TWO HARBORS — Kathy Ruberg was ready for a new adventure.
The Two Harbors resident had retired from working in retail most of her life. But when she found that most of her grandkids were grown up, she decided it was time to jump back in and open a quilt shop. Cotton Baby Quilt
"I found I couldn't fill my time and I missed it," Ruberg said. "Now, I like to sew, I'm more of a sewer than a quilter. But that's where LeeAnn (Carlson) comes in. She's an excellent quilter, so she helps me a lot."
When the former Hair Designs salon space opened in downtown Two Harbors, Ruberg leaped at the opportunity. She painted walls, installed carpeting and assembled several Ikea shelves to hold the bolts of fabric.
"I started reaching out to fabric companies and opening up wholesale accounts," Ruberg said. "LeeAnn and Deb (Lind), from the old quilt shop up the shore, they helped me with choosing what to start with. It's very spendy opening up a quilt shop, so I had to start out small with things people look for."
Lind also supplied her with bolts of fabric from her former shop, bringing her total up to around 1,300 bolts of different fabrics.
Ruberg's One Old Loon shop officially opened in July and so far, she said the reception has been great.
"So many fluffy comments from people," Ruberg said. "There are so many quilters in the area and they are so thankful that they don't have to go too far for fabric if they don't want to. And it's nice to have all the other shops in the area. We all have our different tastes in fabrics, so you can find lots to look through."
While she's not a huge quilter, Ruberg said she's had fun getting to know the quilting crowd.
"They're a different breed," Ruberg said. "They love fabric. They'll come in with swatches of what they have and match them to other colors. Or, they'll take bunch of bolts and line them up and just stand back and stare at them. Then they'll put some back and pull more out. It's really fun to help."
A few quilters have also returned to share their finished projects with Ruberg, especially if they created them using one of the store's quilting kits or pre-cuts.
"Pre-cuts are squares or rectangles or some other shape of already cut fabric," Ruberg said. "Then you match them up and make them into cakes or jelly rolls and people can use them to get started more quickly."
The shop is also home to several quilting related novelty items and supplies.
"If it's not quilt-related, I don't have it," Ruberg said.
Soft Non-Woven Fabric One Old Loon Quilt Shop , 620 First Ave., is open from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.