For new Uptown Marysville businesswoman Deb Wheeler, being the person behind the counter at her new shop on South Main Street is a surreal experience.

"I was born and raised in Marysville, and I always remember coming uptown to the five-and-dime as a kid to buy rock candy," she said. "It's really kind of cool to be the one with the business."

Wheeler and her husband, Rich, opened Lonestar Quilting in the old Bank of Marysville building in September, and so far business has been going very well, she said.

"The business has been real steady," Wheeler said. "People have been buying fabric for quilting, and sewing supplies. Marysville didn't have much in the way of selling thread, and we have thread that's a little higher quality than what you would find at someplace like JoAnn Fabrics, so there may be a bit of a sticker shock."As a full-service quilt shop, Lonestar Quilting offers fabrics, thread, notions, quilting books, patterns and quilting services, along with hosting several weekly classes, Wheeler said.

"We want to provide a friendly gathering place where long lasting friendships are formed," she said. "We pride ourselves on having fun and sharing the craft of quilting."

Wheeler said the store offers classes for beginning, intermediate and advanced quilters, and trapunto, a whole-cloth quilting technique that produces a raised surface on the quilt, such as vines, leaves, etc.

"The ladies taking our classes are a good mix, the range from older to younger, and we have the die-hard hand quilters, the die-hard hand-piecers, the whole range," Wheeler said. "Sometimes when ladies take quilting classes, they don't necessarily need the instructions - they just want a place to be around others and share in a community. We really want to give them a place like that."

Wheeler said the idea of opening her own quilt shop is one she's nurtured for the past eight years. Formerly a computer programmer, the opportunity to start her own business with her husband arose when she was laid off earlier this year.

"I had worked in the business world, and after 9/11 I really decided that I wanted to work in a simpler field, away from the way people can act in a corporate setting," she said. "I've thought about this for the last eight years, and I guess it's going to be a baptism by fire."

Lonestar Quilting, LLC is located at 108 S. Main St., and is open for business from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Wheeler said there are still seats open for the store's current classes, and for possible classes in the winter and spring. A class schedule and more information on the store can be found on the Web at www.lonestarquilting.net, or by phone at (937) 644-1234.