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What or who is Bitty Kinna?

       Bitty Kinna
Etymology: Italian dialect.

1a: A term of endearment meaning “Little Mousie” referring to someone who is always scurrying around, getting into mischief;

1b: Gina’s apt nickname when she was a little girl.

As she says today:

When I decided to open a new, full-service quilt shop in Intercourse, PA, the inevitable question arose:
What to call it? 
I knew I wanted to keep my original logo and the legal name that speaks to what I hope the shop will be: a special place Where Quilters Gather.  But that’s a mouthful.  I needed something more personal, something that could complete the sentence that signals a fabric acquisition adventure for all quilters:  Let’s go to ______! 

I initially resisted putting my name in the title; it just seemed so prideful! But a dear friend and long-time customer insisted that if I meant what I said about wanting this shop to be a special place where quilters of all levels would share in the joy of this craft, that if my mission really was to spread that joy by encouraging new quilters and applauding accomplished quilt artists, then putting my name on the shop was a sign of conviction, not pride.  How could I rebut such loving logic? 

O.K.  So my name would go into the name of the shop.  But seriously:  Gina’s Quilt Shop?  Gina’s Patchwork Place?  It just didn’t work.  Enter Linda, my older sister and dearest friend, who came up with the idea of calling the shop BittyKinna’s, my nickname when I was a little girl. 

I’m not sure that it’s really any better than the alternatives we considered, but it made us smile.  I hope that it will bring a smile to your face, too, when you think
“Let’s go to BittyKinna’s!”