PREVIOUS SHOPS FEATURED ARCHIVES Every month The CARON Collection features one of the outstanding shops who so ably provide stitchers with not only supplies but guidance, technical expertise, and inspiration. We hope you'll support your local shops and browse through our extensive SHOP LISTINGS to find a shop near you. This month a visit to a that caters to Quilters... "The Summer House Needleworks"
In the Historic Oley Valley of Pennsylvania
Just one look at the landscape surrounding The Summer House Needleworks will bring to mind the nostalgic mood captured in the movie "Field of Dreams". But Gail Kessler, the shop's owner, discovered her own version of that movie's secret for success: "If you restore it, they will come!" And come they do, from far and wide, for the quilts, quilting kits and supplies, threads and notions, and other needlework paraphernalia that is housed in this gracious edifice amidst spectacular environs.
Another reason they come is to experience the pristine and idyllic atmosphere enveloping this one-of-a-kind shop way off the beaten path. Just to set the scene, imagine a restored 1860 hotel, originally containing 90 rooms, set right smack in the middle of a cornfield nestled in the beautiful and historic Oley Valley of Pennsylvania. This site is located about 1 hour from the center of Philadelphia. In its former life the hotel was known as The Griesemersville Inn, situated right on the turnpike road between Reading and Philadelphia and was used as a regular stopover for folks traveling between these destinations. Two authentic covered bridges can still be seen within a mile of the store. Summer House's closest neighbor is a dairy farmer whose friendly heifers have been known to wander into the shop's parking lot. Even better, only a half mile away is a wonderful Dairy Bar serving homemade ice cream and other comfort food. These grounds also contain a petting zoo sure to entertain young and old alike, especially those who are urban dwellers. Not too far from there stands "The Yellow House Hotel", a lodging built in 1801 and the perfect spot for a "ladies' lunch". The Pennsylvania Dutch village of Oley consists of one street of tidy homes showcasing some superb Victorian details and architecture. The center of town is occupied by The Oley Valley Inn with a long-standing reputation as a fine dining establishment.
So if you feel like you've been transported to "The Field of Dreams", you'll find this sensation doesn't fade when you enter the doors of The Summer House Needleworks emporium. The shop specializes in fabrics for quilts, quilted clothing, quilted dolls and toys as well as stencils, threads, fibers and other accessories. Gail boasts more than 4000 fabrics to choose from in her inventory: surely any quilter's dream come true! Cotton is the most preferred fabric, but she also stocks 100% silk, wool and cotton flannel designs.
A quilt is something that provides more than just warmth. It can be a way of using leftover fabric pieces, a priceless family heirloom or even an intricate work of art. Some can be made in several days; others can take decades to complete. Gail explains, "It really depends on the design and how quickly a person can work at it. Most quilts take hundreds and hundreds of hours from conception to completion."
Gail's own love of quilting was instilled in her by her grandmother, who made hundreds of them in her lifetime. Back then quilting was most often used as a cost saving measure to use up all the fabric scraps left over from other projects. Nowadays, quilting is more of a creative process and a means of personal artistic expression for most quilters.
Gail Kessler began working at Summer House at a previous location, when the business was owned by Joan Mege. Joan founded it in 1975 and ran it out of her home until the mid 1980's when she moved it to a retail location on Main Street in Oley. Joan ran it as primarily a needlework shop, creating intricate and colorful designs and teaching the skill to others. Initially Gail began her employment there as a teacher in 1990, holding classes in machine piecing, combination work using thread for machine conching, and handwork for appliqué. Subsequently she became a staff member. She bought the business in 1994 from Joan and was very soon faced with the problem of growth within a limited amount of space. As she scouted the outlying areas for a suitable building to relocate the business to, she discovered the old hotel. It took Gail and her husband, Dave, ten months to renovate and The Summer House was moved to its new home in September of 1995. Unfortunately, while doing the renovations, over one half of the original structure had to be demolished due to irreparable deterioration. However, they were able to keep two whole floors intact including the entire original facade constructed of brick in the prevalent architectural vernacular of its bygone heyday.
The first floor has been turned into one very large room with a grand staircase leading to the second floor. The former saloon area house all the needlepoint designs, canvases, kits and related accessories. The former kitchen is now home to notions, books, rug hooking kits, supplies and tools. The entire right side of this enormous room is devoted to their numerically staggering collection of textiles as well as the cutting area and an attractive display wall devoted to displaying quilts and assorted quilted items, dolls, toys, hooked rugs, all other kinds of needlework items.
The second floor has been divvied up into 4 rooms: 2 are classrooms, one of which doubles as Gail's office, a mail order room for storing, assembling and packaging the"Block of the Month" kits, and lastly there's a kitchen and employee relaxation area. The kitchen can also accommodate smaller, more intimate classes with emphasis on individual attention.
What began as a favor to a regular customer in Florida, has turned into a mind boggling aspect of the business. Through Summer House's mail order division, Gail and her staff of ten, satisfy the creative urges of quilters all over the world. Their specialty is in shipping quilt kits which allow their mail order clientele to work on the quilts at their own speed. A popular feature is their "Block of the Month Club", a subscription service that presents quilting as a less daunting task, according to Gail. These quilt block designs are packaged in a piecemeal fashion with each subscriber receiving a new portion of the quilt each month. They offer 30 different Block of the Month patterns, many of which are created by in-house designers and are exclusive to their store. Some examples of these original designs are "Oley Cow", "Scrap Happy" and "Flannel Hash". Blocks of the Month are shipped as far away as China, Australia, Belgium, Japan and Switzerland. Thousands of these go out each month, year round.
The Summer House "Block of the Month" Examples
After Gail bought the business, she continued stocking the needlepoint and other needlework the shop had always carried and the quilting focus and specialty evolved over time. This was partly due to Gail's own affinity for quilting but also because there was a marked increase of interest among her clientele for quilt designs and projects. Gail faithfully attends several quilt shows each year to keep appraised of new products, designs, fabrics, trends and any changes in the industry. She is also there to market Summer House's designs and wares.
The Summer House has 6 instructors and 10 other experienced employees. Teachers include Sheila Shuman, Margaret Huff, Maggie Walker, Jane Townswick, Rhonda Kleinman and Teresa Fusco. Teresa relocated to the Oley Valley from NYC three years ago where she had taught quilting from her home and at several NYC quilt shops for the past 19 years. Rhonda specializes in teaching the Crazy Quilt Classes at Summer House. Classes are held there throughout the year for quilters and quilt guilds on quilting, clothing construction, appliqué, needlepoint, silk ribbon embroidery, rug hooking and many more too numerous to mention here. Gail adds; "Things are always changing in the quilt-making world. There are always new styles to try, so that even the most experienced quilter or clothing maker will find new things to learn. One never stops learning when involved in this hobby."
Gail swears she is not exaggerating when she rhapsodizes about the business: "The people in this industry are just tremendous. It's very rewarding. I knew since I was a little girl that I would somehow be involved with making quilts, but I never imagined it was going to be like this!"
Although the shop is located in such a rural area, there is no scarcity of retail customers. Gail considers her shop a "destination store". Since most businesses are situated in metropolitan areas, she finds that it's a real event for people to get together to come there. Most make it a day trip or even a weekend getaway. And no wonder as one looks at the local calendar of events. Come September, it's time for the Community Fair. The Oley Festival showcases area handicrafts and needlework, homegrown fruits and vegetables, farm animals, machinery and merchant displays of their offerings, (though no selling is allowed at the event itself). The real purpose of the fair is a celebration of the community at its best; it's almost like stepping back in time. The local churches supply the cooks and servers for the victuals, scouts park the cars and the senior high school holds its famous cake and cider sale. Absolutely everyone in the valley gets involved somehow in this 3 day extravaganza. Special Christmas traditions include caroling in the streets and later gathering on the porch of the Inn to sing some more, accompanied by the local brass ensemble. The streets are lined with thousands of luminaries, furnished by the local boy scout troop, and the houses are decorated to the Nines! Now if only The Summer House still offered accommodations, like in the days of yore, everything would be perfect! As it is, if you love quilts and wax nostalgic for the "good old days", this is as close to stepping into a contemporary Norman Rockwell painting that you'll ever get.
Gail regularly publishes what she modestly calls a newsletter, but is more the size of a magazine, which lists in great detail the classes offered, shop events, current "Block of the Month" kits available, related or other interesting events in the area and much more. Just give her a call and she'll be glad to send one along You will be taking the first step on your journey to The Summer House Needleworks. And each and every journey begins with that first step. Bon Voyage!The Summer House Needleworks is located at 6375 Oley Turnpike Road, Oley, Pennsylvania 19547. Their phone number is (610) 689-9090. They are open from Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm and on Thursdays until 6 pm.
STORE FOCUS ARCHIVES
(For previous month's features)Evening Star Designs, mail order specializing in Quilting supplies Ginger's Needlearts and Framing, Austin, Texas
The Needlewoman East in Falls Church, Virginia
Hook-n-Needle in Fairfield County, CT
The Needlepointer, Everett, Washington
Haus Tirol in Williamsburg, Virginia
Crafty Lady in Macomb, Michigan
It's A Crewel World in Salem, Massachusetts
Exclamation Point!in Saratoga Village, California
Thistle Needleworks in Glastonbury, Connecticut
