Since she opened A Stitch in Time Quilt Shoppe earlier this year, Nicole Driggs knew what she wanted on its outside wall.

“Because it’s a quilt shop, I wanted a grandma sitting on a porch showing her granddaughter how to quilt, and I wanted to reflect the history of Sequim being a dairy town,” she said.

Since its completion last week at 225 E. Washington St., the shop’s artwork has become a popular attraction in-person and online for countless posts and selfies.

“I was getting constant thumbs up and thanks,” Edmonds muralist Andy Eccleshall said.

“I never get tired of people saying it. It’s the owners who own it, but it’s always good when the public is happy. It’s everyone’s backyard.”

Eccleshall said he’s been in discussion with Driggs for months about her ideas, which led him to connect with Judy Stipe, executive director of the Sequim Museum & Arts, and to schedule a tour of the area.

From that connection, Eccleshall said he was able to make a living history of Sequim’s dairy farming history showing some buildings that are still standing and some of the newer fun additions, such as a hot air balloon, along with the prehistoric, such as the mastodon.

“People were confused by the mastodon,” Eccleshall said. “If you’re from Sequim, you’ll understand it, but if not, then it’ll raise a few questions.”

Stipe said the mural features a number of local histroical landmarks and figures: the Clark Family Farm; Kristofferson Creamery, which became Sequim Creamery; Cline Barn and Farmhouse, McAlmond Historic Home; 1892 Dungeness Schoolhouse; the Steamship Rosalie for passengers and freight; numerous local breeds of cows; grazing mastodon; quilter Shirley Govan Lehman sharing her quilting skills with Tali Stipe Brocato; John Dickenson’s 1937 AUTOCAR, and more livestock.

Andy Eccleshall of Edmonds works on a depiction of a 1937 AUTOCAR last week as part of his mural depicting some elements of Sequim’s dairy farming history. “I was getting constant thumbs up and thanks,” he said. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash

Continuation

Stipe said this mural has helped rekindle interest in the Lehman Court murals with many still seen in and around downtown Sequim.

Port Townsend’s Kim Kopp was commissioned in 1995 to make murals of Sequim’s history and heritage but were taken down in the early 2000s because of a construction project.

The remaining murals were stored in barns by the Olympic View Community Foundation, formerly known as Sequim 2000, for years until volunteers with the Sequim Museum & Arts led efforts to put up many of the murals.

Stipe said the remainder of the project is on hold for funding, but she sees this new mural as a continuation of that vision.

“We needed this right now, and its joy and blessings,” she said. “I can’t tell you how many calls we’ve gotten at the museum. What this does is it explodes and grows in 100 directions.”

Bob Fermanis of Port Angeles admires the new mural at A Stitch in Time Quilt Shoppe last week as artist Andy Eccleshall works to finish a depiction of a 1937 AUTOCAR.

Logistics

Painting started on June 9 and wrapped up on June 25 with Eccleshall working early in the morning the last few days to try and avoid the heat.

As he worked, Driggs jokingly said she wanted to put out lawn chairs to watch him work because it was so fascinating.

“He’s done an amazing job,” she said. “I love that people love it and appreciate it.”

Eccleshall said he’s done murals for 27 years, but that this was his first in Sequim.

The paint (Nova Color) is an acrylic made for murals, he said, and that fading has never been an issue for him.

He said a mural he painted in Tonasket still looks good 10 years later.

Stipe said Eccleshall is a “renaissance man and such a delight to work with.”

“(The mural) is a beautiful thing for all of us who have seen this place grow,” she said.

For more about Eccleshall and his business The Mural Works, Inc., visit Muralworks.com and andyeccleshall.com.

For more about A Stitch in Time, visit astitchintimequiltshoppe.com, and for more on the Sequim Museum & Arts, visit sequimmuseum.com.

Reach Matthew Nash at mnash@sequimgazette.com.

Marla Timmons of Port Angeles takes a photo of the new mural in downtown Sequim. She visited the shop earlier in the day and returned later on June 24 to show her husband Bob Fermanis. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash

Andy Eccleshall of Edmonds said in his 27 years of doing murals, he’s never experienced fading because he uses Nova Paint which is specifically made for murals.

One of Nicole Driggs’ requirements for A Stitch in Time Quilt Shoppe’s mural was to include a grandmother showing her granddaughter how to quilt.

Mural artist Andy Eccleshall said his depiction of a 1937 AUTOCAR could turn some heads as people drive by because he believes they may think it’s real next to East Washington Street. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash

Judy and Bob Stipe stand underneath Andy Eccleshall’s depiction of the Dungeness Schoolhouse. Judy Stipe said Eccleshall is a “renaissance man and such a delight to work with.” “(The mural) is a beautiful thing for all of us who have seen this place grow,” she said. Photo courtesy Katherine Vollenweider