.com) and Sunshine Carousel in Grantham (www.scqs.com). I went to the Capital Quilters Guild show in Concord last month and there was a booth from a shop that I am dying to visit. Pickering Farm (www.pickeringfarmquiltshop.com) in Richmond (south of Keene about 5 miles from the Mass line). It's a trek, but they specialize in the 1800's reproduction fabrics I love. Are you planning on going to the show in Manchester in August? And did you find your sweet tea recipes?? (teehee) jd

Wow! thank you all so much, did not expect such wonderful insights into this question. Once again you just proved that quilters are a very generous group. I am in the extremely early phases of thinking about this. And I am NOT convinced this is the move I want to make. I am retired and will start drawing SS next year, thanks to calliope for mentioning that...would owning a business affect my benefits? One of my thoughts was I would not need the shop to support myself, just to support itself. Any profit would be extra. But SS is something to think about, and will need to be looked into. Many many thanks to quiltpartner for her detailed response. You certainly have a grasp on this subject and I deeply appreciate the time you took to respond. Your points are well taken especially about the "difficult" customers. I know they all can't be as nice as us!! LOL I had already decided that this could not be done without an initial investment of at least $20,000. Good to know that $25 would be more realistic. I live in a town that had a quilt shop that closed about a year ago. The owner had a wonderful shop (to me anyway) but for a variety of reasons, she sold out and closed. We have two active guilds of about 100 members each in this town. We have two options to purchase fabric, Hancocks and Hobby Lobby or drive for 45 minutes. I think combining the quilt shop with another "business" would be a good idea. Not sure about the liquor store though, although I think it could be successful....."buy a bottle get a fat quarter free" promotion. but perhaps a bar/quilt shop combo, catering to the ladies only. Something to think about. LOL There are a lot of retirees in this area....so a place near one of the retirement homes might be something to look at. Anyway I have a LOT of research to do but it was great getting your prospectives. Will let you know what I come up with. Again my deepest appreciation for your responses. Murphy

The color has not passed, Jayne, it has hardly started yet. We have not been dry here in NH, we have been warm and that's what delays the turning of the leaves. It takes cold nights to makes them turn. It is now peak color in the very north, moderate in the central part of the state and very low in the south. You didn't miss it, you were too early. Sorry. This is going to be a superior year for color in northern New England! Stitchbystitch, how far north will you be coming? I know many wonderful quilt shops all over NH if you're interested. I grew up in CT, too, btw. :)