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| Happiness is finding a Quilt Store |
On the off chance of
finding African wax fabrics (fabric lengths rather than clothes) in St Martin, I went in search
of textile shops. Well, there aren’t
many, but one big surprise was finding a quilt shop, A Stitch at a Time,
located in Cole Bay, Sint Maarten, which fortunately, was within easy walking
distance for me.
Owner Lyseth Olaria,
keeps a very tidy and inspiring quilt store offering a neat selection of colourful
(and very tempting) patchwork fabrics, including trays of fat quarters. Aside from a huge display of sewing gadgets
(and who ever has enough of those?), there was a nice selection of machines,
wadding, bag making supplies & more – in all, an Aladdin’s cave for any quilter! We bonded over our love of Bernina machines…
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| A peek at what's inside A Stitch at a Time |
Lyseth was very friendly
and most helpful, making suggestions and showing bolts of colours that could
make suitable matches for my own small bag of scraps. She also gave me plenty of browsing time given
my need to explore and select just the right fabrics. Lyseth clearly knows quilters and how we love
to touch the cloth! I had an absolutely wonderful
time given my 3 months of quilt making deprivation, though I’m not so sure
about the Cap’n!
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| You can tell, the Cap'n was enraptured ! |
A
Stitch at a Time is in a group of shops in Orange
Grove Plaza, Unit 3C, Orange Grove Road, Colebay, Philipsburg, St. Maarten. It is open on weekdays from 9am to 6pm. Phone: +1 721 - 544- 3224 & Email: info@stitchatatime.com. Lyseth’s blog can be found at http://www.stitchatatime.com.
When you visit St Martin, Lyseth’s quilt shop is
an easy run (by taxi or mini bus) from Marigot or Phillipsburg to Cole Bay
along Union Road. A Stitch at a Time
is on the corner of Union Rd and Orange Grove Road, but I doubt you will find
any street signs. (Use Google Maps on
your phone.) In the next block is your nearest
landmark, the vast ACE Hardware store, more like a Department Store than a
Hardware!! No fabric though.
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| My selection of blue & whites (very Dutch, yes? & a great find!) |
