Vintage art of quilting goes high-tech at mother-daughter shop

Mother-daughter duo Lisa Soflin, from left and Jamie O'Byrne stand with the long-arm quilting machine they use at their new store, Quacky Quilts. (Lorri Sughroue/McCook Gazette)

McCOOK, Neb. -- Quilting is going high tech.

The vintage utility art is evolving with the times. It still takes intricate stitching and beautiful patterns, but software and a long-arm quilt machine can speed up what used to take hours of sewing.

That's where Quacky Quilts comes in, the new quilting store in McCook that's owned and operated by the mother-daughter duo of Jamie O'Byrne and mom, Lisa Soflin.

Jamie can create or download patterns on a computer, which guides the "arm" of the machine across the quilt with stitches.The machine can be used on king-sized quilts, she said. (Lorri Sughroue/McCook Gazette)

Originally of Eagle, Neb., about 15 minutes from Lincoln, both are die-hard quilters and with their long-arm quilting machine, a quilt can now be finished in days instead of months.

"This isn't your grandmother's kind of quilting," O'Byrne laughed.

O'Byrne can download patterns to a computer connected to the quilting machine, that calibrates the length and movement of stitches.

Standing behind an over-sized front desk, recycled from old barn wood, are Soflin, O'Byrne and Alanna O'Byrne. Alanna has Dream Day Spas at the back of the quilt store and helps out her sister and mom when time allows. (Lorri Sughroue/McCook Gazette)

Quilters can also bring in ideas for quilts and with the help of software, O'Bryne can create a pattern with desired colors and shapes.

As life-long quilters, they both want to keep the skill as relevant as possible in this day of age when quilting bees are hard to come by. The long-arm quilting machine helps do this, along with "Quacky packets," pre-cut pieces of material that quilters can sew together.

Soflin says the packets make it easy to start and finish a quilt. "My dilemma use to be that I'd figure out a pattern and material, then start cutting. I would have material in every room," she said.

Even if you're not a quilter, they will design and make quilts for customers. Popular now are baby quilts and tee-shirt quilts, where shirts that kids wear for sports or clubs are stitched into a quilt with school colors or mascots. One quilt they custom designed recently was made with Western-style shirts, with the signature of the owner of the shirts recreated with embroidery.

"The signature was kind of unique and the customer wanted to include that," said Soflin.

And if it has to do with quilting, they have it. This includes sewing notions, stacks of material and patterns from all over, including one called "Two Dudes Quilting," from a couple of guys from Arizona who love quilting.

The idea of a quilt store came when O'Byrne graduated from Southeast Community College with an associate of science degree in entrepreneurship. Already familiar with McCook because of friends and with a business plan in hand, she and Soflin decided to open Quacky Quilts.

Located at 112 West C, the store has become a family affair, with O'Bryne's sister, Alanna, a massage therapist, operating Dream Day Spa at the back of the store.

It's also been a trip down memory lane.The location was originally used by Marsh Insurance, O'Bryne said, and had been remodeled a few years ago for a beauty parlor with dropped ceilings. When the ceilings were removed during renovation, they found the original ceiling two feet higher, still with original molding.

Although the flooring had to be re-done, original wood trim on the windows was in pristine condition, along with doors with frosted windows and authentic wainscoting.

An open house is planned on Saturday, April 16. To talk to O'Byrne or Soflin, call 402-525-9523 or 402-430-3712.