STONINGTON — Kyra Alex, owner of the beloved Lily’s Café, has a quilty side to her that many aren’t aware of.

Alex has been creating handmade quilts for 15 years.

Not long after moving to Stonington, she took an adult education quilting class taught by Nancy Knowlton.

The class lit a fire in her.

“I built probably 50 quilts that year,” Alex said. “I went nuts.”

And, all of those first-year quilts are gone.

“I gave them all away,” she said, describing them as “a lot of quilt in a day patterns, simple stuff.”

Today, Alex is traveling around the country to attend quilting workshops and hosting them herself in Stonington.

“It’s just become a really big part of my life,” Alex said.

To that end, Alex has organized an Antiques, Fine Crafts & Cool Stuff at Edgewood Farm in Deer Isle on Sunday, July 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Live music, food and coffee will be available in addition to antiques and a number of vendors, including Alewives Quilts and Fabrics and Eastman Textiles.

“We’re really hoping this will be a yearly event,” Alex said.

There will be quilts, both new and antique at the show, but Alex herself will just be selling antiques and food.

Edgewood Farm is on Pressey Village Road, which is off Route 15. There is plenty of parking and admission is $5.

“Functionality” and “coziness” are the main attractions that quilts hold for Alex.

In recent years, quilting has undergone a transformation and that may be partly what is driving Alex’s devotion to the craft.

When Alex began quilting, old-fashioned calico prints in muted colors dominated the fabric offerings and traditional quilting techniques were prescribed.

But, since then a movement called modern quilting has taken hold.

Alex said, “It really has opened it to a lot more people. It feels like there’s a never-ending abundance of ways you can do it.”

“The fabric lines are outrageous now,” Alex said. “Everything’s bright now. I think it’s ensured the longevity of quilt shops.”

Alex described the movement as “taking traditional design and liberating the way you make it.”

Alex created a basket quilt, which she described as “an age-old pattern,” but she made purses instead of baskets and said she did the quilt “in a free form way.”

An organization called the Modern Quilt Guild described the movement this way:

“Modern quilters resist the imposition of hard and fast rules for making a quilt. We pick and choose traditional techniques and methods that work for us and at the same time feel free to redefine or reinvent what is possible and allowable in making quilts.”

Anything goes in Alex’s quilts, including old clothes.

“I love to cut up old clothes,” she said. “I love to mix fabrics up.”

Linen, corduroy and velvet have all made their way into her quilts.

In addition to quilts, Alex is also making simple tunic style dresses, handbags and wallets. She won’t be selling any quilts at the antique show. But she will have antiques and food for sale.

For those interested in learning more about the modern quilting movement, two quilting workshops are coming up in Stonington.

Alex is teaching a workshop called Fire & Ice the weekend of Aug. 7-8 at Lily’s Café.

“Starting with monochromatic color, we slash into them randomly to add bursts of color and design,” a workshop description states.

There will be another weekend quilt workshop at Lily’s Friday-Sunday, Sept. 21-23. That workshop will be taught by Tonye Belinda Phillips, a well-known Sister’s Oregon quilter and author of “Hand Appliqued Quilts, Whimsical Designs and Simple Techniques.”

“The focus of this creative, liberating workshop will be the use of unusual colors, shapes and textures to build your dream houses with an emphasis on letting yourself go and not over thinking the process.”

To learn more about the antiques and craft fair and quilt workshops, e-mail Alex at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 367-5936.

Antiques, Fine Crafts & Cool Stuff

Where: Edgewood Farm, Deer Isle

When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, July 22

Contact: 367-5936, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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