New Jasper quilt shop offering classes, supplies, and peaceful, supportive community
Jennifer Lloyd gestured around the empty upstairs floor of the store that has been Impulse of Jasper for many years.
She said she wanted to showcase the most important part of her new store, Quilted Peace, opening on the Square in Jasper — officially on Thursday, September 18th, but a sneak peek will be available during the Shop and Sip Artist Walk on Wednesday, September 17th.
“So, an empty room. Right?” she joked. “No, this is going to be a classroom right here.”
Her hand sweeps the room as she explains her vision of opening up the upstairs for quilting lessons, open sewing nights, kids’ classes, and more.
Along the rail of the open mezzanine area of the upstairs are several quilts, each highlighting different eras in Jen’s own sewing journey.
“The reason why it matters so much to me is this,” she puts her hand on a smaller quilt along the rail.
It’s a simple quilt, but for the 47-year-old, it pins a kind act to a difficult time in her family’s history.
“It was 1987,” Jen said. “He let us know we weren’t going to have Christmas that year because he was out of work.”
The five kids were told to enjoy the annual family party because it would be the extent of their Christmas festivities. During the party, though, her father received a phone call about a bunch of trash being thrown in the family’s yard.
He headed to the house to see what was going on.
“He took those garbage bags inside,” Jen explained.
But they weren’t filled with trash; they were filled with gifts collected by the anonymous caller.
“This (quilt) was in one of the bags,” Jen said.
She’s cherished since. “It showed me that someone cared that our family was going through a hard time,” she said.
She also received a bear and a bracelet — each treasured and preserved all these years. She plans to display them during the holidays.
But the quilt was her first and the one she grew up with. “An anonymous person made me a quilt,” Jen said. “My mom and dad always taught us to serve people, but this (she touches the quilt) is where my love of making quilts for other people began.”
She made her first quilt at the age of 12 with the help of her grandmother, Doris Scott. She fell in love with the art and has created hundreds since then, the vast majority of which are gifts or donations.
“90 percent of my quilts are not with me,” Jen said. “They’re gone, off with other people, other places.”
She imagines that the classroom upstairs in her new shop will become a source of inspiration for others to create soft works of art that will become cherished gifts. She also hopes it provides a peaceful place for all to come and create their own art.
For Jen, it’s in these acts of creation that she finds her own peace.
The upstairs will be open at any time for anyone who wants to sew during business hours. There will be comfortable chairs and tables, and everyone is invited to bring their sewing machines to work independently in a communal atmosphere or together in a group.
Everything downstairs is designed to support everything upstairs. There you will find all types of fabrics, notions, patterns, binders, yarn, thread, and buttons. She will carry new fabric from popular designers, as well as vintage fabric and buttons she has collected over the years.
“There is something to be said about the vintage stuff,” she said, adding that some stuff can be really hard to find.
She will carry special cutting machines from a company called Accuquilt, as well as a line of sewing machines and quilting machines by Bernina. She’s currently waiting for those to arrive due to supply issues.
For those who don’t know where to begin but want to learn, she will have precut kits available for you to try out.
And, if there is something out there that she doesn’t have in stock, she can order it in for her customers. “If there is a certain designer or a certain yarn you need, I can bring it in,” she explained.
Jen moved here with her husband, Richard, who was named the president and CEO of Superior Ag in 2023. The couple has five children: Rayo, 27, Rebekah, 25, Roper, 22, Moroni, 20, and the youngest, Ralph, 17, who attends Jasper High School. Rebekah, who lives in North Carolina, and Jen’s mom, Amanda, have both been in town helping get the store ready for opening.
When the shop opens on Thursday, hours will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. The shop will be closed on Sunday and Monday.
You can learn more about Quilted Peace on their website and follow them on Facebook to see all the items they will carry. Classes will be scheduled soon, and interested individuals are encouraged to follow us to receive notifications when the schedules are released. The store is located at 613 Main Street in Downtown Jasper.
“I want everyone to know that this is a place they can come to sew and visit. To knit, crochet or embroider or English paper piece, or whatever they want to do,” Jen said.
Everyone is welcome.
