{"id":6438,"date":"2021-12-01T13:38:17","date_gmt":"2021-12-01T20:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/discovernwnebraska.com\/?p=6438"},"modified":"2021-12-01T13:39:10","modified_gmt":"2021-12-01T20:39:10","slug":"zeal-for-fiber-arts-shared-in-downtown-chadron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/discovernwnebraska.com\/staging\/5924\/zeal-for-fiber-arts-shared-in-downtown-chadron\/","title":{"rendered":"Zeal for fiber arts shared in downtown Chadron"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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By Kerri Rempp<\/strong><\/p>

Discover Northwest Nebraska<\/strong><\/p>

Lara Madison had never visited the state before moving to Northwest Nebraska at her husband\u2019s urging when he retired.<\/p>

With a doctorate in microbiology and a career in biotech, Madison spent her days commuting to Boston for her job, but her husband, Mark Werner, \u201cspun a tail of life on the land back in his native Nebraska,\u201d she writes on her website. With a daughter in tow and another on the way, they settled in Chadron, and before long Madison had a growing repertoire of hobbies that have since evolved to join the landscape of the city\u2019s downtown business district.<\/p>

Madison Quilting and Yarns, located on Second Street, offers longarm quilting, homespun yarn, custom knitting and t-shirt quilts, and classes in knitting, spinning, quilting and needle felting. Madison has cross-stitched since she was a young child, often working on projects during that commute by train on the East Coast.<\/p>

\u201cQuilting and fiber arts are incredibly relaxing,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019d end up at home happy. It\u2019s Zen-like.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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She learned to quilt in graduate school, taking a class with her mom after her grandmother passed away.<\/p>

\u201cMy grandmother was a prolific quilter. I was always inspired by it but we didn\u2019t live near her.\u201d<\/p>

After the relocation to Chadron, where she spent some time teaching at Chadron State College, she taught herself knitting.<\/p>

\u201cThere were many projects that hit the wall,\u201d she said. But once she had it mastered, it led to spinning, which led to weaving. Eventually, she purchased a longarm quilting machine. In addition to her projects, she took in quilting projects for others, starting her fledgling business in the basement of their home in 2015. The location was less than ideal for her customers, who mostly lived in Chadron and Hay Springs, so they began searching for a building to purchase.<\/p>

Last year, despite the pandemic, Madison launched her shop in what had been a vacant storefront on Second Street.<\/p>

\u201cMy business increased 10-fold,\u201d she said. With two dozen quilts awaiting longarm work, Madison is also hosting Sew Days each Tuesday, Sit and Knits the first Saturday of every month and classes in a variety of fiber arts. The Pine Ridge Quilt Guild is also hosting its monthly sew day at the shop, too, and anyone is welcome to join even if they aren\u2019t part of the guild. Madison Quilting and Yarns is turning in to the quilting makerspace she envisioned, she said, where people can work in her space and use her tools.<\/p>

\u201cI want people to make stuff,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s really incredible \u2013 the fiber arts \u2013 community here.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The interaction with other fiber artists in the community is one of Madison\u2019s favorite aspects of the shop, and for those who visit as well.<\/p>

Stephanie Cogdill started attending the weekly Sew Day this summer and enjoys the camaraderie she finds with others regulars.<\/p>

\u201cI used to be desperate to find ways to interact,\u201d Madison said. \u201cIt\u2019s really fun to have them in the shop.\u201d<\/p>

The group exchanges ideas and learns new techniques from each other \u2013 Cogdill even taught a class for Madison. Beyond the interaction, it\u2019s a guaranteed time to dedicate to her craft.<\/p>

\u201cSometimes life gets in the way,\u201d Cogdill said.<\/p>

Having that \u201cmakerspace\u201d feel also keeps Madison challenged. They force her to keep growing as they seek her help or request certain classes, she said. From one-block wonder quilts to convergence quilts, along with the freehand work on the longarm, she never lacks a challenge when it comes to quilting. In other areas of fiber arts, she tries to find one challenge a year to complete. She recently completed a \u201cShave \u2018em and Save \u2018em\u201d challenge that connected fiber artists with shepherds who raise rare breeds of sheep and now carries 12 yarns she spun from that project.<\/p>

Madison Quilting and Yarns also offers supplies for quilters, sewers, spinners and felters. Featured yarns include cashmere, wool and alpaca.<\/p>

\u201cThe shop is going to change with time. I want the customers to tell me what they want me to carry,\u201d Madison said. In the meantime, she can order specific items based upon customer request.<\/p>

\u201cI want to be the shop you go to so you don\u2019t have to drive 100 miles.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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As she continues to add to the shop, in terms of supplies, workspaces and classes, one area she wants to expand is offerings for kids. She offered a painting with wool class during Fur Trade Days, and older kids can enjoy sculpting with wool, in which they create 3D animals. Her triangle looms are also fun and simple for kids to learn weaving, and she\u2019s on the lookout for additional used sewing machines with speed control to be able to teach quilting to the younger kids.<\/p>

Classes in general are important to Madison, as she learned to work with 3D art, double knitting and triangle looms in classes during fiber fairs.<\/p>

\u201cThere\u2019s something about that personal interaction,\u201d Madison said when it comes to learning these techniques. She tries to keep her classes affordable and on the intimate side, even offering to work with a couple of people at a time on a new craft or in an area in which they are struggling. Someday she\u2019d love to see the creation of a fiber guild and may even a fiber arts fair.<\/p>

\u00a0\u201cWe have so many hidden talents in Northwest Nebraska and we need to give them a venue to shine.\u201d<\/p>

Madison Quilting and Yarns is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. \u2013 3 p.m., but Madison said she is often there outside of those hours and if the sign says \u2018open\u2019 to come on in. You can also visit her website at \u00a0https:\/\/madisonquiltingandyarns.com\/<\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kerri Rempp Discover Northwest Nebraska Lara Madison had never visited the state before moving to Northwest Nebraska at her husband\u2019s urging when he retired. With a doctorate in microbiology and a career in biotech, Madison spent her days commuting to Boston for her job, but her husband, Mark Werner, \u201cspun a tail of life […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6444,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/discovernwnebraska.com\/staging\/5924\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/IMG_0285-cropped.jpg?fit=2146%2C976&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgf0HI-1FQ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/discovernwnebraska.com\/staging\/5924\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/discovernwnebraska.com\/staging\/5924\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/discovernwnebraska.com\/staging\/5924\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discovernwnebraska.com\/staging\/5924\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discovernwnebraska.com\/staging\/5924\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6438"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/discovernwnebraska.com\/staging\/5924\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6438\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6448,"href":"https:\/\/discovernwnebraska.com\/staging\/5924\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6438\/revisions\/6448"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discovernwnebraska.com\/staging\/5924\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/discovernwnebraska.com\/staging\/5924\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discovernwnebraska.com\/staging\/5924\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discovernwnebraska.com\/staging\/5924\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}