A Quilter’s Paradise Opens In Newtown

By  Nancy K. Crevier

Approximately two-and-a-half miles from the intersection of Route 302, south on Route 25, a new building is nestled into the hill on Bryan Lane, where 2,000 square feet on the upper level is home to Newtown Quilts and a business within a business, The Quilted Carrot.

Newtown Quilts, a large, bright store filled with nearly 2,000 bolts of quilting material, patterns, books, and notions, is owned by Julie Price. Sitting in the spacious room decorated with many examples of quilting techniques, the Newtown resident called the business that opened January 12, “a dream come true.”

Ms Price grew up in a world of fabric. Her mother, a seamstress, taught her to sew when she was only 6 years old. She started her first quilt when she was 8, but added with a laugh, “I didn’t actually finish a quilt until I was 32.”

After moving to Connecticut ten years ago from the Midwest, Ms Price enrolled in a quilting class in Bethel to sharpen her skills, and discovered that quilting held a calling for her. “I had been making clothing for years, but with quilting, I could do all I loved about sewing without the frustration of making clothes. Quilting really does become a passion once you start,” she said.

In a window-lined room at the back of Newtown Quilts, lined with six Husqvarna Viking sewing machines, three ironing stations, and a centrally located cutting station, Fawn Schmidt operates her studio, The Quilted Carrot.

Offering classes at all levels of instruction, as well as work space for quilters who are space challenged at their homes, The Quilted Carrot operated for two years out of Ms Schmidt’s Newtown home before she joined forces with her friend and neighbor, Julie Price, at Newtown Quilts this winter. “I had built a room in our house for my quilting and then we moved to have room to accommodate my long-arm machine. I started out to do custom quilts and long-arm quilts, and then people started requesting classes,” she said.

The new space allows her to expand her custom quilt business and to offer more classes and quilting opportunities than she was able to from her home base.

Ms Schmidt, the mother of four boys ranging in age from 11 to 19, and Ms Price, the mother of three children ages 5, 10, and 12, met at the bus stop five years ago. In chatting, they discovered their mutual love of quilting. Ms Schmidt, a transplant from Kansas to the East Coast, is self-taught, having taken up the art of quilting when her eldest son was in first grade. She had worked doing machine appliqué while living in Kansas City, but it was after her move to Connecticut that she became more involved in the craft.

“I made two quilts for Sandy Hook School fundraisers, one in 2001 and one in 2003, and they did very well, raising $6,000 for the school,” said Ms Schmidt. Since then, she has continued to apply her love of appliqué and quilting to design and make machine-sewn quilts for her clients and for other fundraisers. “With quilting,” she said, “I found my niche in life.”

Before long, the two friends found that they often ended up in quilt shops together when out shopping. “We thought, ‘We could do this.’ Or we would say, ‘If this was my shop I would…’” recalled Ms Price. “There are a thousand reasons not to do something, but sometimes you just have to do it,” she said.

When the space on Route 25 became available last summer, the women decided to follow their dreams. The response, they said, has been phenomenal. With no other quilting store in Newtown or nearby towns to the south, they have seen an influx of grateful “piecemakers.”

“I’ve actually had people come in and hug me and say how happy they are to have this in town,” said Ms Price.

A warm and friendly atmosphere is what they strive for at Newtown Quilts and The Quilted Carrot, said Ms Price and Ms Schmidt, with a personal touch. “We handpicked over 90 percent of the fabrics for Newtown Quilts,” Ms Price said. “I wanted to have enough selection that people can put together a whole quilt without going from shop to shop to shop.” Several lines by popular fabric makers are carried in her store, and she is expecting an order of Thimbleberry fabrics to arrive in the near future.

“We had a clear idea of what the store could be: customer focused, accessible to people when they want to be here, classes not locked into a schedule, and offering flexible class options,” said Ms Price. Having the storefront open the same hours as The Quilted Carrot meant that classroom clients could shop for the fabric or pattern they might want for a class without making a separate trip, and likewise, those who came in to buy quilting supplies could see classes in action and get advice from either woman while they shopped.

Newtown Quilts and The Quilted Carrot are open Monday through Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm, with hours on Wednesday night extended to 9 pm. Sunday the businesses are open from 1 to 4 pm. Classes at The Quilted Carrot are scheduled for daytime or evening, depending on client demand. Three-hour class sessions cost $10 an hour, and private lessons are available from Ms Schmidt, Ms Price, or the only other teacher presently employed by the women, Laura Demos from New Fairfield, for $15 an hour.

The store also offers an unusual, late night, “Get ‘R Done” class on the last Friday of every month, from 6 pm to midnight. “People can bring in a project that is in progress and work on it here in a casual atmosphere,” Ms Schmidt said. “They can work independently or get input from the other quilters, or guidance from one of us,” she explained. The atmosphere is one of light-heartedness, the women said, and the $50 fee for the evening includes not only use of the equipment and space, but pizza and chocolate, as well. To reserve a spot for the late night quiltathon, call 304-2041, or email Ms Schmidt at thequiltedcarrot@yahoo.com or Ms Price at julia@newtownquilts.com.

For experienced or novice quilters who prefer to work independently, the sewing machines and work space can be rented for $5 per hour. “Some quilters prefer to bring their own sewing machines,” said Ms Schmidt, “and that’s okay with us. We will set up a space for anyone who wants to use their own machine.”

The week of April 16, when Newtown schools are on break, Newtown Quilts and The Quilted Carrot will offer a special series of classes for young quilters. The classes, designed for ages 8 and up, are scheduled from 9 am to noon or 1 to 4 pm, and will offer children the opportunity to create an entire quilted project by the week’s end. Cost for the 15 hours of classes is $150, plus the cost of supplies.

Ms Schmidt’s philosophy is to take students from beginning to end on a project, so that they can go home with a finished product. “Most classes teach a technique, but we help people to make a quilt,” she said.

While most students use a pattern, she is available to help customers design custom quilts, and is willing to help them make the quilt themselves, or will sew it for them herself. “Flexibility is key to this business,” she said.

The women hope that their enthusiasm for the businesses wears off on all who enter the doors. “I love everything about this business,” said Ms Price. “The people coming in, helping them, the fabric. It’s a happy place.”

For details about classes or for more information contact thequiltedcarrot@yahoo.com or julia@newtownquilts.com, or call 304-2041.