New Business Profile: Full of Scrap Quilts

Sewing has been around for 20,000 years. Archaeologists discovered needles made of bone, dating back to the Ice Age, that were used to sew together skins and furs.
Sewing has come a long way in the past 20 millenniums. But in our current era of fast-churning technological advancement, it would be easy to assume that sewing is now outdated. It's not.
Once a necessity to protect our ancestors from the elements, sewing has burgeoned into a hobby juggernaut that contributes over $5 billion to the American economy (Forbes Inc.).
The sewing community is always adapting, and attracting new generations of sewists. It is now an art form with millions of enthusiasts and devoted followers, and has become a passion for many.
Tammy Maher is one of the passionate.
Maher grew up in Concordia, but for the past 30 years she and her husband, Roger, lived in various communities, including Abilene, Clyde, and Barnard.
They moved back to Concordia about a year ago, and officially opened their store - Full Of Scrap Quilts - on February 1, 2021.
The Mahers previously had quilt shops in Abilene and Salina. Tammy has been in love with sewing her whole life. "I've been doing it ever since I was a girl. I did a lot of craft shows in the 1980s, displaying my quilts."
Surprisingly, Tammy is basically self-taught. "I read a lot of books, and watched some YouTube videos. I only took a couple of classes early on."
Maher has an interesting answer when asked why she loves to sew: "It's cheaper than therapy!" she said with a laugh. "It calms me. I love the creative part of it. You can take all these little pieces of fabric and sew them together and make something really beautiful."
Located at the corner of Seventh and Lincoln Streets, Full Of Scrap Quilts has all the space Maher wanted. The four rooms hold over 6000 bolts of cloth - including 100% cotton, batiks, and 108-inch-wide backing, batting, patterns, notions, and thread. "We carry hand-quilting thread," Maher said. "Not very many shops have that."
Taking up most of the space in one of the rooms is a Nolting 24-Pro Long Arm Quilting Machine on a 14-foot frame. "We offer machine quilting, and we also make quilts and T-shirt quilts."
Maher said they will be opening the building on the north side of the alley soon, and will use that space for a classroom, her shipping department, and office.
Maher teaches classes on sewing and quilt making, and has also lined up several out-of-town instructors. "We're going full guns here," she said proudly. "I finally have the room to do what I want. So come on down and see me!"
Contact Maher at her shop 785-818-5000. Business hours are Tuesday-thru-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The shop is closed on Sundays and Mondays.
You can also visit their website, fullofscrapquilts.com.