Saturday, August 12, 2017
new hours
beginning the week of august 15, 2017 we will have new shop hours. we hope you will continue to support our mission and our shop by coming to see us on tuesday or saturday or shopping from our etsy site that will be up shortly. if you are a guild and would like to arrange a private shopping time, just send us an email or give us a call.
Thursday, August 3, 2017
august update
and here we are...august 2017. it's surreal to me that i am even typing that on our quilt shop page. seven years ago, when we were preparing for our opening, i had no idea what to expect. i never had the dream that we would be where we are today. more importantly i truly never would have believed that sarah would still be by my side. she had been so critically ill that year. it was her health that prompted me to leave my full time job to care for her hour by hour for as many days as we had together.
amazing isn't it. not only is she right here, she's become the star of the show. she's been leading our one million pillowcase mission for some time and has delivered more than 7,000 cases to area children's hospitals and hospice programs in memory of her friend kristen kirton. she's become a savant on the sewing machine utilizing charm squares and with that she has formed her own business aptly named, Down Right Charming, so she has an outlet to sell her creations.
i truly could not be more proud of her and wish to help her take the show on the road. which is exactly what we will be doing shortly.
so what does this mean for JEllen's house of fabric?
reduced hours.
beginning on tuesday, august 15, 2017 we will only be open on:
TUESDAY 10-8
SATURDAY 10-4
in the shop we will still be stocking the happy, bright fabrics we have come to love. sarah's selections of kids fabrics appropriate for pillowcases will also be in great supply.
and of course our kate spain corner will always be filled with her newest designs.
and then what?
we are hitting the road.
follow us here and we will begin to share our whereabouts. you just never know where we might be parked. with us will be one yard cuts and fat quarters of all our fabulous fabric. sarah will have her creations too. she might even be demonstrating her sewing skills.
and very soon we will be uploading our most popular fabric to our etsy site so you can shop from home.
change. oh yes there is a lot of it. yet it's all so good.
we are so grateful for all of our customers, followers and friends. we would not be here without you!
amazing isn't it. not only is she right here, she's become the star of the show. she's been leading our one million pillowcase mission for some time and has delivered more than 7,000 cases to area children's hospitals and hospice programs in memory of her friend kristen kirton. she's become a savant on the sewing machine utilizing charm squares and with that she has formed her own business aptly named, Down Right Charming, so she has an outlet to sell her creations.
i truly could not be more proud of her and wish to help her take the show on the road. which is exactly what we will be doing shortly.
so what does this mean for JEllen's house of fabric?
reduced hours.
beginning on tuesday, august 15, 2017 we will only be open on:
TUESDAY 10-8
SATURDAY 10-4
in the shop we will still be stocking the happy, bright fabrics we have come to love. sarah's selections of kids fabrics appropriate for pillowcases will also be in great supply.
and of course our kate spain corner will always be filled with her newest designs.
and then what?
we are hitting the road.
follow us here and we will begin to share our whereabouts. you just never know where we might be parked. with us will be one yard cuts and fat quarters of all our fabulous fabric. sarah will have her creations too. she might even be demonstrating her sewing skills.
and very soon we will be uploading our most popular fabric to our etsy site so you can shop from home.
change. oh yes there is a lot of it. yet it's all so good.
we are so grateful for all of our customers, followers and friends. we would not be here without you!
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
closed for the 4th of july
please note we will be closed monday, tuesday, wednesday 7/3, 7/4, 7/5. we hope you can plan your needs accordingly before then.
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
closed for quilt market
please note the shop will be closed this week for quilt market. we will return on Tuesday 5/23 at 10:00
Monday, April 17, 2017
north coast needlers quilt show
please note this upcoming weekend is the north coast needlers quilt show on saturday 4/22 and sunday 4/23. we will be closed friday 4/21 for set up and all day saturday. this is a great event with lots of quilts and many vendors. we hope to see you there.
Saturday, April 8, 2017
the cunin connection...
update: it is with great sadness that i report to you that our dear friend, confidant, and bag stitcher extraordinare passed away on april 4, 2017. from the time i first wrote this story in 2014, marilyn and jane continued to arrive at our shop always at just the perfect moment. sarah and i will deeply miss her smiling face, tender hugs and words of encouragement. our prayers are with her family as they mourn the loss of this great woman.
first published on March 14, 2014...
to start this lovely story i need to take us back to the summer of 1983. i was a young, naïve, yet extremely driven twenty something, fresh out of grad school with degrees in public administration and social work. i was chosen as a united way of america national intern, a highly selective program designed to fast track women and minorities into leadership positions within that organization.
i had asked to come to cleveland, not because i was from ohio, rather at that time this city had the most number of ten thousand dollar donors and i wanted to see how they had accomplished that distinction, with the idea that i could take the knowledge and replicate it in other cities.
my first week in cleveland, i was assigned to work in the manufacturing and industrial sections of the campaign, which at that time was organized by sic codes. a few buildings down from the 3100 euclid avenue headquarters of united way, was a company called bearings, inc. the president of this company, john cunin, had been recruited as a volunteer leader.
i remember the first walk down to his office like it were yesterday. as most young women wanting to succeed at that time, i was wearing a navy blue suit with a high collared blouse and navy blue pumps, despite the humid temperature of the hot august day. i was eager in my assignment, yet nervous to be entering the office of a company president. i need not have worried as mr. cunin was a delightful man. he immediately had me feeling at ease as we got to work on that year's campaign. we had several meetings that fall in his office, sometimes ending with lunch across the street at the local deli.
i left town that december to return to alexandria, virginia for further training at the national headquarters, likely to never see mr. cunin or the other wonderful volunteers i had worked so closely with in cleveland. but life has a funny way of turning around. the following year i returned to the city on a more permanent basis and once again i had the pleasure of working with mr. cunin.
now fast forward three decades later and the phone rings in our quilt shop. the readout indicated the call came from the cunin residency. the woman on the other end of the line asked if we had a certain fabric, which we did. the next afternoon a beautiful grandmotherly face walked in and asked for the fabric. i knew by her question she was the woman who called the previous day. so i asked her if she was any relation to john cunin. her face lite up like the star atop a christmas tree. she asked how i knew him so i shared the story above. as her eyes welled with tears, she told me john was her beloved husband. she also told me he had passed away much too young in 1993. as i reached out to give her a hug, i knew a friendship was developing.
over the course of the next few years, marilyn and i shared some wonderful afternoons together in our quilt shop. we discovered that we have many things in common, including our special daughters. i learned of her dedication to our lady of the wayside, where her daughter mary catherine aka cookie, would occasionally go for respite care before she passed at the age of seventeen. we also discovered we share a love of sewing. soon marilyn was bringing in bags she had stitched together with fabric from our shop. sarah takes those bags and fills them with goodies from just a buck and a matching pillowcase she makes. we then deliver them to the little ones in the same hospital sarah received so much of her care.
precious marissa was one such recipient. we had been following her family's blog for sometime and when we heard she had been diverted to the cleveland clinic while her family was traveling from florida to michigan, we just knew she needed one of the bags. lovingly stitched by the hands of two great ladies, both inspired by beautiful angels in heaven.
first published on March 14, 2014...
to start this lovely story i need to take us back to the summer of 1983. i was a young, naïve, yet extremely driven twenty something, fresh out of grad school with degrees in public administration and social work. i was chosen as a united way of america national intern, a highly selective program designed to fast track women and minorities into leadership positions within that organization.
i had asked to come to cleveland, not because i was from ohio, rather at that time this city had the most number of ten thousand dollar donors and i wanted to see how they had accomplished that distinction, with the idea that i could take the knowledge and replicate it in other cities.
my first week in cleveland, i was assigned to work in the manufacturing and industrial sections of the campaign, which at that time was organized by sic codes. a few buildings down from the 3100 euclid avenue headquarters of united way, was a company called bearings, inc. the president of this company, john cunin, had been recruited as a volunteer leader.
i remember the first walk down to his office like it were yesterday. as most young women wanting to succeed at that time, i was wearing a navy blue suit with a high collared blouse and navy blue pumps, despite the humid temperature of the hot august day. i was eager in my assignment, yet nervous to be entering the office of a company president. i need not have worried as mr. cunin was a delightful man. he immediately had me feeling at ease as we got to work on that year's campaign. we had several meetings that fall in his office, sometimes ending with lunch across the street at the local deli.
i left town that december to return to alexandria, virginia for further training at the national headquarters, likely to never see mr. cunin or the other wonderful volunteers i had worked so closely with in cleveland. but life has a funny way of turning around. the following year i returned to the city on a more permanent basis and once again i had the pleasure of working with mr. cunin.
now fast forward three decades later and the phone rings in our quilt shop. the readout indicated the call came from the cunin residency. the woman on the other end of the line asked if we had a certain fabric, which we did. the next afternoon a beautiful grandmotherly face walked in and asked for the fabric. i knew by her question she was the woman who called the previous day. so i asked her if she was any relation to john cunin. her face lite up like the star atop a christmas tree. she asked how i knew him so i shared the story above. as her eyes welled with tears, she told me john was her beloved husband. she also told me he had passed away much too young in 1993. as i reached out to give her a hug, i knew a friendship was developing.
over the course of the next few years, marilyn and i shared some wonderful afternoons together in our quilt shop. we discovered that we have many things in common, including our special daughters. i learned of her dedication to our lady of the wayside, where her daughter mary catherine aka cookie, would occasionally go for respite care before she passed at the age of seventeen. we also discovered we share a love of sewing. soon marilyn was bringing in bags she had stitched together with fabric from our shop. sarah takes those bags and fills them with goodies from just a buck and a matching pillowcase she makes. we then deliver them to the little ones in the same hospital sarah received so much of her care.
precious marissa was one such recipient. we had been following her family's blog for sometime and when we heard she had been diverted to the cleveland clinic while her family was traveling from florida to michigan, we just knew she needed one of the bags. lovingly stitched by the hands of two great ladies, both inspired by beautiful angels in heaven.
oddly enough, even though this collaboration has been going on for nearly three years, marilyn and sarah had not met in person, until this week. i tell you from observation, it was love at first sight. sarah enthusiastically shared links on her ipad with marilyn. it was a beautiful exchange of a connection born more than thirty years before.
marilyn cunin at the young age of 84, is a beacon of light in our community. her dedication to philanthropy is extraordinary. she continues to be actively involved in many organizations including being a board member of the bruening foundation. we are honored and very lucky to call marilyn and her daughter jane, our friends.
Friday, April 7, 2017
CLOSED TODAY
due to the fickle relationship we have with mother nature, the shop will be CLOSED today.
i simply do not have the emotional or physical energy to dig out just sew at the moment. sarah and i are going back to bed. see you when the sun is shinning which should be tomorrow when it will be nearing sixty degrees the forecast claims.
i simply do not have the emotional or physical energy to dig out just sew at the moment. sarah and i are going back to bed. see you when the sun is shinning which should be tomorrow when it will be nearing sixty degrees the forecast claims.
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Saturday, January 28, 2017
quilts for sale to benefit a precious boy named chance
a few months ago sarah and i fell head over heals in love with a little boy listed for adoption on the reece's rainbow website. his name is chance and just like sarah, he too has down syndrome. we were so smitten by his sweet face we placed his photo on the top of our angel tree this year and prayed each evening that he would find a forever family soon so he could get out of the orphanage where he is currently living.
a few weeks later while scrolling through posts on facebook, we read that a family who we had the pleasure of meeting while we were at the national down syndrome convention last summer was ready to adopt again.
pasha is an absolute doll and is thriving with his new family, so i sent the mom a private message asking her if they had chosen a child yet. hope whispered back that yes they had and shared a picture of chance.
my eyes immediately welled with tears i was so happy. this meant that pasha and chance were one day going to be brothers!! how incredibly awesome will that be.
so sarah and i are doing what we can to help hope and her family secure the funds they will need to make this adoption possible. as you may know, we have been selling sample quilts in our shop for some time with the proceeds going to reece's rainbow families.
today, we are kicking it up a notch and will be selling the quilts right out of our current front window display. they all feature high end quilt quality fabric designed by lily ashbury for moda fabrics and have been created by master quilters.
usually these just sell in our brick and mortar shop located in university heights, yet we know others might be interested in purchasing a quilt to help bring chance home, so we thought we will list them here as well.
Swoon Mod Star by Tiger Lily Designs
66 x 66
$310.00
a few weeks later while scrolling through posts on facebook, we read that a family who we had the pleasure of meeting while we were at the national down syndrome convention last summer was ready to adopt again.
pasha is an absolute doll and is thriving with his new family, so i sent the mom a private message asking her if they had chosen a child yet. hope whispered back that yes they had and shared a picture of chance.
so sarah and i are doing what we can to help hope and her family secure the funds they will need to make this adoption possible. as you may know, we have been selling sample quilts in our shop for some time with the proceeds going to reece's rainbow families.
today, we are kicking it up a notch and will be selling the quilts right out of our current front window display. they all feature high end quilt quality fabric designed by lily ashbury for moda fabrics and have been created by master quilters.
usually these just sell in our brick and mortar shop located in university heights, yet we know others might be interested in purchasing a quilt to help bring chance home, so we thought we will list them here as well.
Swoon Mod Star by Tiger Lily Designs
66 x 66
$310.00
Simply a Summer House by Pine Tree Lodge
54 X 60
$145.00
Gypsy Girl Nursery Quilt by Carlene Westberg Designs
38 x 46
$135.00
Gypsy Girl Baby Quilt by Quilts by Josephine
36 X 45
SOLD $130.00 SOLD
Baby Girl Quilt in Gypsy Girl by Rain City Quilts
39 x 39
$125.00
Braid Table Runner featuring Tradewinds by Jambearies
16 x 35
SOLD $40.00 SOLD
Rosebuds Center Piece by Pine Tree Lodge
21 x 21
$32.00
if you wish to purchase a quilt just comment on this post or send us an email to jhillely@gmail.com. we do accept credit cards and we will gladly pay the shipping costs. if you are local, they will be in the shop for pick up.
thank you so much for helping bring sweet chance home to his forever family.
Thursday, January 19, 2017
dusting off here
oh my this ole blog here has been sorely neglected. i suppose it's because we have become so comfortable with facebook these days. but it's a new year which makes it seem like a good time to say hello. let's start with this...
we ordered some fun new prints for springtime. well truthfully, we try to always keep it like a breath of springtime in our shop. the new bolts will arrive sometime mid march.
sarah and i met with marc jacobs from michael miller today.
we ordered some fun new prints for springtime. well truthfully, we try to always keep it like a breath of springtime in our shop. the new bolts will arrive sometime mid march.
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