Connecticut Piecemakers Are Planning A Two-Day Quilting Extravaganza

By Dottie Evans

A quilt-makers guild with 128 active members from Fairfield and New Haven counties will be hosting a two-day lecture and demonstration on Friday, June 3 and Saturday, June 4, at Reed Intermediate School in Newtown.

Program presenter will be Mary Ellen Hopkins, the writer of a dozen books on quilting including It’s OK If You Sit on My Quilt and the Connecting Up series. Ms Hopkin, who lives in the Pacific Palisades, Calif., will travel to Newtown as the featured speaker and guest of the Connecticut Piecemakers Quilt Guild.

 The two-day event will begin with an evening lecture by Ms Hopkins on Friday from 6:30 to 8:30. Then on Saturday there will be an all-day demonstration by Ms Hopkins beginning at 9 am and lasting until 5 pm.

It has been said of Ms Hopkins that her “kindergarten simple” methods have opened the world of quilting to thousands of enthusiasts. By sharing her unique approach known as the “It’s OK Method,” Ms Hopkins puts the art of quilt-making within reach of novices and experienced quilters alike. Both these groups find that busy schedules severely limit the ability to pursue the craft, so time-saving hints are always welcome.

“Mary Ellen considers herself a traditionalist who along the way has discovered some amazing shortcuts,” said Lana Patane, president of the guild.

Ms Patane spoke May 3 at a board luncheon meeting held at her Sandy Hook home. The planning meeting was attended by 14 guild members whose hometowns include Wilton, Trumbull, Stratford, Monroe, Shelton and Southbury.

The $60 cost of a ticket covers the entire two-day event and will help defray the speaker’s travel costs. It will also help fund the guild’s ongoing quilting projects undertaken to benefit various ongoing community organizations.

 “The primary goal of this event,” Ms Patane explained, “is to raise money for the Comfort Quilts we make for use in Paul Newman’s Hole In The Wall Gang camps.”

“In just a few months, we have already made 41 twin-size quilts which will be kept [at the camp located in Ashford] since many children come in and leave on a weekly basis. The quilts must be well made because they are laundered often, and some will need to be replaced,” said Ms Patane.

The Connecticut Piecemakers Quilt Guild meets monthly from September to June at Trumbull Public Library.

The guild was formed in 1981 by a small group of women who lived in Trumbull, who would gather in local homes to share their quilting projects and suggestions.

Originally named The Trumbull Piecemakers, the club has grown to over 120 members who live throughout the state.

Every two years the guild puts on a quilt show with exhibits, classes, lectures, a vendor mall, and a quilt raffle. The next show, “A Spring Shower of Quilts XI,” is planned for April 1-2, 2006, at Seymour Middle School. The raffle quilt will be a new unique quilt, and proceeds from the sale of raffle tickets will benefit The Mercy Learning Center.

Over the years, members have worked together to donate a variety of quilts to several organizations including Life Haven, a homeless shelter in New Haven; the Alpha Program in Bridgeport, the Daughters of Charity in Bridgeport, and Yale Pediatric Hospital, which received quilts for its At Risk Baby Crib Quilt Program.

Depending upon the need, the quilts may be twin bed-size, crib-sized, or made as wall hangings. Each is colorful and unique. The guild is always looking for ways to defray costs of the quilting materials including batting, thread and multi-colored swatches, background or border material. Otherwise, costs must be borne by the members.

 “We are an ubiquitous group coming from a wide geographical area but we all share one focus: to create something beautiful and meaningful that will enhance the quality of other people’s lives,” said programs chairman Barbara Dierolf of Monroe.

The Connecticut Piecemakers Quilt Guild is a non-profit organization that Ms Dierolf says is “pro-active” in that “we seek opportunities to help people.

“At the same time, we are always there for each other,” she added.

“Stitch by stitch, we are reaching out,” agreed publicity chairman JoAnne Fabry, who said that the simple process of sitting down together and working on the quilts is in itself a healing experience.

Anyone with an interest in quilting and learning new techniques is invited to attend the upcoming program. Participants are encouraged to bring any books written by Mary Ellen Hopkins to the lectures, since Ms Hopkins will conduct a book signing session during a program intermission.

Questions concerning the two-day event may be directed to Rita Phillips at 203-838-3427 or Lana Patane at 364-0014. Or visit the web page at www.CTPiecemakers.org.