If you have travelled the highways of Illinois, there is a decent chance you have driven through or stopped in the city of Effingham. After all, Effingham is a community that calls itself “The Crossroads of Opportunity,” because it sits at the crossroads of two major interstates: I-57 and I-70.
In the quilting community, Effingham is a must stop because of The Wooden Spool, where creativity, community, and tradition come together.
“We are a destination quilt shop,” explained Kristina Adams, owner of The Wooden Spool, which has been a fixture in Effingham for 25 years. “I have plenty of customers who travel states away to go see relatives, and they tell me every time, ‘You are a place that I will stop at every year. I’ll be back next year.’ And what’s great is we are at the crossroads of America, right off the interstate. So, you’re not traveling from the interstate 15 miles to get here. We’re right here.”
At The Wooden Spool, there is fabric lined up at every corner of the store, which boasts more than 4-thousand bolts (fabric rolls) of high-quality, unique quilting fabrics and more than 250 bolts of wide backings. From patterns and rulers to an array of notions, the shop is a quilter’s paradise offering everything needed to bring creative visions to life.
“I think one thing that is amazing about this job is you have your hand in a creative process that’s going to stick with someone’s family for generations to come,” Kristina noted.
“People will come in looking for fabric for graduation gifts, for baby quilts, for Christmas tree skirts, Christmas quilts,” Kristina shared. “Every occasion, there’s a special quilt that you can make.”
Quilts, from Kristina’s perspective, are more than just beautiful creations. They also tell stories and preserve memories.
“I feel like quilting is an heirloom, and people love giving heirlooms that can stay in the family,” reflected Kristina. “Quilting is something that you can snuggle up with and that can help cherish the memory of your loved ones that may not be here any longer.”
“The quilting community is very dedicated and passionate. This is something that they love and that they love passing on to their family,” explained Kristina with a smile.
History behind and handed down
The Wooden Spool started to spin long before Kristina took over as its owner. Originally known as The Dust Quilt Shop, the business was founded by Effingham native, Sylvia Dust, who started quilting out of her home. What began as a humble operation eventually grew into a full-fledged quilt shop, laying the foundation for what would become a local institution. In 1998, Kristina’s aunt purchased the store, renaming it Angie’s Nine Patch. This marked the beginning of a new chapter, one that would eventually lead to Kristina’s ownership in 2013 at the age of 24 and renaming the store, The Wooden Spool.
“My aunt was ready to retire, and I was, at the time, going to college, and it just wasn’t clicking for me. So, the opportunity arose for me to purchase it, and I actually worked here in high school. We always joked one day I would take it over, and that’s exactly what happened,” Kristina recalled.
“When my aunt came to me to purchase the shop, I told her to let me think about it,” recalled Kristina. “I just knew it was right for me, and said, ‘Let’s do this.’ We even talk about it 12 years later, how it couldn’t have worked out any better.”
Taking over a business at such a young age came with its challenges, Kristina conceded, particularly when it came to how to run a retail operation.
“I think the learning curve is the business aspect,” Kristina candidly admitted. “I didn’t go to school for business, so I was pretty naive when it came to everything behind the scenes. But I do think with anything, the more you do it, you just learn as you go.”
One of the biggest adjustments, she said, was finding her own way of doing things.
“I think one thing that was challenging for me is the way I do things versus the way my aunt did things,” noted Kristina. “I’m an online girl and I decided to market more on Facebook and Instagram.”
Kristina also embraced modern tools to streamline operations compared to her aunt, whom she said would spend hours on the phone with vendors to purchase new fabrics.
“I will get on websites, and 15 minutes later, my order is placed,” explained Kristina. These changes not only made the business more efficient but also allowed Kristina to focus on connecting with customers instead of paperwork.
Despite not finishing college, Kristina found her calling in the world of quilting. “I didn’t finish college. I don’t have a degree, but I found something that I really love, and it helps support my family” said Kristina with pride in her voice. “I think it’s great when you can find your job in the workforce without spending all the extra money that college costs.”
Plus, one never knows when high school subjects that are not a strength will turn into an essential later in life.
“In high school, math was a subject I enjoyed, but I was terrible at it,” Kristina shared with a laugh. “It’s funny to me, because here, my job is a lot of math. I have to figure out how much fabric you need for borders or binding or for your quilt. It is all math! I find it funny that the one subject I was not really the greatest at is the one subject I use in my everyday life.”
Stitching together a business
Kristina is proud to have a business where quilters of all skill levels feel welcome, whether they’re picking up a needle for the first time or working on their hundredth quilt.
“My typical customer is someone who just retired and is looking for a hobby,” Kristina explained. “A lot of times, people’s mothers or grandmothers quilted, but it wasn’t really their thing. Then, all of a sudden, it becomes their thing. They wish they would have sat down with their grandma to learn this hobby. So, that’s when they start coming in. We can show them some projects that are great for beginners just to kind of get their feet wet.”
“They’ll tell me exactly what they think they’re looking for and as we’re going through the fabrics and picking out patterns, they’ll maybe get a different idea they hadn’t thought of before,” added Kristina with enthusiasm in her voice. “When they bring that quilt back and they just love how it turned out.”
“I love being a retailer because of the customers,” Kristina said with a loving smile. “I think people become more than customers. They become like a second family.”
The shop caters to a wide range of creative projects, ranging from traditional quilts to unique items for the home.
“We have people coming in that will show us quilts that have been in their family with quilts their great-great-grandmother made and passed down,” note Kristina. “So, I think it’s just a keepsake that people can make. It’s really popular when new babies come along because it’s something from grandma that they will always have, because grandma will not always be there.”
The Wooden Spool prides itself on offering a diverse selection of high-quality fabrics to suit the taste of every quilter.
“We have 100 percent cotton quality fabric, which is what most quilters prefer,” Kristina said. “We have prints from the 1930s, children’s prints, and even Civil War prints. Those might look like feed sacks that your grandmother used when she quilted. We have batiks, which are hand-dyed, most of them in Bali, then shipped over to our store for us to use.”
For Kristina, the joy of quilting is in the creative process and the relationships she builds with her customers.
“What I love about fabric is the colors, creating a quilt, picking out various fabrics, and the customer quilting it up and bringing it back,” shared Kristina. “Any little change can completely change the way a quilt looks when it’s done, and I love going through that process with them. I love seeing how the quilt has come out.”
One of the unique challenges of quilting is the fleeting nature of fabric designs.
“With quilting, it’s like you have it, you see it, you better get it because it won’t be around next week,” Kristina said with a laugh. “They don’t reprint. We have a sign in our store that says, ‘Nothing haunts us like the fabric we didn’t buy.’ It’s so true in quilting. You will think about that fabric forever that you went back to get, and it was gone.”
Customer service is at the heart of The Wooden Spool’s success according to Kristina. Whether it’s helping someone learn how to use a rotary cutter, decipher a pattern, or choose the perfect border fabric, Kristina and her team make sure every visit is memorable.
“Sometimes when people come in, they might be looking for a border or binding for their quilts,” said Kristina. “We’ll take them around and give them different ideas. Maybe they want one border, and then I talk them into two because ‘Oh gosh, that would look so nice,’ and they agree. Sometimes it’s just a matter of finding what works best.”
The shop also embraces modern convenience, offering online and phone orders for customers who can’t visit in person.
“We sell on the internet,” Kristina said. “We’ll have customers that call us and say, ‘Hey, I’m needing some more fabric. Do you have it?’ and I’ll send them the direct link to our website to help them order. But when ordering off the internet or by phone, you can’t see colors. If you have a quilt and need a yellow to match, you can’t always see what shade of yellow that is. That’s why stores are important. You can come in, you can feel the fabric, and know what you’re getting.”
“I honestly think customer service is number one around here,” Kristina emphasized. “I think that’s why people continue to come to The Wooden Spool. When they come in and need help picking their fabric out, that’s what I love to do, and that’s why they come, because I’m here for them.”
Part of the community
Running a small business is a labor of love for Kristina, filled with triumphs and challenges. She says the journey of owning a retail shop has taught her the importance of resilience, dedication, and the deep bonds with your customers.
“I think in retail, we make it look easy, like we’re here nine to five, said Kristina. “But really, we’re here over 40 hours a week, behind the scenes, working. I also think retail is so great because you do get that customer service that sometimes you don’t get at big box stores anymore.”
“One thing I would like people to know about owning a retail business is you will have ups and downs,” Kristina shared. “You have to be in it for the long haul.” But the customers are what make it worth it.
“I would tell someone starting out in retail that not every day is a good day. You will have bad days, and it’s easy to let those bad days outweigh the good days. But you just have to remember that people come to visit you because they love you and they love your store.”
