KINDERSLEY, Sask. – A wall of muted nature colours and fabrics that
resemble river pebbles, grass and autumn leaves are revealed when one
walks into Veronica’s Sewing Supplies.
The fabric store is celebrating its 23rd year in business with an
attention to detail as probing as a quilter stitching a pattern.
The 616 sq. metre shop, located in an old Saan store in downtown
Kindersley, is the largest quilting supply store in west-central
Saskatchewan, said owner Veronica Longmuir.
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While other fabric shops closed as home sewing declined, Longmuir has
survived by riding the trends. She attended seminars in cramped
sweatshops in Toronto and the United States to keep aware of the latest
trends. Her store attracts people from Saskatchewan and Alberta with
its large inventory and reasonable prices. But the guest book also
lists names from other provinces and countries.
“We started with the stretch-and-sew trend,” said Longmuir.
Making T-shirts is no longer cost effective for home sewers, but the
store then rode the crest of the serger wave. A serger machine not only
sews twice as fast as conventional machines, but also trims and
finishes so that handmade clothes look store-bought.
While craft items were popular for a while, quilting is the current
trend. Veronica’s stocks 1,600 bolts of quilting cotton from 70
suppliers across Canada. While Longmuir had to prove herself in the
early years, the supplier’s sales staff now visit her.
Quilting used to take up a two m space in the store, but it now
represents a third of the supplies.
Longmuir sees a growing connection between sewing machines and the
internet, where customers can pull off patterns or personalize them,
and then download the instructions into the sewing machine’s computer.
“They can even quilt their child’s face.”
She said quilting has become popular as a stress reliever and a
creative outlet for women age 35 and older.
Even though home sewing can save people money, Longmuir said that no
longer seems to be the motivation. Baby boomers are having
grandchildren and are spending lots of money on baby quilts and room
décor. At Halloween, “non-sewers come out of the woodwork” to create
unique costumes, without fretting about the cost of the material. And
many people are doing simple draperies that they can change every five
years and not have to spend thousands of dollars.
“We try to be a general store,” Longmuir said.
She carries flannels and fleeces for cozy clothes, dressy materials for
graduation and weddings, glitzy fabric for dance schools and the figure
skating club, a baby materials section and one that appeals to children
with brightly coloured animals and cartoon characters. There is also
wool and embroidery thread for other needlework, plus a large range of
notions. The buttons range from the plain that Grandma might buy, to
ones that look like John Deere tractors or Ritz crackers.
Longmuir, who started the store in the front area of her husband’s
radiator shop, said one of her business’s advantages is its present
space. One area is for fabric and sewing machine sales, two areas are
for fabric and finished item displays, and a fourth is the classroom.
In this bright, large room, Veronica’s hosts seasonal events, fashion
shows and the Kid’s Club.
The latter is creating future customers as girls and boys aged seven to
12 come weekly to learn to sew their own projects. A former club member
was driven an hour from Altario, Alta., each week to attend the 36
classes. She now is sewing her own wedding outfits.
Longmuir said sewing is taught in Grade 9 but “by 14, a girl is almost
embarrassed” to have to learn to sew on a machine. As a former home
economics teacher, she knows the difficulty of educating 22 teenagers.
“Some of the seven year olds are so little, their feet don’t touch the
floor, so we put a pattern book under the presser foot.”
Members who dropped in during their school lunch break said they are
already planning for this winter. Shelby Ervine, who has been sewing
for six years with the club, said the most fun things she made were
gifts for others. But this year she plans to decorate her room with
handmade curtains and pillows.
Adelle Sutherland said in her three years with the club she has sewn
pajamas, sweat pants and a nightgown, but looks forward to trying denim
jeans this year.
The Hammel kids, twins Adam and Kyla and their little brother Raymond,
were encouraged to join the club by their mother, who sews. The boys
have sewed body pillows – Adam’s is a zebra stripe and Raymond made a
sweater top. Their sister, working from her six years in the club, is
trying a quilt this year.
Brother and sister Jordan and Alyssa Tumback are also making plans, one
for a long sweater type jacket and the other, something for his dog.
When asked why they are in the club, Jordan said it’s because he likes
making stuff and saving money. His sister added: “It’s just all fun.”
