Life is Good in Woodbine

Sep 15

Woodbine, Iowa (pop. 1,459) is our featured rural community this week. Woodbine is a community known for working together to get important — and sometimes very ambitious — community projects done. The result is a thriving small town that has made huge progress in revitalizing both its downtown and the community as a whole. We'll be sharing stories throughout the week of some local leaders and business owners who are making an impact in the community. Today's guest blog post is from Teresa Coenen of Stitchin’ Tree, a local Makerspace for quilters.

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I am Teresa Coenen. I am a quilt designer and own a Makerspace in downtown Woodbine. I’ve known my husband, Randy, since high school. We farm the family farm and recently built a home in town, ready for semi-retirement. We have three children and six grandchildren who all attend school here in Woodbine. Randy and I both come from family farms, and can’t imagine living or raising a family anywhere else.

After high school, I pursued a degree in education and became a teacher, then school administrator. I retired early from education to pursue my hobby and passion – quilting. I design quilts that tell a story. Many of my quilts are Christian quilts, and I am fortunate to have quilters around the world that quilt with me “virtually.” Long before the COVID pandemic, I led virtual quilt alongs and Zoom quilting classes. My besties from high school used to call me Tree, so when I was searching for a name for my shop 14 years ago, I landed on Stitchin’ Tree.

Today, my Makerspace is open to the public. Quilters come to work on their own projects or follow along with me as I work on mine. We collaborate with an Airbnb, Mitzi’s Place, just down the street, to offer quilt retreats for small groups. Quilters can shop online, or pop in to the Makerspace to pick up our latest projects or kits.

I love working and living in Woodbine. Our town offers all that we need to live, work, and recreate with our friends and family. My shop is right smack dab in the middle of our historic downtown Main Street, and I can enjoy looking at our beautiful buildings and brick streets every day. Our town is filled with young families, and I enjoy teaching the little ones how to sew and quilt. Life is good in Woodbine.