What kinds of payment will you accept? We accept all payments. PalPal, Mastercard and Visa. You can phone your order in with your credit card or you can even fax or mail your information when you get to the purchase section.

Will you sell or rent my information to anyone? Never, we respect your privacy as much as you do!

What is a quilt?Quilting is centuries old, and involves simply running stitches to anchor a soft filler between two layers of fabric. Many different materials have been used over the years to fill the quilts; from corn husks, moss, old clothes, feed sacks to now using wonderfully soft cotton and wool. A few use polyester.

The stitches traditionally follow a systematic pattern to create a subtle textured fabric surface. The quilting pattern and fabric create the back, and now lots of attention is being put into finding the perfect backing fabric. The quilt top fabric is usually a design, which can be patchwork, appliqué, or a combination of both. The designs are only limited by your imagination. Part of the challenge of designing a quilt is the melding of the design of the patchwork (and/or appliqués) with the pattern of quilting stitches. The love is choosing the right fabrics that make it a joy to work with!

Quilts are the biggest pieces of art most people can afford to put in their homes. They can be bright and bold, soft and subtle, traditional, or avant-garde. The quilters are so creative you never know what you will find here. In any event, the first reaction to a well designed quilt is WOW! What's more well designed, hand-made quilts are amazing bargains when the amount of time and effort that is put into each on is considered..

What is a hand made quilt? We use the term "Hand-made Quilt"  to mean: that the quilt is special, usually it is one of a kind  that the quilt patchwork is cut by hand and then sewn together on a standard sewing machine and can be hand quilted or machine quilted. The quilting process is always evolving and having your own quilt is really special. Because they are not mass produced, Hand-made quilts vary greatly in quality, complexity and price.

Mass produced quilts differ from the quilts offered here. The mass produced quilts are much less expensive,  they can be owned by thousands of people, which doesn’t make it unique or special.. In some cases, these manufactured quilts, have their patchwork design printed on the fabric rather than the patchwork being cut and then pieced together, and the quilting is done by machine, rather than by hand. In other cases, these "copy" quilts simply suffer from low quality stitching. You have seen these “quilts” before, did they seem special? Of course not!

How do I properly care for my quilt?Always remember and respect the hours of work that went into the making your quilt. To assure long life for your quilt, proper care is essential.

Wash or Dry Clean?

Most quilt lovers prefer to wash rather than dry clean their quilts. But some quilts can not be safely washed. If a quilt has loose lace or puffy appliqué work, machine washing is very risky and the quilt should be professionally dry cleaned.

Also, while all of the fabrics used in quilts are supposed to be color fast, sometimes a fabric will run. Look out for fully saturated dark colored fabrics and hand-dyed ones as they the ones are most likely to run. Before washing, test the suspect fabric by rubbing it with a piece of white cotton moistened with very hot water. If the color transfers to the white cotton, don't wash the quilt -- even in cold water. Instead, get the quilt professionally dry cleaned. If you must dry clean your quilt be sure to air it (outside if possible) before using it.

Washing

It is generally fine to wash your quilt in a home washing machine, though for a very large quilt you may need a commercial size machine. To wash a quilt, use cold water and a mild detergent (that is free of perfumes, brighteners, and bleach). Adding Retayne will also help your colors remain bright and help prevent the colors from running. You can also, add half a cup of vinegar to the wash cycle. Use a short gentle cycle

Retayne is available at some fabric stores and will be available on this website soon.

Drying

Quilts are heavy when wet. Try to support its wet weight so that the threads don't pop. It is OK to partially dry a quilt in a dryer, but it is best to lay a quilt flat on rack to dry. Some people like to finish drying their quilt out on the grass on a sunny day! Do not iron your quilt. When you dry your quilt you will see the the quilting start to stand out since the fabric around it will usually puff up a bit.

How Often?

Washing or dry cleaning a soiled quilt will extend its life on the other hand washing or dry cleaning a clean quilt will shorten its life. Quilts that are used every day normally only need washing once a year. If you have pets or children, more frequent washing may be desirable. Airing quilts (on a drying rack outside) between washings is a good practice.

Quilting Marking

On a new quilt you may note white or gray lines running through the quilting. These quilting markings are part of the process quilters use here to make sure the quilting is properly applied to the quilt. If a line is white, it is probably chalk and can be brushed off or easily removed with a damp cloth. Also the first time your quilt is washed or dry cleaned the chalk marks will disappear. If the lines are gray they were probably made with a pencil and can be removed with a gum eraser. Quilting marking is part of the craft of Lancaster quilts.

Storing

Before you store you quilt - wash your hands. The perfumes, hand creams, shaving lotions, etc may damage fibers over a period of time. You can also put on clean white cotton gloves.

When not in use your quilt should be stored in a dry, dark location in a cotton or muslin bag -- never store your quilt in a plastic bag or cardboard box. For wall hangings a cotton pillow case can be used. Be sure the quilt is clean before you store it away.

Every other month or so it is a good idea to take the quilt out and refold it another way before putting it back in the bag. This will keep the quilting stitches less stressed in the fold areas. If you do fold your quilt, take care to refold it every now and then, to put less stress in any one area.

Never put perfume sachets, moth balls, photographs or other chemicals with your quilt, these can deteriorate the fibers in your quilts. When you take your quilt out of storage, air it out. Lay it on the grass and let the sun penetrate it, or tumble it in a cool dryer for a short time.

Minor Repairs

Before washing or dry cleaning your quilt it is wise to inspect your quilt for seams that have come loose and repair them prior to the washing or dry cleaning. A strong intact quilt makes a happy quilt owner!

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