This post is for Ellie in Toronto! It is one of the “you asked for it” posts from my Blogiversary giveaway. I asked everyone to give me ideas of things they would like to see on the blog, and Ellie asked for more brick and mortar fabric store reviews. So, here we go with the first and there is another one waiting in the cue!

A while ago, I blogged about visiting Ottawa Street to buy some fabric. Meg kindly commented on that post, letting me know about Needlework on James Street in Hamilton. I checked out her link and was totally hooked! Kate & Liz have the most perfect shop. It looks like all of the things I want it to. A great variety of fabrics, patterns and notions, a good selection of quilting and pattern books – all perfectly arranged. Oh, and did I mention the row of workstations with Janome’s at the ready? (And, I admit it, I stole today’s title straight from Needlework! It’s their web url.)

I went to visit them mid-July in my yellow Fiat, and picked up some goodies! The peony fabric went into making the Empire Waist Scirocco Sundress (the tutorial is coming next Thursday along with a surprise for you!) The typewriter button fabric can be spotted as an “M” button in my oldest’s Sunny Glasses Case. The others are stashed away for now!

I got to go back to their “last Wednesday night of the month” Craft Night at the end of July. What a fun place to visit! There were people working on everything from quilts to needlework to (I think) maybe a Wiksten tank?! I almost bought the pattern for the tank, not sure why I didn’t and now I regret not picking it up! It was really nice to meet Kate at the meeting. Liz was away on her trip to South Korea & Japan, you have to check out their blog for her Nippori fabric store photos!

Before I talk too much about them, I did ask a few questions, and so I will let Liz tell us a bit about Needlework herself.

Thread Riding Hood: When did you open the shop?

Liz: We opened the shop one and a half years ago, in February 2012!

Thread Riding Hood: What main types of fabric do you stock?

Liz: Our biggest selection of fabric here at Needlework is of quilting weight cotton, but we also carry a selection of linen, linen/cotton blends, and more recently: bamboo and cotton knits!  We love modern and vintage inspired prints — fabrics with bright, bold geometric patterns, pretty florals, classic stripes, and polka dots! We love a good polka dot.

Thread Riding Hood: What are your favorite designers (fabric or otherwise)?

Liz: We’re big fans of Denyse Schmidt, Martha Negley, and Anna Maria Horner. We always look forward to checking out their latest collections!

Thread Riding Hood: What other crafty supplies do you stock?

Liz: In terms of patterns, we carry Megan Nielsen, Wiksten, Colette Patterns, and Victory Patterns. For the embroidery enthusiasts in town, we have DMC cotton floss in every colour, as well as some of DMC’s really lovely perle cotton floss. Other notables in the shop are these super cute DIY Embroidered Doll Kits from Kiriki Press, japanese sashiko patterns and thread, 100% wool felt, and needle felting supplies.

Thread Riding Hood: What is coming up soon that you are excited about?

Liz: We always look forward to our monthly craft night, an evening that we get to spend time with our wonderful customers, doing what we love to do most — sew! We’re also looking forward to Supercrawl this year, which is just a few weeks away.

Needlework also hosts a variety of classes for beginners and seasoned sewers, and has machines ready so you can Sew-by-the-Hour. It is an amazing creative space to be able to work in, and their machines were amazing to sew with. I got to try one out at the Craft Night! Here are a few photos of their shop to inspire you.

Hope you like the review. If you are in the area, make sure you visit Needlework, you won’t be disappointed. (And you can say I sent you!) Thanks for the great shop Kate & Liz!