Once Upon a Time...

Far, far away, beyond the flower fields and big box stores, sits a country cottage nestled in a stand of tall pines and flower beds. Look for it behind the big white gates, a quiet hollow, where on starry nights friends gather and fill the gardens and rooms with laughter and creativity.


And during the day the quilts are hanging in the sun and all are welcome to come and shop and visit, share ideas and walk in the gardens.

Now that Autumn is here, the Starry Night Hollow is putting on a festival for fall. Right there in the cozy cottage are all the makings of a fun celebration... crafts, food, decorations, a pumpkin patch and cloth crows, and lots and lots of fabrics, patterns and notions.


Time for a little story. A tale so silly and unexpected, it may perk your ears or make you grin. It seems that Starry Night Hollow is a rather legendary place. People travel from faraway to see the amazing quilts and all of the lovely bolts of fabrics. They come for the many colors of thread, for the variety of buttons and for those amazing and original patterns dreamt up by the proprietress, Kim. And when they arrive they are greeted not only by friendly shoppers and residents, but also by shady spots where they can sit and admire the flowers, listen to the birds, and sip some tea.


As you know, legends cannot remain secret... word gets out, and at this time of year some of the most unlikely visitors may show up... there have been princesses and Teddy bears, stuffed puppy dogs that sing, scarecrows, even children, and of course quilters, artists, crafters and fabric stashers! All welcome!


Kim sat Maria on her knee and shared some of the secrets and delights of the Hollow and filled her head with happy thoughts and clever ideas. And then she told her about certain late night visitors that no one had expected at all...

Late last night, when we were putting the finishing touches on our festival booths, when the lights were dimmed and the cookies safely stored, we heard a great commotion in the pumpkin patch. A whole party of witches were circling the garden . They rode on brooms. Their hats were frayed and battered, and it seems they had heard that all month long in October there would be hat sewing lessons at the Hollow. Imagine their delight! Imagine their exuberance! For there is little else that witches love more than a beautiful new hat!


Kim is a warm and thoughtful hostess and she could not think of turning away these zany ladies, so she invited them in, told them all about the sale and stayed up very late cutting and stitching and showing those witches how to make tall and lovely hats, with nice broad brims and fanciful trims.


Those witches were a wild bunch, so full of high spirits and merriment. They really understood the whole creative scene of the Hollow. When they were through they swept their scraps in to a tub, and then hopped on their brooms. And Kim said, Maria, you should have seen how happy and excited they were, riding into the fog with their pretty new hats.


But you have to be very careful riding brooms late at night, in the fog. You have to be careful when beautiful fabrics and terrific savings make you dizzy with delight... because accidents do happen... nothing too tragic, mind you... just a bit embarrassing... slightly alarming!


And Kim assured Maria, The witch is truly alright. You can see from her grin, when she fell from her flight, she was quite overcome by the sheer delight of shopping and playing and sewing all night!