After visiting a very pleasant quilt shop today, a one-woman operation, I began thinking about all the other quilt shops I have visited over the years. Some of them have employees that are so aloof, they look right through you. They disappear altogether, when you have a question as to where to find something. Some shops I have visited are run by whiners. There is always something to complain about, whether it is aging parents, illness in the family, or the fact that you have been the only person to show up all day, and it is late afternoon. (I wonder why?) Everyone has problems, and perhaps they are in your quilt shop to think about something creative, to take their minds off of those other issues.

One thing to keep in mind is that quilters are generally friendly people. When they go into a shop, they are on a mission, and that mission usually includes buying the fabric and tools to make something uniquely their own (just because they made it, they chose the fabrics, and they made the choices of construction methods, if not for some other reason – such as they made the original design).

Now, once in the shop, most quilters are not concentrating on the price of a fat quarter. They are serious. They want what they want and they usually have discretionary income with which to pay for their purchases. If they have to pinch pennies, they would be shopping elsewhere, paying less for less than high quality goods from businesses that handle liquidations, or fabric produced with substandard methods.

A quilt shop should have quilts hanging around … everywhere: quilts for classes that will be taught; quilts for sale; and antique quilts, just for inspiration. What is presented in the shop is one thing, however, perhaps the most important role of a quilt shop owner is to have enthusiasm for what she sells, and not to let the “selling part” interfere with her willingness to help a customer, or to maintain a joyful attitude toward quilting.

As a shop owner, do you LOVE quilting? If it is just another job, why not go to work for a company where you will get a steady paycheck and have no responsibilities other than doing your job. As a shop owner, it IS your job to inspire, instruct, keep up with the latest trends, maintain and expand your own skills and knowledge, in addition to keeping up with all of the business-end components of running the shop.

Many quilt shops in New England have gone out of business in the last year – 23 shops in all. I suppose that some of them blame the Internet with its easy accessibility, unlimited choices, and hassle-free shopping. I’d like to say that many of us would go to shops more often, if we had not run into unpleasant situations there, in the past. To go to a shop for a specific tool or ruler or pencil or whatever and be told by the owner that she is “plumb out,” and has no idea when she might ever place an order again, is not a satisfying experience. To visit a shop and have an owner pick your brains, if you are a quilt teacher, and then somehow manage to come up with a similar class to the one you’ve described AND offer it before the class date you’ve set, is not pleasant. I could go on and on and on, but the examples I’ve given are sufficient unto the cause.

To be a good teacher is to be willing to give your student abilities he or she did not possess before, and then, when like a baby bird who has been launched from a nest, the student surpasses even the teacher’s knowledge, that teacher should be happy, not jealous.

A book was once written that has a title -canadian pharmacy adderall.” I like the title.

If you are a quilt shop owner and you are not doing what you love, get out, while the going is good. Take up bungey-jumping, or white water rafting, or whatever hobby you consider to be a thrill. We need friendly quilt shops that carry adequate supplies and that have loving owners and staff who are willing to share their time and talents to promote the industry. My new favorite quilt shop in New Hampshire is “.”

Patricia Cummings