Profile

Just a few doors down from their knitting shop Purl, crafty sisters Joelle and Jennifer Hoverson have opened a second venture, this one devoted to sewing and quilting. As with their first store, the merchandise and décor here tell the whole story: The small shop’s walls are lined from top to bottom with bolts of vibrantly colored fabric. The choices—retro-inspired calicos, splashy Liberty floral prints, geometric designs, stripes, ginghams, swirling paisleys, and vintage reproductions of nineteenth-century textiles—could convince even Sleeping Beauty to sit down at a sewing machine. Joelle Hoverson isn’t surprised that traditional crafts have gotten so popular again. “People here spend so much time working, shopping, running from place to place,” she says. “There’s something really wonderful and comforting about just sitting down and making something pretty.” — Sarah Gold

Purl Patchwork runs small classes where aspiring designers can learn basics and advanced techniques in machine-sewing and hand-quilting.