As you wander about the Amish farmlands, you’ll no doubt come across an Amish quilt shop or two. One such shop is Smuckers Quilts. You can find Smuckers just outside New Holland, on the family's picturesque dairy farm.
With the help of her mother-in-law, Rachel Smucker opened her shop about 15 years ago in a small storage barn. She quickly outgrew the barn and moved the shop into the basement of her farmhouse, which occasionally doubles as the church room. When the basement is needed for her district’s church service, Rachel has to clear away her merchandise and replace it with benches.
Rachel’s merchandise includes hundreds of quilts in a variety of patterns, colors and sizes—including king size. You’ll also find spice mats and quillows, which are quilted lap throws that fold up into pillows.
Rachel chooses colors and orders the fabrics for the quilts. The quilting is then done by one of approximately 40 to 50 local Amish and Mennonite ladies who do work for Rachel. She refers to the production of the quilts as "a sharing thing." She went on to say happily "quilting gives a lot of ladies jobs."