Newtown Square Library is Delighted to Host An Evening with the Main Line Quilters!

Crave Some High Touch Instead of High Tech…?

Miss the Skills Your Grandmother Knew?

On Wednesday, February 27th at 7pm, the Friends of the Newtown Square Library can help you with that!  The Friends will be delighted to host an event with some truly talented and charitable artisans --  The Main Line Quilters!

Historically, quilting was a skill born of necessity.  Clothes were worn on farms until they fell apart…but if there was any function left in an item, you recycled it!  Shredded adult clothes became shirts and pants for children, and those remnants would be carefully stitched together and stuffed with cotton batting, wool, or whatever was available.  The end results were what museums sometimes now call “primitive” or “folk art.”  In time, quilts were no longer solely utilitarian.  They became decorative heirlooms that warmly covered beds in the days before central heat, and were passed down from generation to generation.

Over time, the monetary value of this art form has increased, and entire collections of precious quilts and coverlets are housed and displayed in places like the American Folk Art Museum in New York (http://www.folkartmuseum.org/quilts).

The art of quilting may be endangered, but there are still people who need and love handmade quilts – and the Main Line Quilters are there to help them in many ways.  Just one of their charitable efforts this year is providing warmth and a sense of home for every bedroom in a Habitat for Humanity home sponsored by Villanova University.  Some of their other altruistic efforts include the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Units at Crozier-Chester Medical Center and Delaware County Memorial Hospital, the Chester County Center for Domestic Violence, and the Baby Bureau (which provides layettes for needy first-time mothers).  Amazingly, this generous group of 35 women contributed over 100 quilts to these worthy causes in 2012 alone!  Why do they do it?  How did they learn?  Come join us on February 27th at 7pm, and meet Deb Meneely, Betty Dietz, Linda LaPointe, Debbie Peyton, and other great members of the Main Line Quilters!

These talented women will put on a “trunk show” – sharing examples of their personal works of art, and explaining some aspects and embellishments of quilting – including applique, watercolor, tessellation, and trapunto.  And to pique your interest even more, there will be a lovely door prize: an applique wall hanging of spring flowers, donated by Betty Dietz of the Main Line Quilters!  All are welcome to this interactive session, where you can ask questions, learn more about quilting and enjoy the beautiful creations of our own Main Line Quilters!  This event is a prelude to a full-scale Art Show which will hang at the Newtown Square Library during the month of March.  The Main Line Quilters are on Facebook, their website is www.mainlinequilters.com, and twitter handle is @MLQuilters

Please feel free to “join this event” on our Facebook page at The Newtown Public Library!  For more information, please contact the Friends of the Newtown Library at friendsofnewtownlibrary@gmail.com or the Newtown Square Library at (610) 353-1022.