
LINDA CHILDS - Shop Guru
I began quilting in 1989 when I joined a guild at the Country Hutch quilt shop in Geneva, Ohio. I learned the basics from Alberta Taft and this included making my own templates from cereal boxes, hand piecing and, of course, hand quilting, but I soon found that I preferred rotary cutting and machine piecing.
Over the years, my taste in fabrics and colors has changed, and consequently, I have an abundant stash. I often make feeble attempts to use up this stash but find that I have little resistance when a new line of fabrics arrives at the shop.
I have attempted numerous times to master free motion quilting but to no avail. I remain hopeful that the machine quilting fairy will touch me with her magic needle. In the meantime, I know a good long-arm quilter.
PAULA SKRZYPEK-Shop Guru
I was a handy crafter most of my life. I started back with sewing in 2016 and my first venture was a DIY quilted insulated wine tote! I took a quilt block class at JoAnn Fabrics and then joined the Mentor Senior Center with an evening group of ladies all who had been quilting a good portion of their lives. This is how I found out about a local Quilt Shop right here in Mentor! I took my first professional quilting instruction at Quilts & Sew Forth in 2016, taught by Monique. The rest is history. I was invited to join the once a month Q&SF Saturday sewing group orchestrated by Monique. I learned several new things and did my first ever mystery quilt, a pattern created and shared by Monique. I shared a special friendship with Monique and learned a lot of valuable insight about life and quilting in general. I then had the opportunity to join the shop in the winter of 2020 and learned from Monique and Hilary about what it truly means to be a small business owner and all that is involved with the process. I too was given the opportunity of learning to quilt on the Gammill Long arm which we offer services to all levels of patch work quilt enthusiasts. Every day is a learning experience and the people I work with, as well as the customer's that frequent the shop, are all admired for their qulting knowledge base, most of who had been inspired by Monique to keep this keepsake of a hobby alive!
IN MEMORY OF MONIQUE NOONAN - Quilter in Chief/Teacher...soul of Quilts & Sew Forth (1944-2021)
Monique started sewing before she learned to read. A native of Switzerland, she was schooled in the many facets of home economics and has been sewing, quilting and knitting ever since.
After taking some quilting lessons in 1983 and attending the International Quilt Festival in Houston, she decided to open a quilt shop in Singapore—the first of its kind in South East Asia. It grew and grew, ultimately becoming the region's largest distributor of U.S. cotton fabrics, carrying over 10,000 bolts of fabric and a wide array of quilting supplies.
During those years, Monique achieved notoriety in South East Asia, Australia and Japan for her teaching.
As for those who really aren't interested in the craft itself, she enjoys enlightening them about this art which has been handed down so carefully from generation to generation.
In 2000 Monique decided to move back to the US to be with her Daughter, while retaining the majority shareholder position of the business in Singapore.
After 8 years of retirement, Monique could no longer fight the bug to open something again. With her daughter's children a bit older and in school, she proposed they open a business together in Lake County—an area in desperate need of a quilt store.
After 3 decades Monique was still in love with quilting and all that surrounds it. The journey of quilt-making challenged her in many ways she never dreamed possible. She will be missed always