Some wonder "How did you get started in this small niche market?". Well that really has multiple areas of 'starting'. I went to a small liberal arts college where I was allowed to explore my interests. I ended up doing my art thesis using quilting and on St. Catherine of Bologna. After college a coworker of my mom's asked me to do a custom stole for him. That was my first stole. Later I made my mom a stole for Christmas (which I gave to her early so she could wear it for Christmas). Later I got another order for a custom stole for another friend of my mom's (yes it really helps when your mother is a minister and knows a lot of ministers...). When Brenda Gruer from 'In Stitches' happened to move here (her and her husband were volunteers at Ghost Ranch for over a year) and offered an apprenticeship, both my mom and I joined in. She taught us and another how to do her type of sewing and we all helped to sew the 31st General Synod UCC stole. After General Synod, I became her 'official' apprentice and she talked with me about how to work the business, tips on stole designing, pricing, etc...
Then came this commission from the UCC. They wanted something to go with their new logo. So this is what I designed (with some tips from Brenda). This stole is sold at the UCC store (but if you need a custom size, contact us).