by Janmarie Smith
Sandy Sullivan is not in her store , The Windy Moon, and the workers who are in the store have only worked there a week. So I am left to wander until they find her.
The store is more than a fabric store. Quilts are on display all around the store, draped on bolts of fabric, lining shelves, tacked to every wall and hung on the ends of shelves. Most have been quilted and pieced by sewing machines. The deep expensive colors draw the eye to different areas as I walk around. Something brighter catches my eye and I look up. Tucked , draped, and folded carefully among antique artifacts on the top of the rows and shelves are some unique, very old quilts.
These are sewn by hand. stitch by stitch, inch by inch and pieced by hand, old patterns, Crazy Quilts, Around the World Quilts, appliqued quilts. . . . The crazy quilts with uneven pieces of dark jeweled colors are pieced together with embroidery stitches. Stained glass quilts with a softer palette of pinks and blues and whites. As my eyes start to circle the room at the top, I see old books, spinning wheels, clay pots, non electric irons, brown tone photographs. and other antiques fitted among these quilts. “ It’s a sort of museum,” said Sandy as we finally were able to talk.
Sandy has been over at the Ramada Inn next door conducting a workshop. She explains that they run classes on anything their clients are interested in : machine quilting, machine pieced quilts, appliqued quilts and hand quilting and hand piecing. If a client comes in and asks to learning something, then they will teach a new class. Many of those classes are held next door at the Ramada Inn where she is today.
Classes that are being taught right now at The Windy Moon are lace ornaments and free standing lace, piecing houndstooth, and machine embroidery.
When asked about the old quilts on the tops shelves, Sullivan said, “Many people bring those in and give them to me. Maybe Grandma dies or they clean the garage. They find an old quilt; nobody wants it but they know it shouldn’t be thrown away, so they bring them to me because they know they will be cared for.” And they don’t have to worry about the store closing because Sullivan has been in business 24 years in Reno and just opened a second store in Sparks. Her husband Michael also works at the store. He said that it is a full time job, but they love it. And he adds that those quilts entrusted to them will be safe.
The store is teeming with fabric also, of course, to make the quilts. “ None of our fabric comes from the United States. Our raw cotton is sent overseas, so I buy fabric from all over. A common fallacy is that is comes from China, but very little comes from China, “ explains Sullivan . China is the largest producer of cotton, but they use all they produce. For many years, the United States is the largest exporter of cotton. Sandy knows this and it is documented by the Textile Fashion Study.
As I leave, I am under the spell of Windy Moon Quilts. I want to stay and begin to create, but I must go so I just 2 ½ yard of material for bulletin boards, You see I am a teacher, no time yet to create. But time to dream, appreciate and write.
The Inverted Period 