By Lindsay Conner

Sometimes, the path to becoming a retail quilt shop owner and BERNINA sewing machine dealer might be winding. It certainly was for shop owner Jolene Fitch! Jolene had recently retired from her career in healthcare administration when she wandered into her local quilt shop to purchase a gift certificate for a friend. The next thing she knew, she joined a class. Soon after she started working at that fabric shop, which became her home away from home!

Two years later, when the owners decided to retire and close the shop, Jolene knew there would be a void in her community. So, she decided to open a new quilt store with her business partner Amy McNamara. With a background as owner-operator of Pick Your Stitch in East Syracuse, Amy was the ideal business partner for this venture!

Jolene and Amy brought their combined experience and enthusiasm to the new business, which opened in January 2023. (They also brought the entire staff from the closed quilt shop!)

Finger Lakes Fabrics is located in beautiful Skaneateles, New York. The Finger Lakes region is known for its pristine waters, beautiful villages, hiking, and shopping. “We have our core group of customers and then we have many vacationers and visitors in the summer and winter,” Jolene explains. “We are thrilled to cater to both groups.”

A licensed Bernina and Bernette dealer, Finger Lakes Fabrics has licensed Bernina technicians on site who also fix all brands of machines. The shop carries the latest fabric collections from Tula Pink, Kaffe Fassett, Tilda's Studio, and popular manufacturers like Henry Glass, Maywood Studio, FreeSpirit Fabrics, Riley Blake, Moda, Benartex, and more. Finger Lakes Fabrics offers a great selection of accessories, notions, books, and patterns!

Finger Lake Fabrics is a 6,500-square-foot store with quilts that hang on the walls just like you’d see in a museum. “We want everyone to be inspired by the creativity of others,” Jolene says. But this isn’t just a place to sit back and admire fabric and finished quilts.

“Our slogan is ‘Where creativity and community meet.’ We have a social group of women who come every week and sew and socialize together, as well as a book club with a block to sew each month,” Jolene says. Each month, customers can enjoy open sew nights. “We have wool, English paper piecing, modern quilt, and yarn clubs who meet monthly at our shop for free. Some have asked if they could have a quilt show in our shop, and we have gladly accommodated them.”

Service to the local community is also paramount. At the shop’s grand opening, staff handed out 115 free pillowcase kits to customers and asked them to consider making the pillowcases and returning them to be donated to a charitable organization, Sleep In Heavenly Peace. “We take donations for veterans and the Linus project,” Jolene adds. The shop is also sponsoring a charitable winter hat drive with the local library. “Even though we do not sell yarn, we hired a teacher to teach beginner knitters so that they can participate! Next month, we are having a ‘knit in’ where people can come and knit, have refreshments, and enjoy the company of others.”

Whether customers are just getting started with sewing or they are quite skilled, they can find a place here at Finger Lakes Fabrics. “We bring in teachers who can challenge our most advanced sewists,” Jolene says. “We provide the expected classes, but we also reach out to other artisans to teach our customers. For example, we have offered classes in fused glass with a quilting or applique design. We have offered silk painting, discharge dying patterns, and many other classes that are outside the box.” Jolene has noticed that customers tend to be interested in small projects that can be finished in one sitting, and they are also looking for mixed-media projects.

Advanced sewists are encouraged to give back by teaching sewing classes to beginners. The staff has reached out to Girl Scout troops and homeschoolers to start some beginner youth sewing classes, and they encourage parents to attend—they are often beginners as well. The shop hosts SIY – Sew It Yourself classes for beginners.

Laughter is the best medicine, and you can often hear it echoing through this beloved fabric shop. “We want our shop to be a fun and happy place to come,” Jolene says. They often host light-hearted competitions to give customers a percentage off their purchases. For instance, they had a duck pond game with a small inflatable during the summer. When customers picked a duck, the percentage off was on the bottom. “During basketball season, we had shoppers attempt to make baskets in a Little Tykes basketball hoop! The more they made, the more money they got off. This fall, they will have a stuffed pumpkin and ghost toss game.

What does Jolene love most about her sewing community? “They are like family in the best ways! Our customers are kind and generous to us, to each other, and to those in need.” Jolene and Amy owe a debt of gratitude to the entire team at Finger Lakes Fabrics. “We could not have accomplished what we have in this short period of time without our talented and generous staff.”