Apr 7, 2010

New quilt shop in Mabel draws on family historyBy Melissa Vander PlasHometown-Pages.com

JoAnne and Lonnie Pierce are honoring their family’s history and celebrating JoAnne’s love of fabric and sewing in a new business venture in Mabel. The couple recently opened Krazy Kwilts in the old mill on Highway 44, which also houses the home décor store, Evangeline’s.

JoAnne explained that the name of the shop comes from the kind of quilt her grandmother used to make.

Lonnie added, “We spelled it crazy – K-R-A-Z-Y – because we wanted it to be fun. What we do down here is supposed to be fun.”

That’s exactly what the couple has been doing, having fun with this new adventure. The two have gone on fabric-buying trips together, selecting bolts of material that both find interesting and attractive. They’ve hung shelves together, designed their workspace and also loaded shelves with yarn, quilting notions and other craft items.

While the main focus of the store may be quilting supplies and fabric, JoAnne explained that she also wants to have supplies available for other hobbies as well, including DMC embroidery floss, yarn, crochet and knitting needles and other basic sewing supplies. She noted that they will also be getting in more supplies for counted-cross-stitch pieces.

“I’m new at this,” said JoAnne. “If I don’t have it and someone needs it, I’ll be more than happy to get it.”

The Pierces noted that their inventory is still growing and they are open to customers’ suggestions as to what their needs and wants are. Currently, they have over 100 bolts of fabric, some flat fold pieces of vintage fabric from JoAnne’s grandmother’s and mother’s collections, and some of the new fabric collection pieces such as “jelly rolls,” “layer cakes” and “honey buns.”

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