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!