“There are no strangers here; only friends you haven’t met yet.”
This quote certainly holds true for our guests at The Sewing Studio. The people we interact with each day inspire us with their projects, and we thought we’d share a little bit of their magic with you.
As a child, Nancy Holley’s mother would pick up her kids on the last day of school, and drive to their summer lake house. Before the children were allowed in the lake, however, they were required to make their own bathing suits.
Sewing has been a vital companion in Nancy’s life. Her parents ran a citrus farm in Florida, but her mother considered sewing her therapy, diligently creating the clothing for each childhood event, including the clogging costumes for Nancy and her sisters.
Today, Nancy is a middle school principal with a well-loved sewing machine in her office, which frequently catches the attention of students. “As a leader, I just want to be able to say yes as much as I can.” She often demonstrates the basics of sewing to students, or takes a few minutes to sew a bit of trim after the car line ends the day.
Living and working in a small town in the Panhandle, Nancy makes every effort she can to visit The Sewing Studio in person, as she enjoys the tactile experience of making contact with fabric. She recently fell in love with the woven cottons of Fableism, well known for its softness and timeless design. She brought a colorful quilt-in-progress to the store (see photo below) and showed us how she plans to add hand stitching to the beautifully quilted piece, which she long-armed herself.
Nancy began quilting when her daughter was only six months old. Despite gaps of “sewlessness” due to life’s demands, she always returns to quilting like an old friend. She believes the repetition to be its own version of therapy. “We take little pieces apart and problem solve through it, making changes as we go along.” She drives her Baby Lock long arm machine over a quilt with rhythmic control.
Community can be found in the most unlikely places. Through social media, Nancy has found a virtual quilt bee that “meets” via Google and makes blocks they share with each other to produce spectacular quilts every year. Those who can, gather at QuiltCon to exchange creations.
Once football season comes along, Nancy and family trek regularly to the University of Florida stadium, where she makes sure to bring her bag for hand binding, a quilt ready to bind, or hand quilting essentials to grab and go. “I don’t need another quilt in my life, but I do need the therapy the quilt provides.”
Thank you Nancy, for being a loyal customer at The Sewing Studio, and for sharing your art with our creative community. We look forward to sharing more stories like this one with our online family.
