Maui Quilt Shop...Kihei

So, we hit the last quilt shop in Maui today.  How depressing!

But the good news is that it was a terrific shop so it was a great way to end.  The Maui Quilt Shop is located on the south side of the island in the Azeka Shopping Center. 

Their website is:   http://www.mauiquiltshop.com/

Although not a huge shop, they really pack a lot into this space.  They had a lot of Hawaiian fabrics and ocean prints.  All quality quilt shop fabrics.  They also had a lot of batiks and asian prints as well.

In addition, they carried a lot of different Hawaiian themed kits.  They carried the traditional hand applique patterns (in kits) as well as very cute and original kits featuring sea turtles, flowers and other Hawaiian animals.

I thought they had a nice updated selection of books, many of which were geared toward Hawaiian/Beach themes.  (I bought three)  :)

I noticed that they also give lessons in traditional Hawaiian quilting on Fridays.  

I had a terrific time in this shop and highly recommend it!  Check out their website 'cuz you can also shop online.

Oh- here's what I walked out with!!!

Aloha!  Heather 

Maui, Maui Quilt Shops...the FUN continues!

Today we made our way down to Kahului, Maui.  It just so happens there were two quilt shops within 1/2 mile of each other! 

The first quilt shop on our agenda was Sew Special in the Queen Kaahumanu Shopping Mall. 

OMG-this shop was Amazing!!!! They had thousands of bolts of fabrics.  Batiks, Hawaiian themed fabrics and everything in between!!

They have been in business for 32 years in the same mall.  One of the owner's daughters, Patricia, filled me in on the history of the shop.  She was SO much fun!!

After seeing how much fabric this shop had, I sent my husband off on his own to explore the mall.

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Our second stop was at the Fabric Mart. 

Located just across down the street from Sew Special and directly across from Whole Foods.  This shop was easy to spot.

 

This was also a fairly large store but completely different from Sew Special.  This was not a quilt shop, rather they carried a huge selection of Hawaiian fabrics (on the roll) at extremely low prices.  Most Hawaiian prints were $3.25/yd.  They were more of a shiny shirt fabric rather than a traditional quilting cotton.

There was a medium size collection of "quilting fabrics".  However, these fabrics were not comparable to higher quality quilt shop cottons.  They were similar to the low end fabrics in JoAnns or Wal-Mart.  However, if you're looking for a deal, they were only $4.99/yd!

 
Done quilt shopping for the day.

Here's a peek at my "Stash Upgrade" compliments of Sew Special!!

Aloha!  Heather

More Quilt Stores in Maui- "Quilts 'N Fabric Land" in Lahaina

Another quilt shop can be found in Lahaina (west Maui) just one street over from The Needlework Shop.  "Quilts "n Fabric Land" is located in a multi level shopping complex on the main street AKA Front Street.

This shop was very difficult to find.  I had an address but didn't realize that it wasn't a shop on the street front.  Instead, it was located in a multi level outdoor shopping complex.  You know, one of those places with restaurants and t-shirt shops?

I finally found it on the second floor (right hand side) in the very back.  Here's a picture.

 They don't have a website so I sort of stumbled upon this by chance on the internet.

So here's the skinny.  It's not a huge shop but they do have a long wall made up entirely of quilting fabrics, lots of Hawaiian fabrics and batiks.  This was a nice selection of fabric, albeit not huge. 

The other side of the shop and the racks in the center of the floor were made up of completed Hawaiian quilt products.  Potholders, wall quilts, quilts, bags, purses etc.  These reminded me of every other quilted Hawaiian product I see in Hawaii, although they had a fairly large selection to choose from.

In addition, they also had a reasonable selection of "how-to" books on Hawaiian quilting.  There were quite a few to choose from and if you're looking for a how-to book, you could probably find it here.

I would not personally consider this a "quilt shop" but they did have a nice selection of Hawaiian related quilting fabrics. 

 Aloha!   Heather

Quilt Store Hopping in Maui...

**Please NOTE:  According to a recent visitor, this shop will be closing at the end of November 2010.    Sorry.....   :(



So...of course, I don't go anywhere without looking for ANY and ALL quilt/fabric stores.  I've found several so far and thought I would share!

First off...The Needlework Shop in Lahaina, Maui -click on shop name to go to web site.  (This shop is located in WEST Maui which happens to be where we are staying.)

Here is a photo of the shop. 

 It's just off the main street and very easy to find.  I went there because they said they carried Hawaiian quilting supplies and gave classes and I wanted to look into taking a class.  The cost is very reasonable.  Only $35 for all of the supplies and the lesson is free.  You get 2 1/2 hours of their undivided, personal attention.  I thought this was pretty good.

The picture below was borrowed from their website.  It shows what you basically get in a kit.  I noticed that they seem to use Batiks a lot for their backgrounds and I liked that a lot.  It was a nice change from the usual plain, solid. 

I spoke with the teacher and she was very helpful.  She gave me a mini demo of the process.  Basically, in the two and a half hours you will learn the entire process from start to finish.  How to cut the fabric (you cut it like a paper snowflake, where the fabric is folded into eighths), basting the fabric to the background, appliquing around all possible combinations (corners, turns, etc) and the final process of "echo" quilting. 

Overall, I thought this was a real steal for $35.00 for anyone interested in learning Hawaiian quilting!!

I've really thought about taking a class just for the experience.  I just keep holding back because needle turn applique is NOT my thing and I don't think it ever will be. 

Still considering it though!

By the way, they also sell completed pillow forms and small wall hangings made by employees.  Well worth checking out.  These really are a labor of love.

Aloha!  HEATHER