Paradise Discovered

The seeds of Midsomer Quilting were sown on an Amish farm, close to Paradise, in Pennsylvania, on August 17th, 1992. My wife, Birgitta, and I were staying with my cousin who casually asked if we would like to visit an Amish friend and his family. Would we! Very few people - even the closest neighbours of the Amish - ever get such an invitation. The day was one of the most privileged of my life.

John and Emma King and their beautiful family were wonderful hosts. They welcomed us, explained their lifestyle, showed the extraordinary buggies that John makes and gave us a tour of their farm. They then invited us to share a meal with them! Bliss. And then it happened. John asked Emma to show us the quilts that she makes. We were then enthralled as we watched two of their delightful little girls - who were, perhaps, five or six years old - routinely practise the finest of stitch-work. The die was cast. And life really hasn't been the same since!

Birgitta and our close friend De Pickford have long shared their craft interests; cross-stitching, dressmaking (for De, in particular, it was making wedding dresses). At that time they were both heavily into lace making but on our return from the States they both threw themselves into patchwork and quilting. Their lace making equipment now gathers dust in our lofts.

The idea of having our own quilting shop developed steadily until the beginning of 2004 when at last we found the ideal location - a two storied barn, in the grounds of Norton Green Garden Centre in our own village.

Well, for half a year we negotiated, designed, fabricated and built until the premises were transformed from a store room with offices upstairs, into our ideal shop and classroom (see the before and after pictures below.)