All those looking for fat quarters, triangle trimmers or hoops, should pin down purchases right away. The Quilters Garden at 931 Kingston Rd. is closing on April 13.

Sharon Long opened the store 13 years ago after losing her job as a controller when the company she worked for was bought out. She decided to make her hobby her business. Her accounting background came in handy as she helped her creative customers work out how much of each fabric they would need to complete a one-of-a-kind comforter, wall hanging or jacket.

For Sharon, it was more than just a business. She made friendships among the thousands of women (and the few men) who came to the store to learn foundation piecing, the appliqué Baltimore album, Bento Box design, point-on-point, or to make the nine-patch baby quilt – or the very popular Iris wall hanging.

Her new favourite is her latest work – a tree motif using a thread-painting technique. Another treasured item is the eight-point Lemoyne Star, “a simple design that allows the fabric to speak for itself.”

Her taste has changed from delicate pastel prints to the “wild modern patterns of Kaffe Fassett."

Her customers encompassed all ages and problems of life, she said. When people had issues, they talked it over as they used their rotary cutters or stitched in the basement studio, and were given advice and support by the rest of the class.

In the up and down retail world, it was the customers who kept her going, she said.

Sharon begins a new adventure in late April when she drives to Prince Edward Island. With her will be a trunk full of unfinished sewing projects, and her own quilt, which she has never put on her bed because of her cats.

She has bought an old manse in North Carleton where she will be able to sit on her wrap around porch and see the PEI bridge and the ocean. Her new home has been restored and has a tin ceiling and grand circular staircase to four bedrooms. Sharon plans to open a quilters retreat there in 2009.

This fall she will begin holding quilting classes. Meanwhile, she has a new job lined up as the Maritime representative for Telio Fabrics.

Those of us, who have browsed among the hundreds of bolts of fabrics by Kaffe Fassett, Northcote, Maywood or Laurel Burch, trying to decide on that perfect shade or design, will miss the Quilters Garden, and the advice from Sharon and the staff.

As she starts her newest project, Sharon seems to have all the pieces in place.