Sep 12, 2008

Quilt shop has much to offerBy John FordNeoshoDailyNews.com

Neosho, Mo. – A lifelong interest in sewing led Donna Sue Hill and her daughter, Robbi Hill Triplett to opening their own quilting store three years ago.

Their shop, Bittersweet Quilts, is located on P Highway and Missouri Highway 86 south of Joplin in northern Newton County. Hill described the shop as a “mom and pop,” only it was a “mom and daughter.”

“My daughter said she would never sew, but her friends got her into quilting,” said Hill. “She doesn’t like making clothes, but when she went with her husband, who was in the service, to South Carolina, friends there got her into quilting. She came back here for a visit and said ‘Mom, there’s only one quilt store in Joplin!’ “

About a half mile from Donna Hill’s home, a former gift shop was up for sale. Triplett told her mother the building would be an excellent location for a quilt shop.

“So I talked to the owners and made a deal,” Hill said. “The quilters like it. They don’t have to put up with the hubbub of Joplin. Instead, it’s a nice, quiet drive in the country. The older ladies don’t like the city traffic, and here, they don’t have to fight the city traffic.”

Bittersweet Quilts carries more than 2,000 bolts of cloth, including Civil War and 1930s reproduction prints, youth prints, batiks and more. They also offer quilter’s thread, sewing machine supplies, and pattern books.

“We carry a lot of books and patterns,” Hill said. “We have a lot of quilts on display we have made. We also have a lot of samples they can see. They can come in, say ‘Well, I want to make that one,’ and we can get the patterns for them.

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