Quilters Corner

Situated where suburbia meets farm country, Quilters Corner has settled into its third location in the village of Finleyville, Pennsylvania. "It's a square brick building with wall-to-wall fabric," owner Mary Beth Hartnett says. Mary Beth treats every person who enters as a guest and each day as a new adventure.

Front row, from left:

Debbie Kaczkowski, Barbara Hudak, Amber Zona, Pat Vates, Mary Beth Hartnett (owner), Deborah Chappel-Kaucic, Laura Soles and Judy Shanahan; second row: Barbara Geary, Cathe DeVito, Jamie Andrews-Mack, Maureen Hartnett, Chris Jolley, Jill Whittaker and Paige Ball.

Abundant lighting welcomes guests to the store where 7,500 bolts of fabric samples are displayed and hung. Mary Beth Hartnett believes everyone who walks in the door should find something of interest and inspiration. "We tell them to touch anything they want-have fun," Mary Beth says.

Quilters know the shop for its wide range of fabric styles, its continually changing presentation, and its original patterns and project ideas. Customers are just as likely to find bold, modern, and retro prints and patterns as they are classic and reproduction fabrics.

Along with fabrics, Quilters Corner offers threads, books, patterns, kits, and gift items that are featured in the store and online. The shop offers three different electronic or print newsletters, and 20 teachers instruct classes from beginning techniques to high skill levels. Mary Beth sees the Internet as an extension of the store, so every order includes a personal note. "We want our Internet guests to have as good an experience as those coming into the store," she says.

In Oak & Berries scallop appliqués surround traditional appliqué motifs to cover sashing and border seam lines.

Machine-quilted details on the red and gold leaves echo their shapes, and a curling vein flows through the centers of the green leaves. Stylized leaves and fronds pop off the background of each appliquéd block and meandering curves accent the inner border.

Tonga Batiks from Timeless Treasures Fabrics are used in this fusible appliqué version of Oak & Berries. For the center motifs, use thread a shade or two darker than the fabric and machine-buttonhole-stitch around each appliqué. On the double rows of appliqué added to the border, match the thread color to the fabric and use tiny zigzag stitches.

"My dad had a business when I was a kid. I worked for him and understood just how much work was needed to wow our guests," Mary Beth says. "We go to great lengths to have a multitude of samples." The shop walls are lined with samples, as evident in this patriotic vignette of Americana (wall hanging), Stars & Stripes Forever (table runner), and Seeing Stars (pillow).For more information about Quilters Corner, visit www.quilterscorner-pa.com.