Page 8 – February 23, 2022
Quilts made in Smithfield By Tracy Agnew Editor
At top, from left, Nancy Trudeau, Sheri Overton, Elaine Shell, Julie Hopkins and Joan Mars show off some of the quilts made by the Angel Quilters. Above, all quilts made by Angel Quilters get a label. Opposite page at top, a quilt hanging in the Angel Quilters’ meeting place; opposite page at bottom, a craft made from scraps by the Thread Divas.
Quilts made in Smithfield have gone all over the country, but many of them stay right here in the area with children in need. The Angel Quilters group started almost four years ago, when Nancy Trudeau moved to Smithfield and mistakenly sat in Julie Hopkins’ pew at church. The two ladies went to lunch together later on, talked about quilting and decided to start a quilt group. Hopkins found them a place to meet and placed the announcement in the church bulletin. The rest is history — about a dozen people showed up to that first meeting, and there are now almost 100 on the email list for the group, although not everyone shows up every time. All of the Angel Quilters have one thing in common — they are making quilts for children
who are less fortunate. “We wanted to concentrate on local kids,” Trudeau said. “So we got involved with Kiwanis and Ruritan and Rotary and Lions Club, and all those people have been real supportive.” Last year, only two groups of quilts were given outside of the area: one to New Orleans, Louisiana, after it was struck by a hurricane, and one to a Kentucky community struck by a tornado. All of the other quilts — more than 600 — were donated locally. Some quilts go to Edmarc Hospice for Children for the siblings of terminally ill children. Some quilts go to the Genieve Shelter and ForKids. Some go to social services in Isle of Wight and surrounding jurisdictions. Some are given to local law enforcement, firefighters and rescue workers to have when they go to an emergency and see a child in need of comfort. One time, Hopkins said, the Isle of Wight
