Mary Darby, the woman who gave quilters a home in Langley with her business Quilting by the Sea, is pulling out one piece of the patchwork of her life in favor of another.
Darby, who sold her business to employee Judy McGough in December, moved to Dickinson, N.D. with her family this week.
She said her move to the nation’s second-most sparsely populated state comes at a time when she is ready to get out of business for a while.
“I’ve been on the treadmill for a long time, and it’s time to get off,” said Darby.
Darby said she has accomplished many things since she opened her quilting store in 1995. The biggest moment, she said, was an August 2001 feature on her business in the Better Home and Gardens Quilt Sampler. Since then, quilters have come to Langley from all over the country and Canada to shop at the store.
It hasn’t all been about business, though. Since 1995, Quilting by the Sea has donated quilts to many charitable causes, including various foster care organizations, Citizens Against Domestic and Sexual Abuse, Helping Hand, and to schools as donations for auctions.
“We do a lot of community involvement,” she said.
Darby was modest about the charity work. She said the quilting community is a group of people, who never hesitate to help fellow quilters or groups that can benefit from a handmade gift.
Though it is hard to leave this behind, Darby said, she and her husband, John, and their three children, Graham, Hope and Paige, are excited about the move — mostly.
“We’re looking forward to living there, but I’m not looking forward to the cold winters,” she said.
With more time on her hands than she had while running the quilt shop, Darby said, she plans to design quilt patterns and write a book on art quilts.
That, she said, will be enough to keep her busy.
“If you have something you’re passionate about, it keeps you going.”
Darby said she does not expect Quilting by the Sea to change after her departure. The shop will continue to sell quilting supplies, sewing machines, patterns and anything else serious quilters need.
“Things will still be the same,” she said.
