As the owner of Whiffle Tree Quilts, a shop stocking fabric and notions at 10261 S. De Anza Blvd., Horkey tries to have something in stock for quilters of all ages—even those who may not be old enough to reach the pedal of a sewing machine. After all, that's how she started.

"I've been a quilter for 22 years," Horkey says. "My grandmother was a seamstress in Hollywood, and my mother was a home-economics teacher." Even with such a background, she didn't really pick up quilting until she was in her 20s and was looking for something to distract her from an unpleasant working experience. "I like doing something with my hands. I don't sit still well," she says.

Quilting remained a hobby until about 12 years ago, when she and a partner bought Whiffle Tree, which has been a Cupertino institution for 37 years.

A whiffle tree is part of a harness that secures a horse to a cart, an example of which hangs in the store and is used to display a quilt.

Horkey's experience in retail, including stints in area fabric stores, prepared her for the challenge that came when her partner retired five years later and needed to sell her share of the store. "It's not a hobby, it's my job," Horkey says. She lives in Los Altos, three miles from the store.

Horkey attended San José State University where she earned a degree in fashion merchandising and a minor in business, and she uses that knowledge to keep the craft afloat in Cupertino, an area not exactly known for its quilting prowess.

"We're a dedicated quilt store, but people don't expect to see something like that in this area," she says. "A lot of my customers are in technology. We'll get calls from such-and-such hotel from someone who's in town for [Hewlett-Packard]. They'll want to take a class while they're here, so they can get their fix."

For high-tech types who wander into Whiffle Tree with little experience, Horkey keeps the shop's calendar packed with club meetings and classes that address any quilter's whimsy. Workshops range from applique to quilting by hand to beginner's classes, which characterize the summer camps available for kids. Young participants bring their own sewing machines and receive fabric to stitch together an easy block pattern, such as Log Cabin.

Horkey says she always tries to have something for kids on the class schedule, which she will reset in September. She teaches some classes herself but brings in teachers for others. She always ensures that the employees who walk Whiffle Tree's floor are quilters.

After all, it does take some guidance to get started. Horkey's three sons—ages 16, 14 and 4—have all tried their hands at quilting due to their mother's insistence. The oldest two have completed "token" quilts, but the youngest has gotten a little more into it. "My littlest one helps me with the pedal," she says.

Whiffle Tree Quilts is located at 10261 S. De Anza Blvd. in Cupertino. For more information or a class schedule, call 408.255.5270 or visit www.whiffletreequilts.com.