Shelburne Country Store, Shelburne, Vermont

Quilt is 15” X 15”

The artist’s comments on this quilt

The Shelburne Country Store, a genuine old-fashioned country store in Shelburne, Vermont, is as quaint on the outside as its products are on the inside. Penny candy, homemade fudge, wonderful handcrafted items (including my quilts -- you'll see this one there!) and much, much more will keep you browsing for hours. It looks small from the outside, but you'll be surprised once inside because there is room after room behind this pretty facade.

I made a couple of obvious changes to give the quilt even greater country charm. First, the two sides are symmetrical. Second, I added the Green Mountains in the background. They really are there but not as high as my quilt would make them.

I added sparkly tulle over the stormy sky fabric to make it look like it's snowing -- I love how it came out. I love all the details in this quilt -- they're time consuming but worth the effort. I draw the lines to depict the planks of wood on the sidewalk and then shade the front edge with a gray marker. I draw each window grid with a green marker to make the small panes. I hand draw the weather vane and the barrels, draw lines on the cupola, shade both roofs, color the green in on the red ticking striped fabric for the awnings, draw the lamps beside the door...yikes! Then I print photos onto fabric of the country store sign, wreaths and benches, color the benches in a darker brown with red and green between the slats as if you can see the building through them, outline the ribbons on each wreath with a black marker, color each letter on the sign yellow then outline it with a thin black marker -- and still I'm not done. I cut out holly and pine sprigs for the barrels and cut out trees on each side of the store (with no leaves, to show it's winter). After all that and more (door windows and handle, green wood trim around building, pine trees in background, gray pavement in the foreground), I then sew every piece down, square the quilt top up, add borders, baste together the quilt top, batting and backing, quilt everything, square it up again, bind it, add a sleeve to the back, sign and date it...phew! I can hardly believe that I only ask $165 for this charming little quilt!

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