Pieces of Love

W

hen a conversation begins 

with someone telling you, “It 

is amazing to me how many 

people come in the shop, 

bearing their souls to us,” you immediately 

realize you’re in the company of people 

who simply get it. Michelle Stewart and 

Kitty Ammons are the superstar sewers 

at Chalkboard Quilts and Monograms 

by Me and Mom. Known as the tiny quilt 

shop in the heart of Destin, this shop is 

a family. Michelle says, “We believe in 

connection and in the fact that what we do 

helps to create those special connections 

between people.” 

Originally from Richmond and 

transplanting to the Destin area in 1981, 

this mother-daughter team is the Me 

and Mom part of this delightful 

little quilt shop. They kid around 

saying their irreplaceable and 

amazing assistant, Theresa 

Abbott, is the “and.” 

Embroidering items 

for the locally-famed 

Kelly family for years, 

Laurie Kelly, was 

one of their very fi rst 

customers. These two 

ladies have embroidered 

and monogrammed 

just about everything 

for the Kelly’s, from 

hay bags and horse 

clothes to customized 

riding apparel and 

clothing for Jodie Kelly 

Dressage of Southern 

Cross Equestrian Center 

in Destin. They also 

embroidered a majority of 

the items for the Kelly-Baxley 

wedding itself. “Mom even did the 

embroidering on a horse blanket for 

the wedding. Jodie had one of her horses as 

an offi cial attendant,” says Michelle. 

The featured double wedding ring quilt 

is a gift for Jodie Kelly and her newlywed 

husband, Josh Baxley. Michelle says, 

“The quilt is a surprise from Mom and 

me. It features a joint monogram. It is 

representative of a joining of two, using 

their colors…navy, pink, and white.” She 

continues, “Jodie asked Josh to wear his Air 

Force dress blues during the ceremony. So, 

we added the navy to incorporate him into 

the quilt.” 

The double wedding ring pattern, 

typically given as a wedding or anniversary 

gift, is iconic in the quilting world, we’re 

told dating back to the 4th century and 

popularized in the United States in the 

1920s. The quilt pattern illustrates a 

merging of two lives and endless love with 

the whirling infi nity bands and colors that 

are symbolic of the couple. These quilts 

have traditionally been widely known 

as being arduous and time-consuming, 

making the fi nished product that much 

more rewarding. However, Michelle has 

a longarm sewing machine at hand that 

helps ease the endeavor. 

Michelle performs the longarming 

on the quilt, and while Kitty normally 

performs the piecing, Michelle felt a close 

and personal connection to this quilt and 

wanted to pour her heart, time, and talent 

into the process. These two sewing 

gems wish the couple a lifetime of 

happiness and want to give them 

an heirloom for their journey 

together.

With a shop motto, 

“Enter as strangers, leave 

as friends,” this mother 

and daughter team of 

Michele Stewart “Me” 

and Kitty Ammons 

“Mom” are fully engaged 

in their work and 

available for your own 

quilting, embroidery, and 

monogramming needs. 

Monograms by Me and 

Mom offers 100 percent 

customizable quilting. 

All of their services are 

performed in-house, 

locally. Monograms by Me 

and Mom and Chalkboard 

Quilts are open Tuesday-

Friday from 9:00-5:00. Their 

phone number is (850) 424-6916. 

story by

 Kimberley Sabens 

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