Quilt store has its personal area of interest within the North Country

David Colburn

COOK- As an 18-year-old newlywed living on a ranch farm in northern Missouri, Susan Covey decided to give quilting a try. She’d never made one before, but her grandmothers were both quilters and she got a helping hand finishing her first attempt from her father.
Fast forward to today, and Covey operates the popular Cabin Quilting shop in Cook, the only such store for miles and miles around that caters to the quilting needs of locals and tourists alike.
And for that, her customers have pigs to thank. Seriously. But more on that in a bit.
Covey took her first step toward Cook when her young family moved to her husband’s family farm outside of Mankato. Covey picked up a two-year degree in business management, finance, sales and marketing and worked for an accounting firm for a while, but quilting remained a passion. She decided that the accounting firm just wasn’t a good fit, and the seed of what would eventually become Cabin Quilting was planted.
“In 1994 I got my first long arm quilting machine and started doing that,” Covey said. “And then I got very popular and had to get a bigger machine so I could handle big queens and kings. I had gone for two-and-a-half years to a friend’s basement because I didn’t have room at my place for it, and then I told my husband that I wanted to build a shop at home.”
He was skeptical that anyone would want to drive down a township road to a hog farm for quilting, but they put up a 24 x 32 building.
“And they came,” Covey said. “They came in cars. They came after work. They came on Saturdays, bringing me quilts for the long arm. I paid for that building my first year.”
Around 2000, the couple bought a place on Elephant Lake, and through regular trips to the North Country Covey became familiar with the area.
Then in 2010, Covey unfortunately discovered that her love of quilting would be more enduring than her marriage. Her husband said he wanted a divorce, and as they owned two properties, Covey had a choice to make.
Cue the pigs.
“When I wasn’t married anymore, I had my choice between smelling hog poo or smelling pine trees, and I chose the pine trees, hands down, pine trees,” Covey said emphatically, with a laugh.
A major issue with the move was finding a place that could accommodate her long arm quilt machine, which is about 15 feet long. Covey wasn’t thinking about starting a quilt shop at the time, but she found a suitable building on the southwest corner of Hwy. 53 and 1st St. SW.
“I was just looking for a place for that,” Covey said, gesturing toward the quilt machine, “and after I found it I said I guess I’m going to have to do something with the rest of the place.”
She closed on the building in November 2010, then headed back south to pack while carpenters got started on extensive renovations. She was back in January to paint and varnish, completed the last of her move to Elephant Lake in February, and opened her doors to the public on March 31.
Cabin Quilting drew immediate attention and patronage from North Country neighbors.
“We have wonderful quilting guilds in Tower and in Ely,” Covey said. “They’re very good to me.
But “local” really means “regional” for regulars, as Covey’s nearest competitors aren’t near at all.
“I am now the only shop between Cloquet and Duluth and International Falls,” she said. “There’s nothing short of Floodwood to the west of me and there’s nothing to the east of me unless you’re going up the North Shore.”
As one would expect, business ebbs and flows with the seasons, picking up significantly going into the summer.
“I’m talking about people that regularly quilt who are coming back from Arizona, Florida and Texas in the summertime,” Covey said. “And tourists. I do a very huge tourist trade.”
Shop Hop
Business is picking up a little earlier this year as Covey is participating in the All Minnesota Shop Hop, a two-month promotion in April and May that offers incentives and prizes for quilters who get out and travel around the state to collect stamps for their event passports while picking up new fabrics, new ideas, and meeting and mingling with new friends. There’s even a special edition set of fabrics exclusive to the event.
Covey isn’t a stranger to shop hops, as she participated in the Quilt Minnesota shop last summer, which is more condensed in time and a bit more hectic.
“People found out where I was and I had buses,” Covey said. “You have no idea what a rush 45 ladies on a bus is when they’ve got an hour and 15 minutes to cruise your shop.”
The All Minnesota Shop Hop, a format that’s duplicated in numerous other states, gives quilters more than twice the amount of time as Quilt Minnesota to visit shops in four defined regions of the state.
The shop isn’t just for quilters. There’s also a portion of the shop tucked upstairs that has a variety of ready-made items for sale, from quilts and table runners to aprons and hats. There’s plenty to explore, and Covey’s dog, Bree, is happy to keep anyone entertained as they browse.
Covey is at the shop four days a week, and Sherry Herbert takes care of things there as Covey works a couple of more days a week at home creating projects and doing all of the other things necessary for running a successful business.
But there’s nothing Covey loves more than helping her customers with their projects, from selecting the right fabrics to learning new skills to finishing their quilts on the long arm machine. While there are bigger stores and people can also shop online these days, Covey has a wide array of fabrics from vintage styles that appeal to traditional quilters to ones with flashy colors and splashy patterns for those into more modern design. The shop is just the right size for her to be able to give each person the attention they need, and in turn to make her happy that the smell of pines brought her to Cook and Elephant Lake.
“It’s been an interesting 11 years,” she said. “This place is a fun zoo. I love my job. I love helping people. I love helping people create. I love working with color and texture. That’s just kind of what happens here.”
To find out more, call (218) 666-3146.