That's right! October is the Quilted Joy shop's 6th birthday! It's hard to believe it's already been six years since the shop opened. I have to admit, when APQS first asked me to open up a store, I was a little unsure about it. I didn't have experience running a shop, but I understood it would require a lot of work. But the idea stayed with me, and I realized this was the next step in my journey.

The image above is from the day I got the keys to the shop. I remember looking around and thinking this space was so large and how am I ever going to fill it up? I slowly started filling those shelves with my favorite threads - Glide, Omni, Bottom Line, Magna-Glide Bobbins just to name a few. I picked up some Ikea shelves and filled those with beautiful wide back fabrics. I found pegboard display shelves and I added my favorite longarm notions like marking pens, machine quilting rulers, and stencils.

It's true what they say about empty spaces looking bigger than they really are! Now I look around my little shop and wonder where I'm going to put everything I want to share with you all, because this is what that big empty space looks like now:

That space filled up quickly! And it didn't just fill up with products for sale - I've filled it with amazing customers, students, and a team of amazing women who help me keep the shop running. I'm incredibly grateful for what the last six years has given me and I'm excited to see what's to come in the next six years.

I love having the opportunity to share quilty goodness with you everyday. None of this is possible without people like you! If you're in the Louisville, KY area, I'd love it if you could stop by the shop and say hi. You can find out more about the shop and the APQS showroom here.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all your support over the years! Happy Quilting!