04 Feb The MCMQG Quilter’s Guide to Nashville

QuiltCon is coming to our backyard, so we wanted to give you the skinny on all our Nashville favorites. We’ve probably left a ton of stuff off this list because there’s SO much to do and eat – please don’t hold it against us!

Local Quilt Shops

• Craft South – 12 South – (Anna Maria Horner’s store) – modern quilting fabrics, some apparel fabrics, and other fiber crafting supplies – knitting, cross stitch, embroidery, etc.
• Children’s Corner Store – Berry Hill – mainly children’s print quilting cottons and apparel fabrics but also carries Liberty of London
• Textile Fabric – pretty close to Craft South/Berry Hill – mainly apparel fabrics, but have some quilting cottons and a good selection of canvas/linens
• Stitcher’s Playhouse – Smyrna – southeast of Nashville – a great selection of modern quilting fabrics, some children & apparel fabrics, patterns, notions, classes
• Bernina Sewing Machine Station – Brentwood – closer to Franklin – good selection of modern fabrics, bag-making supplies, embroidery supplies & patterns, Bernina machines, machine services, classes, and they usually have a really good sale selection!
• Stitcher’s Garden – Franklin – south of Nashville –  warning: it’s FULL of fabric, and slightly overwhelming, but if you’re willing to dig, you can find some OOP gems – cutting and checkouts here will be slow, but the staff knows their stuff!
• The Quilting Squares  – Franklin – This shop just reopened in a new location – a bit more on the traditional side, but they do have modern designers as well as patterns, notions, felted wools, and classes
• Dancing Bobbin – south of Franklin, in Spring Hill –  lots of modern fabrics, patterns, notions, gift items and classes – a bit of a drive, but if you’re hopping to Franklin, Spring Hill is only 15 minutes south

By neighborhood (relatively)

Downtown (and the greater Downtown area)

• Frist Art Museum
• Centennial Park & The Parthenon
• Robert’s Western World – for downtown honky tonkin’
• Crema Coffee
• Barista Parlor – for a snobby coffee experience
• Arnold’s – classic Meat & 3 (Lunch only)
• Peg Leg Porker – Barbecue
• Hot Diggity Dogs (lunch only)
• Turnip Truck (in the Gulch) – small grocery store with organic stuff, also has a salad bar/hot bar/smoothies
• Otaku – ramen!
• Desano’s – good wood-fired pizza
• Rotier’s –  very old-school Nashville greasy Burger place for lunch
• Smiling Elephant – fantastic Thai food
• Hattie B’s / Bolton’s:  Hot Chicken – most people would tell you Hattie B’s…definitely the most tourist-y, but it’s popular for a reason (good food!) The flagship hot chicken place (Prince’s) is indefinitely closed after a fire, so I’d say Bolton’s for anyone looking for an “authentic” hot chicken experience. Start with the mild unless you like a lot of heat, obviously we take our hot chicken seriously!
• Etch – fancy dinner, but there’s a happy hour starting at 4:00
• Mockingbird: Southern with a twist – Fancy dinner
• Chauhan Masala & Ale House: Indian fusion with a emphasis on beer pairings – Fancy dinner
• Tansuo: Chinese with a Southern flair – Fancy dinner
• City House (Germantown) – Fancy dinner
• Bastion – for fancy cocktails (and also nachos)

• East Nashville

  • Grimey’s Record Store in East Nashville
  • Shoppes on Fatherland for cute boutiques in East Nashville
  • Anaconda Vintage – vintage clothes boutique, behind Grimey’s Record Store
  • East Park Donuts and Coffee – Cute donut shop
  • Five Points Pizza – Good pizza
  • Calypso Cafe – Cheap eats! (lunch only at E.Nashville location)
  • Wild Cow – Vegetarian
  • Michell Deli – great sandwiches!
  • Marche – cute bistro, great for brunch
  • Duke’s – regular ole bar if you’re looking for something outside of the downtown hustle-and-bustle, also has late night sandwiches

• 12 South

  • Edley’s BBQ – great, but the sell out of some items by dinnertime
  • Frothy Monkey – local coffee shops with good sandwiches/salads
  • Five Daughters Bakery – Cronuts, but whatever they’re allowed to call them
  • Burger Up – Good local burger chain
  • Sloco – Gormet sandwich shop, but the chef was a winner of Chopped!
  • Cheekwood –  Botanical Garden and Mansion with art exhibits and season installations – it’s at the bottom of this list because it’s sort of between 12 South and Franklin

•  Franklin – about 15 miles South of Nashville proper, Franklin is a smaller town with several of our quilt shops. It also boasts a cute, walkable downtown with great restaurants and shopping, as well as other restaurant/shopping districts

  • Meridee’s Bakery – downtown – great breakfast/lunch options
  • Franklin Mercantile Deli – downtown – great sandwiches/soups
  • Biscuit Love – downtown – there’s one of these in the Gulch, in downtown Nashville, but the Franklin one is gonna have less of a wait and the ladies’ room has Dolly hair painted on the mirror and the BEST wallpaper. Also good biscuits.
  • Puckett’s – downtown – Good local BBQ/Meat and three
  • Sopapilla’s/Franklin Burger Co – north Franklin – in the same building – Sopapilla’s has “New Mexican” food and the Burger Co. is gourmet burgers
  • Tupelo Honey – Cool Springs – Upscale Southern Food – great cocktails
  • Mantra Brewing – tasting room – Maneet Chauhan’s brewing company – good beer!

• Spring Hill – home of the Dancing Bobbin quilt shop

  • The Spring Hill Bakery – tiny and tucked away, but AMAZING – fresh baked goods, but they also have coffee and some savory food options, like flatbreads – very close to Dancing Bobbin
  • Johnathan’s Grille – we ate here on a shop hop – decent sports bar type food