Plaid Square Changes Hands, Keeps On Quilting

Hope Jones-Farr retired this year from her role as a special education and history teacher at Glasgow High School after 25 years of service. She soon began looking around for something else to do. For her, it was time to find another outlet-she also owns and operates the beloved Soma-Dis Deli on 2nd Ave. S. downtown-and the project she settled on was Della Gardner's quilting shop, The Plaid Square.

Established in 1999, the shop, re-dubbed Crazy Woman Quilts under Jones, offers an array of fabrics and quilting materials, designs, classes, piecework and finishing services. CWQ's Facebook page states that the business has, "3000 bolts of fabric to choose from and custom machine quilting."

Jones insists that she is not taking over a struggling business. "Della did a really good job of building up the clientele with high-quality fabrics," she says. Among the fabrics that she intendeds to focus on is the mysteriously appealing minky, a special type of plush fabric that is often used to make baby blankets and baby clothing, as well as other, more grown-up accessories and accoutrements. "If everyone had a yard of minky," Jones states flatly, "there would be no war."

Asked why she tackled yet another challenging business opportunity when she'd only just hung up her hat as an educator, Jones shrugs as if it were the obvious thing to do. Typically understated, she makes it clear without saying so outright that it isn't about the money. "I ran out of room for fabric in my upstairs," she explains, when pressed on the subject. Underlying her choices is a quiet dedication to the welfare of the community (the deli is a staple for many area residents, to say nothing of teaching), but she doesn't go on about it much.

Jones is quick to point out that she has lots of help via her life and business partner, husband Kevin Farr. Her son, Keefe, who currently resides in Seattle, has also done his fair share of time at the deli, and son Jackson helped restart the business after its reopening in 2011. At CWQ, her employees and cohorts in quilting include Evelyn Depuydt, Juanita Morehouse, Jan Swanson (who teaches beginning quilting) and Darcia Schindler, when the latter isn't too busy over at the BS Buzz.

An impressive addition to the shop's services was on display in the backroom while Jones talked to the Courier. Longarm quilting involves the use of an imposing sewing machine that measures in at well over 10 feet in length. Through the application of layers of plastic and fabrics, the machine allows for speedier construction of quilts and other materials.

Upcoming classes at CWQ include the Not Your Mother's Quilt Club, which is held on the second Wednesday of the month at 5:30 p.m. beginning January 13, the PMS (Pretty Much Scraps) Club, also at 5:30 p.m. beginning in January, the Snack Shack Hot Pads class, set for December 12 from 9-11 a.m. (cost is $10), a Minky Blankie class at the GHS cafeteria on December 19 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (cost $15), and the In Focus class on December 5 from 9 a.m. to noon ($10). Email Hope for further details at [email protected].

CWQ is located at 27 Hwy 2 in Glasgow, 228-9665. For more information, visit plaidsquare.com or check out the Crazy Woman Quilts page on Facebook.