How sewing and Barbra Streisand make quilter Corey Follett happy

Corey Follett says his basement quilting studio is his happy place.

"It's just me down here playing with fabric and buying fabric and sewing it together, and seeing what comes out of it on the other end," said Follett.

Follett told CBC Radio's Weekend AM host Heather Barrett that he first tried making a small quilt when he was a little boy.

"I was just fascinated by how little scraps of fabric went together and made something that was quite pretty and colourful, but yet functional," recalled Follett.

He took up quilting again as an adult with his former partner, who learned how to quilt from his grandmothers.  

Quilting as therapy

When the couple moved back to Newfoundland in 2010, Follett set up a sewing space in their home.

It turned out to be a spot of refuge for Follett, after his partner was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

"I needed something to do while I was staying home and looking after him, and I turned to sewing again," said Follett. "What I realized is that's it [quilting] is also really therapeutic."

Portraits in fabric

Follett sells his quilts under the banner the Quilted Stash. He specializes in making and designing non-traditional quilts, including a a huge portrait quilt of Barbra Streisand.

Even though demands for original patterns and commissioned pieces are piling up, Follett said his main priority is pacing himself, so quilting continues to be a fun sideline from his full-time career as a teacher.

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