Creative Quilting Up North

Lynette Jelle has been interested in quilting for about ten years and has sewn all her life. She is 62 years old and is the mother of two. Her kids have since moved out but she always has grandkids stopping over or staying the night! She is married to Greg Jelle and lives three miles north of Grygla. Lynette works at Digi-Key, in Thief River Falls, as an accounts receivable supervisor and was the previous owner of the Grygla Hartz store, which is now the Grain Bin Café. 

Rochelle Smeby, who also lives near Grygla, met Lynette when she moved here from Roseau; she also used to work at the Hartz store. Rochelle has been involved with quilting for about 6 years. She is 57 years old and is married to Lowell Smeby. They have two kids, who each have kids of their own. Rochelle is also employed at Digi-Key and works in the international accounts receivable department.

Janie Skoien, the sister of Lynette Jelle, has been interested in quilting for about 4 years now. She has two daughters who both have moved out. Janie currently lives in New York Mills and teaches children with EBT issues. Janie is 55 years old and occasionally comes up to visit her sisters and mom. 

The three were joined together by their love for quilting. The idea of starting a business and making some extra cash off of their hobbies sounded like a great idea to them. It came about when they wanted to make more stuff than they could keep. It took some planning but soon all of the details were worked out and all that was left was to come up with a name. “Janie actually came up with the name after we had agreed on the idea of starting a business,” says Lynette Jelle in an interview last week. “She came up with the name ‘Creative Quilting Up North’ and no one seemed to disagree!”

Everyone has their own specific roles in the business and the quilt making process. They all get together and come up with ideas and buy patterns to start a new quilt or table runner. Rochelle is the one who normally plans the quilts colors and buys the fabrics and comes up with new ideas. Lynette lays out the scraps of fabric to plan the quilt and does most of the sewing. Janie finishes most of the quilts and does a lot of the quilting and final stitching. They all agreed that to get together and drink coffee and sew is very therapeutic and relaxing!

The three quilters try to get together as often as they can, which is usually over the summer when Janie isn’t working. Often times, they meet at Lynette’s place in her basement. Creative Quilting Up North has had quilts on display, for sale, at the Grain Bin Café in Grygla, and people can special order quilts at anytime. The trio plans to attend some craft shows this summer as their first year debuting the new business. Handmade items include quilts, pot holders, pillow cases, table runners, and everything in between!