Quilting show next Saturday
KEISTERVILLE – More than 70 quilts, quilt tops and quilt-related craft items will be on display Saturday, Oct. 9 at the Keisterville Union Church when the Proverbs 31 Quilt Guild holds it first quilt show. The show will feature quilts made by the members of the guild. The show will run Saturday from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., with lunch items available for sale. Admission is free and there will be door prizes.
The guild was formed in February 1999 for local quilters to put their faith into action.
“The purpose of the guild is to preserve the art of quilting while providing community service,” said guild president Lois Smoley of Keisterville.
The guild is actively involved in Project Linus, providing quilts for children who are seriously ill or in need. It has also used quilts to raise funds for the Brownsville Free Public Library and for a family in Elco that had to travel out-of-state regularly for their children to undergo medical treatments.
The guild takes it name from the Old Testament Book of Proverbs which describes the virtuous woman as one who takes care of her household, working tirelessly, including working with fabric and making bed coverings as described in the King James version:
31:13 “She seeketh wool and flax and worketh willingly with her hands.”
And 31:22: “She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.”
“If the Proverbs 31 woman can find time to quilt, so can we,” Smoley said, quoting the saying on a guild T-shirt.
Smoley has been finding time to quilt for more than 20 years, saying her mother was her inspiration.
“I’m a fourth generation quilter and I wanted to continue the tradition in our family. I asked my mother to teach me to quilt and bake bread. She was successful in teaching me to quilt,” Smoley said.
One of the quilts in the show is the last quilt that Smoley’s mother pieced, which Smoley hand-quilted for her.
Kathy Opel of Uniontown will be demonstrating quilting techniques during the show. She has been quilting 14 years and has been teaching others to quilt at her home for the past five years. She makes 12 to 15 quilt tops a year.
“Our missionary society at church was to make a quilt and I was the only one who had any knowledge of it because I sat at my mother’s knee while she quilted,” Opel said. “I love to create and I consider it a real art. Some people call it a craft, but I really think quilting is an art. I love all aspects of it.”
Nancy Yakopovich of Malden started quilting about 10 years ago when a friend asked her to help with a quilt she was making. She said she was soon hooked on quilt making.
Yakopovich said she enjoys learning new ways to make old patterns.
“I like all the up and coming things. When there is a new and innovative way of doing things, I like doing that,” Yakopovich said.
Clemmie Walters began quilting just over a year ago when she joined the guild, though she had sewn clothing for years. She said she had been interested in quilting in the past, but couldn’t get the hang of it.
“The lady I bought my house off of, I used to stay with her when she was sick and she used to quilt, but I could never get the needle through,” Walters said.
Like Walters, Ellie Rice of LaBelle has sewn clothing most of her life, but picked up quilting about 10 years ago.
“It relaxes me. I love to hand-quilt, though I’m starting to get along with machines,” Rice said.
Marie Lunden of Brownsville said her sister in Georgia spurred her to learn how to quilt. “She picked it up by watching it on TV. I saw some of the things she had done and I thought if she can do it, I can do it,” Lunden said.
The guild always welcomes new members, regardless of prior quilting experience or ability. The guild meets the third Saturday of each month at 9 a.m. at the Keisterville Union Church, opening each session with a short Bible study. For more information, contact Smoley at 724-430-9821 or Opel at 724-437-0422.