Gerry and her husband, Gary, have opened Cordes Cottage LLC. at 245 W. Halleck St. Gerry believes the “home away from home,” as she calls it, will be a perfect place for quilters to escape for a weekend of nothing but quilting and conversation.
Quilt retreats are commonplace for Gerry and her quilting friends. She began quilting nearly 20 years ago and has spent several weekends at various spots throughout the area, with the sole purpose of nothing but quilting and re-charging the batteries.
“It just gives you a chance to get away from everything,” she said. “There’s no phone calls or kids to interrupt you. You get to quilt with groups and we spend the majority of our time quilting until the wee hours.”
The Cordes’ bought the near 100-year-old house six years ago and it served as a rental property. When the last renters moved out in the fall, Gerry began to pitch the idea of a weekend getaway.
“Gary and I are both retired so he started working with me on fixing up the house,” she said. “I had to prove to him this was going to be successful.”
They spent about two months making renovations to the house, trying to keep as much of the original work in place as possible.
The house can accommodate up to eight people with three beds on the main floor and five more upstairs. Gerry made all the quilts on the beds.
There are also eight individual tables that can be set up for quilters.
But if quilting isn’t your thing, then the house can also provide a place just to escape for a weekend. Gerry will provide a continental breakfast each morning and with the Cordes’ living right next door, they are never too far away if assistance is needed.
“You’ve got people who come in for the College World Series or maybe for other events,” she said.
“The main thing is it provides people a place to stay. We hope to have a mix of people stay here.”
In its early stages, the Cordes Cottage is already drawing reservations for the fall and is attracting interest from many of those in the quilting community.