Erika Sherk
Northern News Services
Wednesday, July 11, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - Artwork and bright colours line the walls. Though it may sound similar to an art gallery there is no paint involved. Here the art is all made of fabric. This is the Quilter's Getaway.

The quilting shop has been in Yellowknife for four years. It was bought about a year ago by Sue Booker and Marilyn Moran, two longtime local quilters.

"We decided we didn't want the space to go," said Booker, when the store came up for sale. "It's perfect."

The store, located in the Stanton Plaza strip mall, was uniquely designed as a quilting shop, she said.

With a sunny store front filled with fabric - 22 shades of pink alone - and a big room filled with workshop tables in the back, the Quilter's Getaway appears to be exactly what its name suggests.

Booker said that she and Moran love being in the shop - an essential as they both work full-time as teachers and run the quilting store during their off-hours.

"It's really nice to come here and sew or teach a class," said Booker, "it's different than teaching at our day job."

Their day jobs also lead to what some might consider bizarre opening hours in the fall, spring, and winter, but it works, she said. During the chilly months they are only open in the evenings Monday to Friday and then on Saturday afternoons.

"A lot of people can't get here in the day," said Booker, "this gives them a chance to go home, have supper, and come by and pick things up."

Their clientele may be specific, but it is very loyal, she said.

"We know the quilters," she said, "and they're very comfortable coming in and telling us what they want and what they like."

There are 150 registered Quilter's Guild members in Yellowknife, she said, and more non-member quilters beyond that.

"It's a nice group of ladies," she said. When asked, however, Booker recalled a couple of men who had taken quilting courses in the past.

Quilting appeals to all sorts of people, she said. Beyond the men, they have a whole range of women - as young as 14 - coming in to quilt, said Booker.

"It's not your typical group of grandmothers," she said.

Yellowknife is a good place to have a quilting store, said Booker, as the nearest alternative is miles away.

Before the shop came in, quilters either had to make pilgrimages to stores down South or order from catalogues.

The courses offered in the store are another big draw, she said.

They offer courses starting at the very basic beginner-never-held-a-rotary-cutter stage, all the way up to the advanced level.

The educational workshops are definitely the store's biggest revenue generator, said Booker.

They run from $20 for a one-night course to $600 for a multiple-evening quilting experience.

Mickey Brown, one of the instructors as well as an avid local quilter, said the store is a gathering spot for all the area's quilters. The fact that they can quilt in a spot where they can buy all the fabric, books, and accessories they could possibly require is a bonus, said Brown.

"Having your fabrics and everything you need here - that's the best part," she said.