Even in liberated communities, there are some areas still considered off-limits to certain people. Children aren’t often seen in pubs. Most women don’t hang out in repair garages. And men don’t generally frequent manicure and pedicure salons. The same could be said of men in sewing shops and the like. In fact, last Saturday afternoon when I decided to pay a courtesy visit to the Quilters Cupboard in Uxbridge, Ont., I got a predicable response when I entered.
“Hey ladies,” a voice announced from inside the store, “a man has just entered the shop.” Most got a chuckle out of the remark. Me included.
The shop – I suspect normally busy on the weekend – was buzzing with additional energy. In a far-off activity room, I could see a group of women chatting and sewing – or more correctly quilting. Throughout the main display area of the shop, women of all ages exchanged the latest about quilted blankets and browsed the counters jammed with design packages. I overheard a customer ask about a specific pattern.
“It’s a design by a Vancouver quilter,” the store representative said. “We’ve got to support our Canadian quilters, you know.”
The woman offering the pro-Canada perspective on quilt designs is Sue Carmichael – for eight years the owner/operator of Quilters Cupboard. As long as I’ve known Sue – when I met her years ago via her oldtimers hockey-playing husband Phil – I learned that she is a former nurse and dedicated homemaker who is always upbeat, always smiling and always eager to hear the latest in your life.
In fact, for several years now (since her own battle with breast cancer), Sue has regularly invited volunteers – experienced quilters and curious types like myself – to join her 30-hour quilting marathons raising awareness and funds to fight the disease. During at least a couple of campaigns since 2002, Sue and her quilting circle have raised nearly $70,000.
But my visit last Saturday wasn’t about her cancer fund-raiser. It wasn’t even about quilting per se. I found what I was looking for at the shop’s front counter. There in a prominent spot lay copies of the latest edition of the international periodical Quilt Sampler – a glossy, 150-page, quarterly magazine, published in Des Moines, Iowa. The front cover of this particular edition offered news on “10 All-New Projects, plus a bonus pillow,” the particulars of “Full-Size Patterns Inside,” and even word about the magazine’s favourite places to eat, stay and shop.”
By far the most important news, emblazoned across the front cover, however, were the magazine’s choices for the “Ultimate Shop Hop,” that is, visits to the top quilting stores in North America. And a quick perusal to the table of contents page revealed that right up there was Sue Carmichael’s Quilters Cupboard. After my not-so-subtle arrival, when I eventually caught Sue’s attention and offered my congratulations with a “How big a deal is this?” look in my eye, she beamed.
“Very big,” she said. “This magazine goes everywhere.”
Apparently, Sue explained, the candidates for Quilt Sampler’s “Top Ten List” come from thousands of applications. The hometown nominators never expected the Uxbridge entry to win. But that’s only the half of it. Six months ago, when Sue and her staff learned that Quilters Cupboard had made the cut, everybody in the shop had to keep the ranking a secret.
In fact, one day back in the spring, the shop staff completely transformed the place – hanging fall motif decorations and laying out patterns for Autumn 2010 for the photographer who arrived for the magazine spread. Then they changed everything back again and kept the blockbuster top-ranking under wraps until the publication a couple of weeks ago.
Lest you think this notoriety is small potatoes, just have a look at the circulation numbers of Quilt Sampler. Half a million dedicated (and probably well-travelled) quilters regularly read this periodical. And they won’t just see the latest in quilting design either. On a page opposite some of Sue’s favourite samples are listed an array of other attractions in Uxbridge. As well as being a proud proprietor, Sue stitches a lot of boosterism into her quilt work. Not so long ago, a quilter called from Kitchener, Ont., inquiring about the shop and about Uxbridge.
“Did you know this area was once the home of Lucy Maud Montgomery?” Sue asked the woman. When she sounded surprised, Sue continued, “Would you like to see the Maud sites?” Before long a busload of Kitchener-area quilters was booked for visits to Leaskdale and the Quilters Cupboard. As, Judith Stern Friedman, the Quilt Sampler magazine writer noted, “[at Quilters Cupboard] quilters find fellowship and camaraderie…”
Clearly, Sue Carmichael is changing the definition of what’s off-limits and what’s not.