Quilts, Etc by Marguerite

Who would have thought you could find a quilt shop in the middle of a desert? Entering Quilts, Etc by Marguerite is like finding a colorful and refreshing oasis on a hot day. Marguerite Chanslor worked part time at a quilt shop in Lajitas, Texas for 14 years before opening her own quilt shop in Terlingua, Texas 10 years ago. Actually, the communities of Study Butte and Terlingua are intertwined with a population of 259 people and is located in the Chihuahuan Desert west of Big Bend National Park.

A four piece Mexican Band welcomed us to the quilt shop and majestic Bee Mountain stood guard to the rear. Quilts were displayed on the porch along with a sign warning people to keep their dogs off the porch. (Marguerite later told us she didn’t want dogs peeing on her quilts.) Once inside we were overwhelmed by the numerous quilts hanging on walls and stacked in piles. She also had many other quilted items - place mats, pot holders, table runners, tote bags, rugs, etc.

Marguerite hand crafts many of the items and she also sells for ten other women at present. There were paintings and painted postcards from a 93 year old woman who had a stroke and had to switch to painting with her left hand. And there were quilts from women in Boquillas, Mexico.

For two hundred years the people of the Big Bend region and people form Boquillas lived in harmony and crossed the Rio Grande River to work for and help each other. In 2000 we crossed the border by row boat and visited Boquillas and fell in love with the town and the people. In 2002 the federal government decided to close the border leaving the people separated. Now citizens of Boquillas can not cross the border to visit their families in Texas and the US citizens can not cross the border and buy the Mexican products and eat in their restaurants. This is devastating to the Mexicans who lost their source of income and are isolated from both Mexico and Texas.

Marguerite has furnished fabric to the women of Boquillas and taught them how to make quilts and even finished quilts for them. She sells them in her quilt shop and sends the money over the border so they can buy food for their families. Marguerite also collects money donations for those people. Since there is no border crossing how do the supplies, quilts and money get across the border? Ladies and gentlemen - that is a secret!

If you are a quilter or want-to-be quilter Marguerite will answer all your questions and look for quilt catalogs and patterns to give you. And she is a one-woman Chamber of Commerce, Better Business Bureau and tour guide rolled into one.

If you are ever in the Big Bend National Park area or Study Butte / Terlingua, stop at Quilts, Etc by Marguerite. As I wrote earlier, Marguerite and her business are a refreshing and colorful oasis in the middle of the desert.