At Quilting Quarters, women strive to keep art of sewing alive
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
June Shreves and Suzie Hammond, both of Hillsboro, have teamed up to open a quilt shop in Marion.
Quilting Quarters, 126 W. Main, opened Jan. 2. The business shares space with Hair Corner, a beauty salon operated by Betty Stenzel. Shreves and Hammond know her as a fellow member of the Country Stitchers Quilt Guild.
The business offers a variety of decorator fabrics, notions of all kinds, printed panels, and batting.
The women offer help in picking out fabric.
The business also offers additional services such as any stitching people may need. It is a drop-off point for garments that need alterations and for sewing machines that need cleaning and general maintenance.
People are encouraged to come in and ask for advice on any home project they may need help with.
"If your project doesn't look like the picture, bring it in along with the picture, and we'll try to help you," Jane said.
The women are offering various kinds of sewing classes. Their first class for beginning sewers will take place Saturday. They also are scheduling beginning quilter classes in which the participants will work at creating small projects.
The women are open to suggestions as to what other types of classes would be beneficial to their customers.
"Sewing is a craft," Suzie said. "We want to promote our craft and to preserve the art of sewing."
They plan to sponsor "group sew" nights, when women can bring their machines and work together.
The two women enjoy working with young people, as well. They are planning sewing classes for the Goessel 4-H Club and are willing to teach anyone to sew.
Suzie has been sewing her own clothes since she was 10 or 12. She and her husband moved to Hillsboro from Salina in 2004.
Their daughters were off to college and she no longer needed to sew for them, so she was looking for something to do.
A friend got her involved in quilting two years ago, and she quickly became addicted. She belongs to three quilt guilds.
Jane comes from a family of sewers. Her siblings have been involved in various kinds of creative sewing, such as custom draperies, band uniforms, and upholstery.
She and her husband originally lived south of Wichita but bought a small house in Hillsboro for times when they went camping at Marion Reservoir.
In 2000, they moved to a farm they had purchased in the Hillsboro area. Jane gave up her job and purchased a long-arm quilting machine to establish a custom-quilting business. She also joined Country Stitchers Quilt Guild.
The two women met when Suzie joined the guild a couple of years ago. Suzie is a precision piecer, whereas Jane likes to do free-quilting.
They stressed that their store is "customer-friendly."
"We are easy going," Jane said. "We want people to feel comfortable to come in and ask any questions they may have. We don't want them to feel intimidated.
"We have a sense of humor and appreciate a good joke. We're having fun."
Quilting Quarters is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. The telephone number is 620-386-0997.
