Quilter hopes shop furthers cause of quilting

Kathi Dayon has been a quilter for about 40 years.

When she first married her husband Jack, her mother-in-law told her to go up into the attic and look inside a trunk that held quilts his grandmother had made.

When she opened the lid, she was overwhelmed by the beautiful pieces of artwork the woman had created by hand so many years ago.

"She was dead and I had never met her," Dayon said. "I thought it was cool that this woman, who I'd never met, was passing on her artwork to us."

That beauty inspired Dayon to become a quilter too.

One of the quilts she took that day was Jack's baby blanket, which she eventually redid, and not long ago passed onto her own granddaughter.

"It's her special blanket now made by her grandmother, just like it was his special blanket made by his grandmother," she said.

Now Dayon, who lives in Sun City, is hoping to help others create their own quilts that may be treasured for generations to come.

She opened Quilt In Joy on Nov. 15 at 10709 Dundee Road in Huntley.

Dayon said she's hoping to introduce the community to the store and to the joy of quilting.

The store carries quilting fabrics, offers classes and clubs for beginners through experts, and holds birthday parties, as Dayon hopes to introduce a new generation to quilting and sewing.

"We like to think of it as a neighborhood quilt shop," Dayon said. "They are starting to find us. There are a lot of quilters in Huntley and that spurred us on because there are no other quilts shops in the area like in Gilberts, Lake in the Hills or Crystal Lake."

Quilters like to shop around at different places for fabric, she said, and so Dayon wanted to make sure her store had a selection that would appeal to residents in the area.

To decide what fabric the store would sell, she traveled to other quilt shops in the area and held focus groups with residents, finding out what they wanted to see locally.

They decided on batiks, with the store selling the finest hand-dyed fabrics made in Bali.

And they also picked bright colors and children's prints. The store also carries some of the traditional quilting lines.

"A lot of quilt stores you go in, you just notice that it's more traditional and the darker colors. We wanted the brighter colors. You see that when you walk in right away," Dayon said.

While the store is stocked full with quilting fabrics, there also is plenty of room for quilters to work. About 40 percent of the store's area is set aside for classroom work.

Dayon, who lived in Sleepy Hollow before moving to Huntley, set the tables up in a rectangular shape so the quilters could work facing one another, just as they've done for years in quilting bees, she said.

She said hopes people will come in and try out the store, and either find a new hobby or continue one that they already enjoy.

Quilting is so enjoyable to so many people in the area, she said, and that's where she came up with the name for the store.

"It is so creative and it's usually something you're doing for somebody else and it's usually joyful."

Quilt In Joy

What: A new quilt shop featuring bright fabrics, classes and clubs

Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sunday.

Location: In Wing Pointe Commons at 10709 Dundee Road, Huntley

Info: Visit www.quiltinjoy.com or call (847) 669-1722