Hickory Stick Quilt Shop

Hickory Stick Quilt Shop in historic Hannibal, Missouri, has expanded twice since opening in 1977. "Each time, we just knock a hole in the wall and open it up to the shop next door," owner Pat Waelder says.

From left:

Marla Frame, Pauline McIntosh, Nancy Morris, Diana Parke-Jones, Pat Waelder (owner), Sally Keithley, and Belinda Ebers.

Although shop owner Pat Waelder has never made a quilt, she knows what her customers want. In response to their desires she has created themed sections in her shop, including rooms for batiks, for Civil War and other reproduction fabrics. Another building houses contemporary fabric, and the third building features redwork, stamped embroidery, and '30s reproduction fabric.

Painted chairs hold fabric, books, notions, and accessories alongside antique wooden table and shelves. Tin ceilings and wood floors contrast with the walls. Pat Waelder coordinates wall colors to complement fabric collections. "I take paint chips to Quilt Market to determine which colors will look best with the new fabrics," she says.

The Hickory Stick entices nonquilters with its selection of home decor items, fusible projects, stamped embroidery, redwork materials, and gifts.

For Straight & Narrow, a neutral throw that's anything but basic, cut a stripe on the bias to create intriguing bands of sashing around star blocks.

Straight & Narrow

is machine-quilted simply, in a meandering feather design across the top.

Neutral stars turn into country charmers when using fabrics from the Welcome Home collection by Lydia Quigley for Clothworks. To re-create this quilt, fussy-cut a border print for the centers of the large star blocks.

Pat's enthusiasm for her town's heritage is evident. During the annual Tom Sawyer Days in July, the shop staff helps local children select fabrics for their costumes-each year a newly designed and stitched quilt raises money for a scholarship program for those children. A Tribute to Mark Twain from Suzn Quilts was the 2008 raffle quilt. Pat promotes local quilt guilds and community college quilting classes and twice a year brings in an appraiser who provides written and verbal critiques of her customers' quilts.

A quilted portrait of Abraham Lincoln (Abraham Lincoln Tribute from Suzn Quilts) in the Civil War-themed is another tribute to history. "In tough times, people want things of meaning, not just things," Pat says. "Quilts are keepsakes, something they can pass down to children and grandchildren. They create warmth, comfort, and memories."

For more information about The Hickory Stick Quilt Shop, visit www.hickorystickquiltshop.com.