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| The Quilters Path, Mt. Juliet, TN |
A lovely new quilt shop that has been open for just about a year is
The Quilters Path, located in Mt. Juliet (east of Nashville), Tennessee. The building's "Plain Jane" facade is quiet and unassuming, but once inside the front door, a magical world of fabric inspiration and childlike playfulness opens up to you like a trip down Alice's rabbit hole.
Marita, the shop's owner, has transformed what used to be a hair salon, into a fabulous quilt shop with a mix of contemporary fabrics, reproductions, 20s and 30s prints, and quilting projects with a focus on appliqué, hand stitchery and embroidery. Fabrics, patterns, threads, quilts and notions mingle with pieces of pottery, potted plants, vintage prints, boxes and other collectibles.
A double wedding ring quilt—a traditional classic pattern—hangs behind the glass counter at the entrance. The color scheme and the fabrics, however, give it a fresh, modern feel.
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| The front counter in the entrance of The Quilters Path. |
A selection of reproduction fabrics, shirtings and traditional prints are near the front of the store.
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| Reproductions and traditional prints. |
To the right of the front counter are sample blocks for the current Block of the Month (BOM) program.
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| Block of the Month sampler blocks. |
Then you walk into the main area and move among more rows of fabrics. The high ceilings and recessed lighting provide an openness to the space while two chandeliers add a touch of easy elegance.
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| 20s, 30s and other sweet and whimsical fabrics. |
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A bolt graphic pieced quilt hangs beside a holiday appliqué quilt (left).
A scrappy string quilt, hanging caddywhompus (right), adds to the shop's charm. |
Directly behind the front counter is the classroom area where two women were working on projects during my visit. Marita offers the space for sit-and-sew sessions. Candice and Shirley introduced themselves and invited me to sit down with them while Marita tended to business. I felt very welcome.
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| The classroom space is available for sit and sew sessions. |
Marita often helps her customers choose just the right fabrics for their projects. The ladies at the sit-and-sew were extremely complimentary of Marita's eye for color and pattern as well as her exemplary customer service.
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| Marita spends time with customers to answer their questions. |
The Quilters Path offers supplies and patterns for hand stitchery. The quilt blocks in the beautiful quilt pictured below has hand embroidered flower baskets. The workmanship is exquisite!
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| The blocks are hand embroidered in this 1920s style quilt |
Beneath this embroidered quilt is a selection of embroidery threads in a full color gamut. The Quilters Path also has a nice selection of hand embroidery kits and hand stitching patterns in addition to quilt patterns.
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| Patterns and kits for hand stitchery projects. |
Another specialty of this shop is appliqué.
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| Applique is a specialty. |
This wall hanging is in the classroom area. The machine quilting on this piece was gorgeous.
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| Pieced and appliquéd wall hanging and detail of the quilting. |
Notice all the details in the blocks and the border of this appliquéd quilt!
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| This appliqué quilt had a winter theme. |
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| Pieced and appliqué quilts, large and small. |
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| An antique seing machine sits on an antique quilt top. |
The Quilters Path successfully blends traditional and contemporary elegance. The shop offers a warm inviting atmosphere where you can go and lose yourself in a world of simple stitching pleasures.
