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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1/24/17 6:59 PM