Hodgdon’s Crane would Rather-B-Quilting

Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Elna Seabrooks
FABRICS GALORE — Peggy Crane, owner of Rather-B-Quilting in Hodgon, stands amid the many bolts of fabric that range from country primitive to modern, whimsical and batik. Flannels have camp themes.
Quilt shop expands from one room project to fulltime business venture
By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
    HODGDON — Peggy Crane’s quilt shop started a few years ago in her bedroom. But, look at it now. Thanks to support from her husband and co-owner, Mark, and her stepson Nick, she has her own shop in an add-on to the main property which is a beef farm.
    “I had the idea to add on and my husband was very supportive. He could see the progress and it took them about six months over the 2008-09 winter.” Thus, Rather-B-Quilting was born anew with fabrics, supplies, quilting implements, buttons, kits and just about everything a real quilter or beginner would need.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Elna Seabrooks
FABRIC AND INSPIRATION EVERYWHERE — Peggy Crane has her handiwork on display to help inspire her customers with ideas for their own treasured quilts.
    Crane’s love of sewing started early. “I’ve sewn ever since I was 9 years old and I used to make Barbie doll clothes when I was little. I always liked to sew,” she said. “I started making quilts for wedding presents and I wanted to have them quilted but, I really figured I couldn’t afford to have somebody else quilt them. I decided other people around here would probably want to have theirs quilted, too. So, I bought the quilt machine and figured if I could at least pay for it and if I did nothing else besides my own and a few others, I would at least have that machine.”
    Crane said she was doing quilting for other people and eventually joined the Friends and Needles Quilt Guild in Houlton where she got an idea. “Everyone was saying ‘Oh, I wish there was a fabric shop. And, ‘Oh I wish I could open a fabric shop’” she explained. “You know what? We were all saying that and nobody was doing it. So, why not just try it and see what happens.”
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Elna Seabrooks
WALL-TO-WALL FABRIC CHOICES — Bolts of fabrics line the walls for customers.
    Crane said she had a quilt machine and “started out little by little” and everything they made was reinvested “right back into the shop.”
    Crane’s quilt shop hours are part-time due to her other part-time job as an employee at Bangor Savings Bank. But, part-time doesn’t mean she skimps on the shop. She sells classic fabrics, patterns, buttons, mats, books, magazines, kits for wall hangings, cutting mats and implements, threads, batting, trim, fusible iron-on materials and charm packs of fabric squares. Large bolts of fabrics line the walls offering a wide variety of styles: country primitive, modern, whimsical, batiks and even camp-themed flannels.
    Plus there is the latest trend like leather straps for quilted purses and kits to make anything from a tree skirt for Christmas, a table runner or a wall hanging to a pot pincher to take something out of the oven. “There are some pretty creative people in the quilting business,” she said.
Quilted purses are a hot trend now with these leather straps.
    Although Crane will do quilting she doesn’t sell her beautiful and colorful handcrafted pieces hanging in the shop. “I don’t sell anything except fabric and supplies. This is just inspiration so customers can see samples. Some people want kits they can buy, take out the door, go home and make it. The biggest thing I want to grow is the shop. I’m limited on the amount of time I have for service and I pretty much have all I can handle,” she explained.
    Besides, she said, “everybody has their own individual thing. Some are into the purses and some are into wall hangings. They are coming up with new things all the time. You buy the pattern and make your own.” Some customers, said Crane, are also buying fabric to make pillowcases that are not quilted for cancer patients or service people who are overseas.
    Crane said thanks to word-of-mouth, her customer base stretches from Fredericton, N.B. to the local area. “We also get a lot of support from Sherman, Oakfield, Patten and it’s growing also in the Houlton area.”
    For more information, contact Rather-B-Quilting at 238 Lincoln Rd., Hodgdon, 532-9229. Shop hours are Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30-8 p.m.; Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. or by appointment.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Elna Seabrooks
A BEVY OF BUTTONS — Various sizes of colorful buttons can be used on sweaters, quilted purses or wall hangings.