HISTORY

ESTABLISHED IN 1978

Established in 1978, making it one of the oldest quilt shops in the country, The Cotton Patch has been the "go to" destination for the quilting community of Lafayette, CA and surrounding areas for 45 years. Affectionately referred to as "The Patch", our continued success is reflected in being the one-stop destination for any things quilting.

With over 4,000 bolts of high-quality fabric, our shop features an impressive selection of solids, blenders, batiks, flannel, black & white, and the latest designer lines. Need books? - another speciality here! Browse through hundreds of titles, from the latest to the out of print, everything your quilting library needs.

Looking for a new machine? The Patch is a dealer of top quality brands of sewing, embroidery and longarm machines: Bernina, Janome & HandiQuilter. Don't overlook our selection of slightly used classroom models and/or trade-in machines. Our in-house Service Department is available for these brands, as well as, others: Pfaff, Brother & Singer, to name a few.

Another inspiring aspect of our shop can be found in our knowledgeable staff, which consists of experienced quilters, creative teachers and an award winning longarm quilter. Everyone possesses a passion for beautiful fabrics, an excellent eye for color and enthusiasm for challenging projects. Assisting others to manifest their ideas, provide encouragement and problem solve (we're willing to do the math) is another staff speciality. If we don't have the solution, we know someone who does!

Email, call or come by The Patch... Get inspired!

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Meet

Carolie Hensley

Carolie Hensley is one of the founders of the Cotton Patch and has been the sole proprietor for the last 26 years. Like most in this quilting community, she's been at a sewing machine since she could reach the pedal and, has quite enjoyed being on the forefront of quilting's reemergence.

In 1983, when one of Carolie's instructors was unable to find anyone to publish her work, Carolie and her husband, created C(arolie) &T(om) Publishing to fill this void. By establishing C&T Pub, Carolie and Tom contributed to quilting reemergence. Over the years, C&T Pub has worked with the foremost quilting talent, helping to widen the awareness of the quilting arts and in the process making C&T Pub one of the largest quilt and craft publishers in the world. Keeping it in the family, C&T is now owned by their sons, who continue to expand the company.

Throughout her many years in quilting, Carolie has won many local and national awards. The most prestigious, presented at Quilt Market 2004, was the National Michael Kile Award for helping to further the quilting industry.

Fun Fact: When Carolie and Tom first began attending QM, it consisted of one ballroom and all the vendors knew each other. Now, QM involves an extensive itinerary and 3 days for Carolie to view the entire show.

Red is Carolie’s favorite color. Well, red with dots, to be exact. The Cotton Patch reflects that love - the walkway and front door are an inviting shade of red accented by crisp white. Venture inside and one senses a bright, welcoming feel -much like her personality. A rose garden in front of the shop, (stealing roses from the neighbors - with permission), and cats in back hint at a few of her other passions.