Quilting, Anyone?

As I mentioned last week, a friend of mine recently spent a Girls Weekend at my place.  She's an excellent quilter, so while she was here, we paid a visit to the Thomas Sewing Center in Mesquite, Texas.  It's been around since 1955, and has quite the loyal following. Howard Thomas used to work for Singer, which explains the collection of old sewing machines lined up on shelves around the store.

We were greeted by Kim, who filled us in on the history of the shop, and introduced us to Dona Thomas.

Back in the day, my grandmothers and many of my aunts quilted by hand.  As a child, I remember visiting family in Alabama one summer.  My grandmother hosted a quilting bee at her house out in the country, and carloads full of ladies showed up with casserole dishes and pies in hand.  A quilting frame was set up in the living room, and everyone pulled up a chair and quilted.  I was dispatched outside...their gossip was probably too grown up for a kid like me! These days, so much is done on the computer.  There was a class going on while we were at Thomas,' and it was interesting to see everyone following along on their laptops.  I have no doubt that my great-grandmother would've been floored!

The store had so many beautiful fabrics, everything from pastels to Texas football team patterns.

For so early on a Saturday morning, the store was really hoppin'!  Women examined fabrics and threads, the phone rang off the hook, and my friend enjoyed looking at everything she could take in.  Since I can barely sew on a button, I had to be content to appreciate what could be done with such beautiful material.  You could tell many of the customers were die-hard quilters.  I even met the mayor of Combine, Texas!

It was easy to find lots to photograph, that's for sure!

If only I had time to learn one more thing...