By GLYNIS HART
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NEWPORT – The Soo-Nipi Quilters Guild took care of business first at their monthly meeting. The gathering of over 50 women in the South Congregational Church discussed the organization’s yearly budget before enjoying a display of quilts members created for charity.
The quilts’ creators held up the new quilts before folding them for shipment; about 17 quilts are going to Quilts of Valor, a national non-profit with a mission of covering service members and veterans with comforting and healing handmade quilts. It began with a dream: a mother whose son was serving in Iraq dreamt of a young soldier in despair, and then of the same soldier wrapped in a quilt. Quilts of Valor are awarded individually through the national organization, but thanks to the New Hampshire state coordinator, Donna Swanson, these quilts will go to New Hampshire veterans and service members.
The quilters also donate quilts to Turning Points Network, a local group that combats domestic violence, sexual violence and stalking. Anne Pankow explained that at first the quilters just made quilts for children in the shelter, or whose families work with the agency.
“They requested we make quilts for women,” she said. “This is the first year we’ve done this.”
The women made 45 quilts for women and children, which are distributed by TLC Family Resource Center in Claremont. The quilts were of different sizes, with some suitable for adult beds and others for cribs or children’s beds. Some were brightly colored, with lots of contrast to appeal to babies, and others were sleepy-time pastels. One child-size quilt had scenes from the first Curious George book.
After those quilts were folded and set aside came Show And Tell, in which the quilters stand up and show the others the projects they are working on. This is a time to admire and commiserate, as each quilt has a story. Some quilts are born of the need to get rid of accumulated scraps from other projects: “You’ll probably recognize prints from past years,” said one woman, holding up a lap blanket.
Others are experimental: Janice Cutting displayed some lap-sized quilts using men’s neckties. Janice Field showed a quilt that wasn’t her favorite, but was someone else’s — the quilt had a lot of varying shades of brown and white. “This is known as the Ugly Quilt,” she said, “but my husband loved it.”
Catee Hubbard explained she was following a challenge of choosing “paint chips using your initials” to select the colors she worked with. Chris Major shared her enthusiasm for Edyta Sitar’s books, which inspired her to do a lot with 10” squares.
Mary Bayerl asked the group for suggestions on what to do with an heirloom quilt that was falling apart. The quilt, by the late Barbara Holden Yeomans, was donated to the guild in fragile condition. After some discussion it was decided to ask the Newport Historical Society if they want it; the consensus was that it was too fragile to repair.
Several local quilters groups merge for this monthly meeting, which includes coffee, tea and delectable homemade treats. Claremont Country Quilters meet at the Borden Center on the first Wednesday of the month (Contact Penny at 542-5774), and the Chicks from the Sticks meet in Lempster. To find a quilting group near you, contact [email protected], or go to: quiltguilds.com/new-hampshire.htm
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