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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 |
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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
