Elaine's Quilt Block

Marilyn Cowan's family came to the Salt Lake City area from Illinois on wagon trails. To bring her heritage to her quilt shop, Elaine's Quilt Block in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, she and her family built a replica of a 19th-centuty Illinois-style home. Located at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains, the shop is a beautiful setting for inspiring quilters.

Front row, from left:

Holly Williams-Sosa, Cathie Henriod, Michelle Schafer, Marilyn Cowan (owner) with shop dog Macy, Natalie Mieremet, Deb Roskelley, and Loraine Graehl; back row: Sheri Mullins-Stauffer, Suzanne Christiansen, Ione VanWagenen, Sandra Neff, Patti Anderson, Joyce Weeks, Lil Anderson, LuAnn White, Carol Horne, and Gail Burgess Wix.

Marilyn named the store after her mother, Elaine, who inspired her interest in quilting, and uses family pieces to display quilts. The store attracts quilters of all ages who are interested in learning a skill their ancestors loved.

The store's basement is devoted to baby fabrics. While Marilyn Cowan stocks the traditional pale pinks and blues, she also goes for bolder color choices. Hanging on the wall is Joan's Wrap by Lisa G. Creations. Olive the Owl and Ronny the Robot by Freddies Friends make fun decorations for a nursery.

Owner Marilyn Cowan and staff member Joyce Weeks designed Cut Flowers for Quilt Sampler® Fall/Winter 2011 magazine.

In Cut Flowers, fussy-cut blooms are arranged in simple Snowball units by color for an intense look. Staff member Holly Williams-Sosa machine-quilted swirls and spirals across the quilt top.

This regal and understated wall hanging proves color-shy quilters can enjoy Cut Flowers, too. Quilt tester Laura Boehnke used just one tone-on-tone and one print to assemble the Snowball units in each of the four blocks. As a nod to the original, she fussy-cut the sashing squares. Laura's fabrics are from the Casablanca collection by Blank Quilting.

For more information about Elaine's Quilt Block, visitelainesquiltblock.com.