When on vacation, it’s always fun to find a souvenir that’s a little more exciting than a T-shirt: Whether it’s beer from a brewery, yarn from local spinners and dyers, or books about the region you’re visiting.
And now, downtown Durango’s Stitch is offering a unique way for fiber-arts enthusiasts to commemorate their trip to the area – or for residents who want to incorporate a piece of the region in their quilting and sewing projects.
Stitch, 858 Main Ave., which offers fabrics, notions, patterns and sewing machines as well as classes and sewing machine repairs, is selling a custom Durango panel that includes area attractions surrounding Durango, such as Mesa Verde, Vallecito Reservoir, Purgatory Resort and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Each panel is 100% cotton and measures 36 inches by 44 inches.
LeeAnn Vallejos, who co-owns the shop with her husband, Mark Rosenberg, began working on the panel’s design with local graphic designer and illustrator Kamaljit Punia this past winter. Vallejos said they created the fabric because of customers’ suggestions for it.
“We were receiving repeated requests from tourists and some of our locals for fabric that resembled the area. After enough of those requests came in, I thought we should really explore this idea,” she said. “I put together my ideas and what I wanted it to look like and the size, and then called Kamaljit. I’ve been working with her in a variety of other creative projects for the last 10 or 12 years. So we got together and I told her what my vision was and she executed it perfectly, she’s amazing.”
On the Net
To order a custom Durango panel online and for more information about Stitch, visit https://bit.ly/3P54P8D.
Stitch is located at 858 Main Ave. Its summer hours (through August) are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sunday.
She said the response has been enthusiastic, both from tourists and residents, and because of that, Stitch plans to carry the panels for a while, and will be reordering as needed.
“We have sold a ton, and we’ve only had it available since (July 1),” she said. “We ordered 250 and we thought that was a lot, but we sold a quarter of them.”
And for those who can’t visit to the store in person, Stitch is offering the panels to order through its website.
“It’s a one-of–a-kind and you can’t get it anywhere else,” Vallejos said.
katie@durangoherald.com
