Every flat surface is packed with the trappings of quilt making. The walls, lined from floor to ceiling by wooden shelves, are bursting with every colour and pattern of fabric imaginable. “It is not just a business,” she says “my heart and soul have gone in to it.” You can feel that. It is a space, says owner Luci Andreacchi, that can be a refuge of sorts where people sometimes come to chat, share a cup of coffee, to stand amongst the clamour of colour and possibility, to engage imagination, and sometimes just to feel good. It is a place where customers are more often than not greeted by name, and where time is encouraged to stop for a while.
The brick house, with the wooden porch out front and the view of Lake Superior down the hill, casts a welcoming vibe right out into the street. There is something familiar about the feel of the place, the smells of wood and fresh laundry and sunshine streaming through windows, with floors that seem to creak in all the right places.
Stepping through the door of the Circle of Friends Quilt Shoppe is a bit like coming home.
