BEMIDJI 鈥� Leaving her career as a nurse was not an easy decision for Julie McFarlane. But it was a little easier because her next pursuit was even more of a passion.
鈥淚t was bittersweet,鈥� said McFarlane, who opened her Hooked on Quilts store a few weeks ago at 119 Paul Bunyan Drive NW. 鈥淚 worked really hard for my (registered nursing) degree, and that's what I always wanted to do. So saying I was done was hard, but I was ready to be done, if that makes sense.鈥�
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With the recent closure of JoAnn Fabrics in Bemidji鈥檚 Paul Bunyan Mall, McFarlane saw an opportunity to open Hooked on Quilts to fill a void.
鈥淲ith JoAnn's closing, I thought, 鈥榃here are we going to get our fabric?鈥� McFarlane said. 鈥淚 know I shop a lot online, but there's a lot to be said about feeling and seeing fabric. It looks different online than it does in person. And also, the other thing I miss is community. I think we've lost that and I don't want the younger generations to not know what quilting is.鈥�
Besides fabric, Hooked on Quilts offers quilting kits and tools, patterns, thread, batting and interfacing. McFarlane also teaches classes for kids and quilters of all skill levels, and offers open sewing.
鈥淨uilting has been in my family since I can remember,鈥� McFarlane said. 鈥淢y grandmother would quilt the old-fashioned way with templates and cut them out and piece them together. There were always quilts set up.鈥�
Julie grew up on a dairy farm near Barrett, Minn. She completed her licensed practical nurse training at Northland Community and Technical College in Thief River Falls and worked as an LPN in Thief River until 2007, when she moved to Bemidji. She went back to school at Northwest Technical College, earning her registered nursing degree in 2014.
She worked in a clinic, at Sanford Bemidji Medical Center, was a home care nurse and a hospice nurse. Her last job in the field was RN supervisor at Autumn Hills Assisted Living in Bemidji.
鈥淚 quit that in April of this year to take another journey,鈥� she said.
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McFarlane looks forward to teaching classes and working with other quilters in her new business, especially if they need help finishing a project.
鈥淵ou can Google things, you can watch YouTube, but what if you have a problem?鈥� she said. 鈥淚f you have a question, bring it in. I'm not a professional, but I've done this for a long time. We can figure out how to fix it or how to finish it. I'm there to answer your question or lead you in the right direction.鈥�
The Trust Project
