Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
After hand quilting for over a year on this quilt, the Senior Center Hand Quilters finished this queen-sized quilt belonging to Lynelle Martin. The quilters are Rosalee Lewellen, Melinda Pearson, Gretta Shoenemann, Claude Jones and Karen Carruthers. Not pictured: Jeri Johnson.
Ironically, all of the current Senior Center Hand Quilters picked up the hobby later in life.
Gretta Shoenemann, in her mid-90s, picked up quilting about 20 years ago. She said they did a lot of hand work as a child, but quilting was not one of them. She started quilting after her husband passed away in 2001.
Claude Jones, a regular senior center quilter, began quilting after she retired in 2005.
Each individual stitch is hand-done through every layer, making the back of the quilt design almost as beautiful as the front, according to the quilters.
Most quilts today are done with quilting machines because it is faster, but hand quilting takes much longer. After a year of hand quilting twice a week, these hand quilters have completed a labor of love.
Melinda Pearson said, "I love it. You get into a groove, then you talk, and it becomes a social event."
Lynelle Martin started her quilt by piecing blocks together to form the quilt top. Then, the group of quilters prepared three layers on the quilt frame: the quilt, the batting and the backing.
"We go down and up, and down and up through all three layers," Pearson explained.
Then Martin will take the quilt home and bind it for the finished product.
When the quilters do a hand quilt, the quilt owner provides the materials, supplies and thread, and then makes a donation to the senior center.
The Senior Center Hand Quilters are looking for help, and they will teach you how to hand quilt. The quilting is done at the senior center Monday and Thursday mornings.