Virtual Shop Hop: JoQuilter Fabrics, Bellvue, Iowa

JoQuilter Fabrics is a quaint little quilt shop on the Mississippi River. Located in Bellevue, Iowa, a small little town with a cute downtown worthy of spending an afternoon in, the quilt shop would make a great stop on a shop hop.

Jo Fifield, the shop owner is known for two quilt techniques, big stitch and English paper piecing hexagons.

Big stitch, is a life saver for anyone who enjoys hand quilting, but doesn’t want to worry about trying to get 16 stitches per inch. In big stitch, you use pearl cotton and each stitch is a quarter-of-an-inch on the top of the quilt and just a teeny bite on the bottom.

Pearl cotton is not a staple of quilt shops, so it can be difficult to find the color you need to match your project, but JoQuilter has hundreds of hues to choose from. The rainbow of threads is really quite beautiful.

The hexagons are Jo Fifield’s other love.  She’s got all the supplies you’d ever need to try this popular project and she’s always willing to give you a tutorial to get started on this addicting form of hand piecing.

So the next time you’re traveling down the Mississippi River, take a detour to Bellevue, Iowa, and check out JoQuilter , 128 South Riverview, Bellevue, IA 52031.