(Photo above:) Quilts for the children of Barium Springs Presbyterian Home for Children.

Article by M.J. Vieweg

Some photos are courtesy of the Patchwork Squares Quilt Group archives. Additional photos courtesy of MJ Vieweg, Mary Benson, and Wilma Gilbert with special thanks. 

“Piecin’s a quilt like livin’ a life… The Lord sends us the pieces, but we can cut ‘em out and put ‘em together pretty much to suit ourselves”- Eliza Calvert Hall 

Topsail Island, NC - Every other Wednesday morning, cars pull into the parking lot at Sneads Ferry Presbyterian Church and a cadre of women alight.  Brought together by a love of fellowship and fabric, the members of the Patchwork Squares Quilting Group are meeting for their regular “Wednesday All-Day Quilt.”

(Above)-Mary Benson shares an heirloom quilt.

So precious to them is this time spent here, that some of the women’s calendars have alternate Wednesdays crossed out and they try not to schedule doctor or dentist appointments for those days.  When daytime obligations can’t be avoided, there is a contingent of Patchwork Squares quilters that meet at night.

The group began as a handful of women learning to quilt from a woman named Andrea Barrett.  At the time, Andrea had been quilting since 1986 and was newly retired.  Circumstances required her to go back to work; however, her quilting protégés extracted the promise that when she retired for good she would start a quilting group.  In April of 2002, Andrea hosted the first official meeting of the group in her Sneads Ferry home.  By then, the number of women interested in learning the craft had expanded to sixteen.

 
Soon enough, it was time to find a regular meeting location, a place that could accommodate the growing assembly.  Andrea turned to her church with the request that they meet there, and the quilters have become an important part in the life of the Sneads Ferry Presbyterian Church ever since.

The group, now with nearly twenty-five members, has all level of quilters.  From beginners—who didn’t even own a sewing machine—to true fiber artists, such as Elaine Scott (who, early on, taught the women along with Andrea) and her sister Lois Sutton, both of North Topsail, both skilled in such techniques as beading and dying fabric.

“Quilting is a classic American craft,” states Andrea.  “And I think that is why it has such a broad appeal.”

Quilting for Children and Katrina Victims

Barium Springs Home for Children is a Presbyterian youth home and daycare in Statesville, North Carolina.  Through newsletters and funding appeals, Andrea was familiar with the Barium Springs home.  She was inspired when she heard of someone making quilts for children in similar circumstances.  Andrea approached the newly formed quilt group with the idea of a mission making quilts for the children of Barium Springs, in addition to their personal projects.

Ten months after the Patchwork Squares quilters embraced the idea, they had completed fifty-seven quilts for the children.  More quilts than there were kids at the home, at the time.  “Nearly all of these quilts were made by novice quilters,” said Andrea.  “How we got so many women quilting, well, is astounding to me—most had not quilted before in their whole lives.  I really feel (the group) was meant to be.”

Since 2003, Patchwork Squares has made 320 quilts for the children at Barium Springs.  Volunteers from the group drive to Statesville twice a year to deliver them, combining the trip with shopping at a gigantic fabric warehouse in Gastonia.

(Above) - A carload of quilts for the children.

When volunteers from the Topsail and Sneads Ferry Presbyterian churches headed to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi in November 2007 to help with the reconstruction efforts after Hurricane Katrina, the Patchwork Squares sent along quilts made for the residents of that devastated area.

The labels attached to these quilts read:

  “Each stitch was placed with love
   And each knot tied with a prayer
   That our Heavenly Father will
   Continue to keep you in his care.” 

Quilt Sundays

Twice a year, before delivering quilts to the children of Barium Springs, the Patchwork Squares quilters hang the quilts in the main corridor at Sneads Ferry Presbyterian Church.  The regular service on those days includes recognition of the quilters and their mission.

Right:  The Reverand Tim Croft, wearing a quilted clerical stole, prepares to dedicate the quilts.

“Imagine being an abused and abandoned child and being given a chance to select your very own quilt to keep and have forever, lovingly made by someone you will never know,” suggests the Reverend Tim Croft, pastor of Sneads Ferry Presbyterian Church. “The quilters that meet at our church make us proud.  The two quilt dedication services we hold every year are special moments of love shared and celebrated.”

Most every Sunday, Croft wears a quilted clerical stole made of vibrant batik fabric.  Every member of Patchwork Squares contributed to the piece by making a block or hand-quilting the stole.

Rev. Croft sees the Patchwork Squares Quilters as “a very happy group.  The members enjoy each other’s company and have immense fun together doing nice things for people.”  He is usually in his office working on his sermon when the quilters meet. “I love hearing the hilarity and happiness booming down the hall on Wednesdays!”

“Friendship, Good Times, and Caring Sisters”

“I didn’t quilt when I joined the evening quilt group,” says North Topsail resident and novice quilter, Jan Ladd.  “And it had been years since I had done any sewing other than to mend a seam or hem a garment.  I watched and learned the language (of quilting) but still felt intimidated about sewing something as beautiful as what I had seen, but I decided to try.  As I completed one step and another, there was always someone in the group who was working on the next step so that I could see how it was done.  I learned so much from the first quilt that I made.”

Jan credits Andrea and another experienced quilter, Wilma Gilbert, in particular with teaching her the craft.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marilyn Roberts, another of the group’s newer members, says, “Learning to quilt is a real challenge to me as I haven’t sewn in years.  But I’ve always wanted to try and everyone is so patient about helping me learn.”

Though she’s been sewing for sixty years, Shirley Hodgen of Sneads Ferry has only been quilting since she joined the group three-and-a-half years ago.  “It has been a special therapy for me,” she says, about her ‘new’ hobby.  “Making a quilt for a child to cuddle up in makes me feel fulfilled.”

 “Show and Tell” is the high point of the Wednesday meetings.  Those in attendance reveal their finished quilts or a work-in-progress.  Some of the novice quilters discover they have an eye for color, and others find a talent for precise stitching.

The encouragement among the women goes beyond sharing sewing tips, or new quilt patterns,” Andrea says.  “We act as cheerleaders for each other.”

(Left)-The quilt group's president, Andrea Barrett, presents Rev. Croft with the stole.

True friendships have bloomed among all the women coming together twice a month.  To Martha Ward of Surf City, the quilt group means “friendship, good times, and caring sisters.”

Mary Benson, from Sneads Ferry, agrees.  “The Patchwork Squares ladies are some of the finest people around.  You can always count on them for anything.”

Delora Ward started quilting when she joined the group in 2001.  The first quilt she completed has a label that commemorates not only the quilt but her quilting group as well.  It reads in part:  “ .  .  . cut and pieced with the advice, instruction, and support of my quilting friends in Patchwork Squares.”

 

Quilting Glossary

Binding:  Strip of fabric running around the quilt to secure edges.

(Right) - Patchwork Squares Quilters make a delivery to Barium Springs.

Block:  The cloth units, usually square, that when sewed together make a quilt.

Batting:  A cotton or polyester filler, the inside layer of a quilt.

Fat-quarter:  A ¼ cut of fabric cut about 18” X 22”

Quilt Label:  A label placed on the back of quilt by the quilter, usually as a minimum marking the date the quilt was finished and the quilter’s name.

Rotary Cutter:  Fabric cutting tool that resembles a pizza cutter.

Sandwich:  The quilt top, middle batting, and backing of quilt layered together.

Squaring a Block:  Trimming edges of a block to insure correct size and evenness.

For more information about the Patchwork Squares Quilters contact the president Andrea Barrett at 910-327-2586.

Local writer and novice quilter MJ VIEWEG lives in Sneads Ferry, North Carolina.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Samples of some of the beautiful quilts made by the Patchwork Squares Quilt Group.