Indulge in Fabrics

As a young girl, Karen Gray learned to sew at the knee of her grandmother, Myrtle. Over the years, she parlayed this childhood hobby first into word-of-mouth sales, and then into multiple online retail destinations. Now, the busy entrepreneur is set to open a brick-and-mortar shop in Reynolda Village this month.

Called Karen Gray Design, the store will feature modern fabrics and patterns, as well as the pretty-yet-funky, individually sewn accessories for which Gray is known. She will have a working studio in the shop and will also host demonstrations for simple projects, such as quick skirts or lengthening jeans with fabric — a skill she developed to accommodate her own height.

Gray’s attitude toward sewing is as fun as her products. She laughingly quotes a universal motto for professed fabric junkies — “Whoever dies with the most fabric wins.” Her addiction to fabrics led her to open Fabricpalooza, an online fabric store, which will be represented at Karen Gray Design. The endeavor allows local crafters to purchase exclusive designer quilting-weight and home-décor-weight fabrics by the yard.

Gray says she finds the art of sewing soothing, and when talking about it, she is often touched by nostalgia. “I was always astonished by the things [my grandmother] could produce. She did so mainly out of love, and that is something that I have always cherished. I hope that I can have the same lasting legacy with my own family and friends.”

For information, go to karengraydesign.com or http://www.fabricpalooza.com.

Pick a Project

Like Gray, Carolyn Fuller also learned needle skills from her grandmother — and in this case, the craft was needlepoint. In college, however, Fuller dropped the hobby in favor of other pursuits, only to come back to it five years ago when she went into a needlepoint store in San Francisco. Fuller says she bought “an insane number of canvases” that day and has never looked back.

She, too, notes the calming effect of working with a needle. “I can literally feel my blood pressure drop when I sit down to start to stitch,” Fuller says. She keeps a basket of projects at hand and looks forward to any place where she can sit down and pick one up — be it at home, in an airplane, or on the beach.

In response to local needlepointing friends’ constant complaints that there were few places in town to order threads or canvases, Fuller opened Simply Needlepoint in Reynolda Village last fall. She spent her first year researching, talking to veteran needlepointers and shop owners, visiting stores, and noting what worked and what didn’t.

Although taking that leap from hobby to profession was “scary” — Fuller says it has proved to be rewarding. “I love my job,” she notes. “I look forward to going to work every day. I have never felt that way about any other job I have had.”

Simply Needlepoint is at 117-B Reynolda Village. For information, call 336-727-4058 or go to http://www.simplyneedlepointws.com.

Join a Class

Local women who have not been taught by grandmothers like Gray’s or Fuller’s — as well as those who simply want to improve their skills — often find themselves taking a class at Sew Original on Robinhood Road. Tucked away in a nondescript shopping plaza, the store is light, pretty, and extremely busy.

Since 2004, Sew Original has offered 10 to 15 classes each week. Although the store is staffed by highly trained sewers and many of the classes demand a certain level of skill, there are also courses for absolute beginners, so-called “timid” sewers, and even children and teens. Participants can learn how to use certain aspects of their machines or choose a class that yields finished products like fabric bowls or fan quilts. Although Sew Original can provide sewing machines for class use for those “testing the water,” many attendants bring their own Berninas — high-end Swiss machines for which the store is an authorized dealer.

Owner Shirley Bailey, who has herself held a needle nearly 50 years now, says that of all her students, she is particularly fond of the youngest participants in last year’s summer camp. “Each child made three projects,” she says, smiling. “They were so proud.”

Sew Original is at 3443 Robinhood Rd. For information, call 336-760-1121 or go to http://www.seworiginal.org.

Enjoy Area Art

Across town on New Walkertown Road, 22 pieces by local African-American quilters hang on the walls of the Delta Arts Center. Samplers and Symmetry II is the second incarnation of a quilt show conceived by Peggy Moore in 2007. The collection has been so successful that it is now a biennial event.

Here in a converted ABC building, quilts spanning half a century dominate the walls, drawing viewers in for a closer look. Made from materials ranging from scraps and old ties to batik and cowry shells, each work represents an impressive amount of time and attention to detail. Some quilts are called “story quilts” — the most moving being one that details an Underground Railroad path to freedom. Others are sheer whimsy, such as a crisp blue-and-white one that asks where the cat is.

Samplers and Symmetry II is one of the best places to take in finished needle arts — to appreciate that in the end, what comes out of needlework is more than purely functional, it’s transformative.

On a recent visit by a group of local elementary students, children were able to piece together their own quilt squares. Watching them, a Delta Arts Center volunteer’s face lit up as she pointed to one small boy. “He took the ugliest little square of green,” she says. “When I was cutting it, I wondered who would pick it up. He made it beautiful.”

Delta Arts Center is at 2611 New Walkertown Rd. For information, call 336-722-2625 or go to http://www.deltafinearts.org.