One of the Quilter’s Ten Commandments is
”
Thou shalt never pass a quilt shop.
”
And for new business owner Diana Galloway it was one of her own
rules of vacation travel until she opened Heavenly Quilting seven
months ago.
One of the Quilter’s Ten Commandments is “Thou shalt never pass a quilt shop.” And for new business owner Diana Galloway it was one of her own rules of vacation travel until she opened Heavenly Quilting seven months ago.
Now the San Juan Bautista woman hopes quilters don’t pass her by in Windmill Plaza.
Galloway’s quilting store has a heavenly collection of quilting mainstays full of bolts of fabric of varying hues and patterns, neatly lining the walls in between finished works of art to the large quilting machine dominating the rear of her new store. She’s managed to create the down-home, country feel enhanced by the historic town she has chosen as a location.
It’s a fitting location for a historic art-like quilting which has been capturing the thread of the human experience for centuries in the stories depicted on many quilts.
Diana’s quilting has a story as well.
It began at age 18 when she first pursued the skill, but she has been developed her skills ever since. She purchased a quilting machine for her home studio, quilting other quilters’ pieced quilt tops to earn money for her own fabric purchases. However, it was a fabric sales rep who suggested she open her store and after discussing it with her husband, Terry, Galloway decided the time was now.
“My husband had been laid off from a high tech job. I received a check in the mail that would cover the rent, and we decided to go for it!” Galloway said. “My biggest concern was I wouldn’t have enough fabric when we started, but the inventory has grown from 400 bolts of fabric to over 1500.”
One of the more popular items at Heavenly Quilting features civil war reproduction prints.
“The reproductions are of fabrics you can find in museums back east. I am very inspired by them, as well as bright colors,” she said, pointing to a bright pink and flower power project still in progress.
The artistic elements of creation are what drive quilters to start new projects, sometimes before finishing old ones, she said. Although quilters often use the same fabrics, their creations are usually 100-percent original.
“I could go shopping for fabric with another person, we might even pick some of the same fabrics but each person’s design and finished project is unique,” She said. “Quilting is addictive.”
A great deal of her clientele are local customers stopping by after they have checked their mail next door, Galloway said.
“They drop by to see what I’ve got new, and to visit,” she said. “Quilting is very social. Although a lot of techniques and sewing equipment have made it easier to quilt, the collaborative history and the storytelling qualities are still a part of the experience.”
Most of her other customers find the shop by word of mouth through the quilting circles. Though Galloway said there are many quilting guilds and retreats in the San Benito area.
“Quilters tend to shop together, it’s an outing, a pleasant form of therapy,” she said.
Galloway also teaches classes in the store for beginner and intermediate quilters, and she hosts the Girls Scouts and 4-Hers for their sewing projects.
“The Girl Scouts make pajamas and they have so much fun. The 4-Hers actually make a quilt,” she said. “In this fast paced world, making something by hand is gratifying. I want the young girls to get inspired enough to continue to quilt throughout their lives.”
With fabrics designed specifically for quilting, more artistic designs and quilting machines to put it all together, Galloway said quilting is becoming much more popular. She has plans to expand her selection of fabrics, just hired a part-time staff person and has a waiting list for orders on the quilting machine.
For Galloway, it’s been a match made in heaven.
“I never dreamed I would be doing this. Sometimes I walk up to the door and I think ‘Wow, this is my store!'”
Heavenly Quilting is located at 301 The Alameda, San Juan Bautista, 831-623-4680.
