Ready, Set …
AUGUST 21, 2013
Setting up the room for tomorrow night’s (Thursday) lecture at the Town Hall in Grafton …
Quilt stands in place …
And then quilts up!
See you there!
Walking through the door of Grafton Village Quilts
AUGUST 27, 2013
John and Kathy Cray have good reason to be smiling. Walking through the door to their shop, Grafton Village Quilts, I was immediately struck by the wonderfully inviting atmosphere they have created. While the shop was only months being put together … carpentry, walls, racks, props for display vignettes, Kathy says it was 25 years in the making in her mind! It is a reflection of Kathy and John and all of the love and care that has gone into curating a fabulous collection of antique quilts and quilt related items that are for sale. It was thrilling to watch customers come into the shop and see Kathy in her element sharing her passion for antique quilts and their stories.
Antique quilts hang along one wall of the shop. Kathy collected this sign over ten years ago … waiting for the moment she could hang it up! Their shop is about more than quilts. It is about community. One morning I met a beaming eleven year old girl in the shop who was, under Kathy’s tutelage, completing her first quilt. And a portion of all sales from the shop is being donated to the Grafton Historical Society for the restoration of The Brick Meeting House. Add to that quarterly quilt lectures, with proceeds also going to The Brick Meeting House restoration, and it is easy to see that Kathy and John are also passionate about giving back to the community they call home. Watching visitors, both local and those from far flung locales such as Germany and France, take in the enthusiasm and visual delights of the shop was a treat to see.
Enticing displays encourage visitors to explore all corners of the shop. And the guest book already records visitors both local and international. A chair tucked into the corner invites visitors to sit a moment and take it all in.
I love this mannequin’s “block skirt” …
and this fabulous sewing needle dispenser!
Congratulations Kathy and John!
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Fabric Shops This Way!
AUGUST 15, 2013
Main Street Grafton
What is a good quilting road trip without a few stops at fabrics shops. I have had a request for the names of shops in the Grafton area and Kathy passed these along to me.
Country Treasures in Chester, Vermont is the top of my list for my trip to Grafton. Sue’s shop is filled with lots of traditionals, reproductions, kid and novelty fabrics and boasts a full room of flannels, as well as a very memorable sale room in the back of the shop! She also has lots of fat quarters and jelly rolls too! Here is Sue’s info:
Country Treasures,
Chester, Vermont
(802) 875-4377
Next is Quilt-a-Way. Owner Carol says “she who dies with the most fabric wins!” And if you love batiks and traditionals, her shop is the stop for you. She also has a great link on her site of things to do and places to see in Southern Vermont. Here is Carol’s info:
Quilt-a-Way Fabrics
190 Back Westminster Rd
Westminster Station, VT, 05159
(802)722-4743
And finally is Waterwheel House, and owner Shelley says “it is not your Granny’s quilt shop!” Filled with colourful Kaffe Fassett and other contemporary fabric it is definitely where modern meets traditional! Here’s Shelley’s info:
Waterwheel House Quilt Shop
6795 Vermont Route 100
Londonderry, VT
(802)824-5700
Happy Stitching (and maybe shopping)!
Quilts at the Creek 2013!
AUGUST 13, 2013
Blue skies dotted with fluffy white clouds. A gentle breeze with pleasant temperatures. Lots of delicious quilts decorating buildings and fences. A delightful day!
Here are some photos for you to enjoy.
When you arrived, this is the feast of quilts you saw!
Triangle Windmill by Helgard Koch
Judy Beca, Memories of Working Days. The setting bars between the pieced strips are the plackets from men’s shirts!
!
Of course I hyperventilated when I walked through the door and saw this one! A quilt from Black Creek Pioneer Village’s collection.
A close up view of those little logs.
The curators of the show took enormous care in choosing what quilts to display were and created visually enticing vignettes.
Wendy, an historical interpreter, in front of Burwick House, at Black Creek Pioneer Village
Roblin’s Mill. The only working stone mill in Toronto. It is presently not grinding flour, as the water wheel is being replaced. The last time it was replaced in 1985, the new wheel weighted 6000 lbs. The new wheel should be in place this fall and then the Mill will be fully operational again.
A happy arrangement of quilts!
Stephanie Rose’s quilt “Etc.
I love Stephanie’s atomic particles quilting.
Claudette Weeks “Tasselbrick by Hikaru Noguchi”.
Interesting raw edge detail.
Untitled by Jeannie Jenkins. It was included in a quilt show called Tradition in Transition at the 18th Carrefour European du Patchwork in Alsace, France in 2012.
A close up of the lovely taupes Jeannie used in her quilt.
Happy Stitching!
Mary Elizabeth
Grafton Village Quilts – Dreams Really Do Come True! And “Wonders of Small Blocks” Mark Your Calendar!
AUGUST 8, 2013
When I first met Kathy Metelica Cray in 2002, one of the things she talked about was one day having a quilt business. As an avid quilt and textile collector, with 25 years of experience studying quilts, it was inevitable that her dream would come true. Well August 1st, 2013 was the day!
Kathy opened her bright, sun filled shop “Grafton Village Quilts” in the beautiful village of Grafton, Vermont. Her shop is brimming with delicious antique and vintage quilts, tops and quilt blocks, antique sewing tools, vintage Singer Featherweight Sewing Machines, new quilts and table runners by local quilters and more.
You can find out all about it on her website here.
Or better yet, come to Grafton on August 22, visit her shop, then stay until 6pm and head on over to the Brick Meeting House where I will be giving a lecture on the “The Wonder of Small Blocks”. It will be a lively presentation and trunk show where the secrets of small block quilts are revealed. You will see lots of inspiration with stunning examples of quilts from both books and quilts created since. I will divulge how the chaos theory of quilting will change your quilting life. And you will see some sensational antique small block quilts and find out why these quilts were made and the lessons they reveal. I hope you will join us and discover why small block quilts are so addictive to collect and create.
Happy Stitching!
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