Merry Marmot standing next to her quilt designs.
“Quilt-making is a labor of love. Time, patience and perseverance are all woven into the quilt as it is made,” says Mary Turney. Photo: John Barkiple.
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Merry Marmot Designs: DIY Festival Vintage Vendor

By
July 31, 2024

Arts

The 16th Annual Craft Lake City DIY Festival Presented By Harmons will feature over 500 local creatives this year, from artisans, vintage vendors and craft foodies to youth entrepreneurs, STEM exhibitors and performers. Get a taste of what’s coming to the Utah State Fairpark this August in the following pages and get tickets to experience it yourself at craftlakecity.com. With a dog park, VIP lounge, a national headlining musician and brand-new DIY Fest After Dark programming, this year’s festival is not to be missed!

Mary Turney has been making vintage quilts for the last four years, and sewing since she was 10 years old. Her mother-daughter business, Merry Marmot Designs, will officially launch at this year’s DIY Fest. This vintage vendor hunts for thrift store quilts to upcycle what is already available.

“As an educator, I love learning, especially new things,” Mary Turney says. Photo: John Barkiple.

“Quilt-making is a labor of love. Time, patience and perseverance are all woven into the quilt as it is made,” Turney says. “We are taking beautiful creations that have been cast aside and breathing new life into them.” Merry Marmot Designs turns vintage quilts into other heirlooms such as clothing and bags. Turney honors the effort, skill and artistry of the original quilt-maker by maintaining the quilt’s integrity. “Thrifting has been an activity my girls and I have enjoyed doing together for years. Estate sales, rummage sales and thrift shops all hold treasures waiting to be rediscovered, repurposed and used again,” she says. “An added bonus of this new venture is doing it with my daughter [Midge Reschke]. Creating and sewing with her are special days I treasure.”

Turney has a background in education, which includes teaching middle school science, sewing classes, special education and homeschooling. “As an educator, I love learning, especially new things,” she says, which has led to taking quilting classes, watching quilting videos on YouTube and going to quilting conventions. Follow @merrymarmotdesigns on Instagram to catch a glimpse of the items they will be offering at this year’s DIY Fest.

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