Quilt Sampler – August 2019

“THE MORE

TRADITIONAL PART

OF THE QUILT

WORLD TENDS

TOWARD RUST AND

BROWN AND

BURGUNDY, AND ON

OUR SIDE, IT’S

MORE LIKE

A RAINBOW!”

—Andrea Deal, owner

are emblazoned with the Brooklyn

Bridge or the Statue of Liberty. They

are purse-size souvenirs of the city

you can scoop up to take home,

whether that’s a long flight or a ride

back to your borough. “Most locals

commute for at least a half hour on

a train or bus,” Ivete says, “and

embroidery is something you can do

with your hands and easily stick in

your bag. It’s also a quick finish—

that’s really nice if you’re coming

from quilting where a project takes

a long time.”

Gotham Quilts caters to native

New Yorkers in other ways, too. For

example, quilting classes include

BERNINA sewing machines so

students don’t have to lug their own

machines down the street or onto the

subway. And Andrea and Ivete are

finding that the classes they offer—

during the day, evenings, and weekends

to meet demand—are filling another

need for people in the big city:

community. Quilt Lab, for instance,

is for those who want to amp up

their artistry. Every month, members

are presented with a new challenge,

such as English paper piecing, and

everyone works on that technique at

home for the rest of the month. “It’s

a way for people to try new things

and get out of their comfort zones in

a low-risk environment,” Ivete says.

When the club reconvenes to share

120 | Quilt Sampler FALL/WINTER 2019