ROWLESBURG — Sisters Helen Edmunds and Vickie Jackson like to quilt.
The two master quilters sell their quilts to benefit the Szilagyi Center.
Edmunds and Jackson buy all the materials for their quilting projects. Last year, they made $6,000.30 from their sales and donated it to the center.
Edmunds said they started quilting in 2011 with the intention to donate whatever they made. She said the first year they raised $985.
Jackson said they are now working on a queen-sized quilt. Each corner of the quilt will feature a seasonal West Virginia scene.
“There is a camaraderie among quilters,” Jackson said. “Think about those pioneer women who would get together and work on quilts. For some, it was their only social outlook.”
Edmunds agreed.
“I shared some fabric with a lady. Now she is my best friend,” she said.
Jackson said not everything goes smoothly when you quilt.
“You have to have the patience of Job,” she said, referring to a man in the Old Testament of the Bible who was known for his patience. “We had to take apart and fix a quilt. It took 75 hours.”
Edmunds said she has a quilt she has been working on and off on for eight or 10 years.
“I’m quilting it. It’s all hand-pieced and hand-sewn. It has fabric folding in each square, and in the center of each folding is a button.”
Edmunds said they do not offer quilting classes.
“If someone wants to learn, they can come in. We have machines, so work can be done from here,” she said. The quilters meet from 1-4 p.m. Tuesdays at the center.
If you would like to buy a quilt, Community Quilters is on the third floor of the Szilagyi Center in Rowlesburg. Phone: 304-568-2776.
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