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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

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1 • Wednesday, September 20, 2017 - The Independent-Register

Trio takes quilting business to storefront By Ryan Broege EDITOR

The Sassy Farm Chicks Quilt Company became the newest business to open its doors in downtown Orfordville on Sept. 16. The women behind the new arrival: Tina Wellnitz, of Orfordville, quilter; Angie Wellnitz, of Orfordville, director of marketing and social media; and Rhonda Streich, of Forreston, Ill., quilter. The business resides in the building formerly occupied by the public library, at 203 W. Beloit St. The new venture’s trade is specifically longarm quilting; the star of the show is a Gammill Statler Stitcher machine, a sizable but sleek machine that allows the quilting team to finish quilt tops in hours, instead of days as in a bygone era, and with a higher degree of precision and quality. The trio had been operating a quilting business together for four years, and reportedly had no real plans on opening a storefront until Orfordville’s economic development committee held an open house in late May. At that meeting, Streich and

Wellnitz heard “lots of encouragement” about their business’s prospects, and saw evidence of the village’s commitment to bolstering economic development, especially in downtown Orfordville. About five months later, discussions became a reality, and the shop is up and running. Streich credited Angie Wellnitz for the company’s growth. “She keeps us on track,” Streich said. “She has lots of good ideas for us, too.” Tina Wellnitz said she was looking forward to potentially reaching some new people who have not been involved with quilting before. Streich believes the group is right in their element. “We’re going to have fun with this,” she said. The trio plans to offer classes on quilting, and possibly in other methods, as well. The first of these classes is next Saturday, Sept. 23, at 9 a.m. The class costs 10 dollars, and those who enroll will learn how to sew their own pumpkin wall hanging, just in time for fall. Fabric requirements are available, and “Sassy Farm Chicks” will quilt your handiwork for 25 dollars.

COURTESY PHOTO Brodhead Independent-Register

Quilters Rhonda Streich and Tina Welnitz along with Director of Marketing and Social Media Angie Wellnitz make up the “Sassy Farm Chicks Quilt Company,” which recently opened a storefront on Sept. 16 in downtown Orfordville, at 203 W. Beloit St.

YOU ARE INVITED TO A SCREENING OF THE HBO DOCUMENTARY

Quilters Rhonda Streich explains the workings of the Sassy Farm Chicks Quilt Company’s Gammill Statler Stitcher Machine, a computerized longarm quilting machine that is capable of sewing together a quilt top, quilt batting and quilt backing into a finished quilt.

KATHY ROTH PHOTO Brodhead Independent-Register

Not to be denied

Senior Zoe Rathsack launches the ball through the outstretched fingers of two Evansville blockers. Turn to pages 4 and 6 for more coverage of Panther volleyball.

“WARNING THIS DRUG MAY KILL YOU”

THIS DOCUMENTARY EXAMINES A TERRIFYING EPIDEMIC THAT IS DEVASTING COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY