Farewell to Country Threads

Transcription

1 Farewell to Country Threads Ever since I heard that Country Threads (my favorite quilt shop in Garner, Iowa) would be closing, I knew I wanted to go one last time. By far, above any quilt shop, it has been my favorite and to be honest, I don t think for me another quilt shop will ever top it. I told Kelli I was planning to go and she said she wanted to go too. We had been juggling schedules trying to make things work-then finally I reminded Kelli and this was their last week. Wednesday we went. We weren t there to get some wonderful deals although everything was 50% off and we did go home with plenty, we went to say so long to the gals and to the quilt shop.

2 There were still lots of samples on the walls tempting us and I ll admit, I fell to temptation. I so wish I had the gift of color. I talked to Mary about it and she said it was Connie s doing and it s Connie that knows colors.

3 I think she was being modest.

4 I have studied and studied what it is that I love so much about the coloring. In that basket quilt to the left, I wouldn t have used the dull colors in the border or in the center of the quilt. I would have used a bolder color. Those duller colors actually make the blocks take the center stage though and it s something I need to remember.

5 I asked Connie about it too. She said that every quilt needs fabrics that you don t love. Those fabrics make the fabrics that you do love look even better. They said that customers often came in the store and when the gals suggested a not so cute fabric that customers would not want that particular fabric but if a person wants that Country Threads look, they need those dull fabrics.

6 The quilt below is their 30 stars quilt from Country Living Magazine. I always liked the original but it never grabbed me as a must have. Done in the patriotic colors, I LOVE!! Yes, I ended up buying the pattern. I LOVE IT!!

7 I had to laugh when I saw this four patch hanging in the store. Mary put this pattern together several years ago. It was always a shop favorite. Time and time again, customers would want to make the exact quilt. Well they would run out of the back ground fabric. They would make a new sample with a new background fabric. Again and again they would remake this quilt. In it s simplicity I still love it too.

8 I bought the below pattern too. I love feathered stars and this construction looked easy enough for me.

9 They did some fabric left yet to purchase. The shelves were pretty bare but Kelli and I still found some things we liked especially for backings.

10 Here s an old traditional block but isn t it cute. do just know how to do color. See they

11 Kelli and I both loved this simple nine patch.see how they jazzed it up with rounded corners. I would have never picked that for a binding but it looks so good.

12 Isn t this a fun little quilt??

13 The red and teal got two huge thumbs up from Kelli and I.

14 Remember that I love all things polka dot. Well this quilt is included on the list of polka dot favorites!

15 There were quite a few punch needle project left and a bit of wool too. Today is the last day. At 5:00 pm they close. I am so happy for all the gals there and hope retirement is all they ever dreamed it would be. I can t thank them enough for being so kind to me over the years and generous with their talent. As I look at my walls, I see them filled with quilts that I made from their patterns. Try as I might, I ve done good but never quite mastered the color the way the Connie and Mary did. I guess I ll be on the hunt for a new favorite quilt shop.these are a few things I am looking for: 1- samples and samples and more samples-all samples labeled with pattern and pattern CLOSE by. 2-friendly helpful service but not pushy or intrusive workers

16 3-Variety. I love fabric, wool and punch needle. 4-a homey atmosphere 5-and even more samples. I truly LOVE samples. There are so many projects that I saw over the years at Country Threads that I would NEVER have bought the pattern if I hadn t seen the sample. With that: Cheers to you Mary and Connie and the girls. You had a great run. Thanks for being part of my quilting world.