Small Business Saturday at your small local shop

We will be kicking off the holiday season with the Small Business Saturday - a day filled with creative pursuits. Please join us on November 24th between 11 am and 5 pm. We guarantee you will be well entertained, you may even leave as a soon-to-be-published author!

11 am Holiday ornaments – decorate your own
Potter Sue Adler brings majolica holiday ornaments ready for your decorating touches. Materials fee will be collected. Ornaments will be ready for pick up 2 weeks after the event.

12 pm Eco-friendly gift wrapping
Reuse, reuse, reuse - Jolanta Zamecka and Ewa Rumprecht gift wrap with minimal environmental impact. Guests are encouraged to share their own ideas and projects.

1 pm Quilts – what makes them special
Quilter Sherry Phelps, third generation quilter, presents her family heirlooms as well as her own work and explains what makes a successful quilt.

2 pm Feng Shui, crystals, stones
Jeweler Sharon LaMonica introduces the basic concepts of Feng Shui and speaks about properties of crystals and stones. Perfect chance to adjust your energy or relaxation level.

3 pm Decorate with ribbons
Kristi Halpern creates festive decorations with ribbons. She guides you on a quest for a perfect ribbon for any decorating project.

4 pm Holiday poetry reading
Bring your own or your favorite holiday poem and read it to guests. Selected poems will be published by the Prehensile Pencil Publications, ready for purchase before the holidays.

For the greater pleasure of the company fiddler Eric Marten will accompany the poems with old holiday tunes while his wife, Trudy, introduces the limber jack.

Throughout the day, guests will have a chance to observe painter Yvonne Dagger and wood carver Don Dailey work their holiday magic with brushes and knives, respectively.

Please review the event's Press Release for more information.

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Sherry Phelps - utilitarian quilts of lasting beauty

Photo by Ewa Rumprecht

Sherry Phelps, quilter from Glen Cove, is proud to follow in the path of generations of women before her. She believes that the utility of a quilt is as important as its beauty. She hopes the quilts she makes will brighten a day. And she also hopes the quilts will go along on a picnic, and dry off a wet dog, and tag along with a toddler, and give a hug, and be used.

As far back as Sherry can remember there were homemade quilts around her house. Her grandmother was an accomplished quilter whose work was done entirely by hand. Her grandmother’s depression quilts were made from flour sacks and scrap fabrics, pieced by individuals and then quilted by sisters and neighbors joining together to create an item of utility and beauty. They were made of cotton, used for many years, washed often, and remain vibrant to this day.

Photo by Ewa Rumprecht

Sherry makes traditional quilts under the whimsical name Nana’s Quilted Hugs. Her inspiration comes from fabric colors and print combinations as well as traditional quilt block designs. She uses only cotton materials, from top pieced fabrics and muslin backing to unbleached batting. She uses only cotton thread, regardless of its tricky nature. She binds the finished quilt by hand. All quilts are machine washable and dryable.

For the uninitiated, there is a price one pays for working with cotton. It absorbs oil from the hands and makes them very dry. A good healing lotion is a must. Cotton dust released when preparing fabric is another occupational hazard and must be well controlled.



Sherry grew up in the Rocky Mountain west. She taught middle school English and history in Wyoming for 20 years. Her last teaching assignment was in southern China teaching English to international students. She took every opportunity to explore Asia, including trips to Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing and X’ian. She eventually settled on Long Island to be near her daughter and her family.

Peace

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