Mary Ellen called me yesterday and said, “I sent you an email – don’t you read your email?” I had been outside all afternoon in the beautiful weather so I had not seen it. She is closing Little Quilts in Marietta, GA – another dinosaur retires. I think I’ve said before that I miss our industry friends and the Little Quilts girls have been friends for many years. I made their schoolhouse quilt as close to the original as I could and it hangs in the bedroom today after many years because I still love it. Gladys hand quilted it so it’s a treasure.
When Rick and I got married on Flag Day in 1997, we received this theorem painting from Mary Ellen, Sylvia and Alice. It also still hangs today because I love it.
We enjoyed dinner last May in Minneapolis with Mary Ellen.
I told Mary Ellen how wonderful retirement is and how much she’ll love it even though we both agreed we want to blog just to keep in touch with our friends. Our friends and colleagues were the very best part of our business for 33 years.
Little Quilts will close December 24, 2015. Hey, Mary Ellen, we’ll see you in Houston next October!
Great friends create great memories!!
So thankful you all still want to blog and keep in touch with all of us!
Take care.
Thanks for keeping the blog alive! I’s a highlight of the day when posted. Yes, these few remaining “warm” days are such a blessing.
When my husband and I traveled to Nashville one year we made a special trip to go to “Little Quilts”. It was an awesome shop!!!
Sent before I requested info on the joyous “music” art behind you. Love it!
Wow–Like my books from Country Threads, my Little Quilts books will be even more precious:) I’m happy for Mary Ellen because I do enjoy retirement, but sad for the quilting world. It’s going to be 75 here in Central Ohio today!!
You’re coming to Houston next October? Hurrah! Retirement and having fun with friends is the way to go, but let us groupies know when and where we can see you, too! Just need a hug in person!
Love a quilt with a house, or school house in it!
I remember visiting the Little Quilt Shop in Georgia on the way to Florida back in the 90’s. I had the chance to meet Mary Ellen, Alice and Sylvia who gave me labels of their signatures so I can put in my Little Quilt Book. One of the first quilts I made was from their book and it still hangs in my family room, almost twenty years. Love their shop but love retirement even more. On a side note, I always know how long Mary and Rick have been married because it is around the same time I started quilting but after reading this post I will now know their anniversary date because it’s the same day as my birthday.
Thanks for letting us know, Mary. I have several of the Little Quilts books. I still enjoy receiving my inspiration from them. Ditto for Country Threads! Especially my Country Threads! You and Connie hit it out of the ballpark, when it comes to that homey country look! And I still have copies of the Goat Gazette! I still get a good laugh when I read the jokes. I treasure them! Yes, back in the day when the rotary cutter hit the market and a new way to create Patchwork was born, you Gals were Heaven Sent to all of us! And your still my inspiration, even if you are retired!
Thank you so much for blogging. I’m out here in Southern California, and I love following along with you and Jan Patek, to catch a glimpse of life in the Midwest!
Cheryl
I’m sorry to hear that! I’ve purchased Little Quilts books and Country Threads books for as long as I have been quilting. Sigh! I guess all good things must come to an end. We all get older and want to relax and have a life outside of running a business. Best wishes to Little Quilts and continued joy to you and Connie!
I’ll miss them too. I hope all quilts don’t become those made from prepackaged lines of fabric. On a side note, one of my Christmas cactus is covered in blooms!
Great for Mary Ellen, I’m pretty sure she will enjoy retirement. Sorry to see the store close, however. Little Quilts was a great inspiration to a lot of people. Their first book, Little Quilts All Through The House, if how I learned to quilt. In fact, I used it so much, I wore it out and had to buy a new one.