If you quilt, you know that Wisconsin has as many quilting stores as a Trip Around the World quilt has squares. To make this list, each store had to carry a wide variety of calicos as well as flannels and wools. Plenty of patterns, books, and a helpful staff were also a must.
Calico, Canvas & Colors fills a refurbished brick home west of downtown Racine with a rich selection of fabrics and projects. The staff here has a knack for unusual color and pattern combinations, like pink and black. Even the restroom is festooned with quilts. The store boasts a modest but exciting knitting section, along with materials for making teddy bears. 3305 Washington Ave., Racine; (888) 322-5426,
calicocanvasandcolors.com.
In 2000, Quilt Sampler magazine named Mill House Quilts one of the top 10 quilt shops in the country. This store bursts with quilting supplies, including unusual Asian and nostalgia prints. Samples and displays are labeled to help shoppers find the right kit or book. 100 Baker St., Waunakee; ?(608) 849-6473,
millhousequilts.com.
Primitive Gatherings’ 4,000 square feet was named a Top Ten Shop by Quilt Sampler magazine in 2006. The color-infused store specializes in primitive folk-art quilting and offers its own line of quilt designs, Lincoln’s Ladies, using the growing number of Civil War-era reproduction fabrics. 850 Racine St., Menasha; (920) 722-7233,
primitivegatherings.us.
With a selection of up to 5,000 bolts of fabric, The Cutting Edge has become a destination. It also offers natural fiber yarns, hand-dyed threads, wools, and flannels. The store holds “Walk in the Garden” each July, displaying 100 quilts from all over the country in a formal garden setting along Antigo Lake. While the Antigo store features art quilts, more traditional designs are available at a new location in Weston. 816 Fifth Avenue, Antigo; (715) 623-3590; and 3910 Schofield Ave., Weston; (715) 359-2407,
cuttingedgequilts.com.
Shoppers step into a rustic Northwoods atmosphere at Quilt Yard in downtown Osseo, just minutes off I-94. Countless quilts and some of the more than 4,000 bolts are displayed on antique cupboards and sewing machines in the 100-year-old building. While most of the store is devoted to traditional quilting styles, store owner Betty Cotton is known for her patented quilting technique, Cotton Theory. 13900 7th St.,? Osseo; (715) 597-2452,
quiltyard.com.