Fabric of history
|
The event is the inaugural sanctioned event of the Warren County Bicentennial and showcased over 40 quilts with one dating back to 1837.
?The show is a perfect blend to start the Bicentennial in our lovely church sanctuary, completed in 1878. It shows the rich heritage of the DAR, the church and our county,? says Meredith Anne Higgs, DAR regent and Missions Elder of First Presbyterian Church.
Approximately 200 guests strolled down the aisles of the church enjoying the quilts draped across the backs of the church pews bathed in sunlight streaming through the historic stained glass windows.
?This exhibit is interesting because there are so many different quilts and varieties.? said DAR member Bette Myers.
Items included: an early 1900s crazy quilt with embroidered symbols of lions, horses and other items made by Daisy Cleopatra Womack; the Hill Family Log Cabin quilt that hung in the Dearing Place greater than 60 years old; an Irish Chain Design Quilt made in Warren County in the early 1900s; and a circa 1919 Crazy Quilt delicately made from taffetas, satins and velvet materials.
A delicious assortment of cookies was displayed on a lovely quilt variation of Grandmother?s Flower Garden. The coveted cookies were creations made by Patti Nunley, decorated to imitate quilt squares.
A quilt is basically made from three layers of material: a top, a middle filler and a backing. When the layers are stitched together, it becomes quilting. Most of the older quilts are stitched together with very small stitches done by hand. Almost all of the early American quilts were completed out of necessity ? to keep someone warm. Many times quilts were worked on in the evening, sometimes by groups of women. Little did they know they were creating pieces of history and works of art.
?Quilts tell a lesson, a lesson of our heritage ? if we will only listen.? concluded Higgs.