4 minute read
Quilts
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.
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Quilts made in Smithfield
By Tracy Agnew Editor
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
Rescue Squad went out to take care of a boy who had gotten hurt. Later on, they went back to his house to take him a quilt.
“I just thought it was really nice of the Isle of Wight Rescue Squad to go back,” Hopkins said.
As word has spread about what the Angel Quilters do, they have gotten innumerable donations of material, thread and more. They keep it all neatly arranged in their meeting place, the Academy Building at Trinity United Methodist Church.
During meetings, quilters work on piecing together quilts and choosing the backs for them. They send them to longarmers to be quilted, and they are labeled as an Angel Quilters quilt. Scraps go into pillow pets or are used by the Thread Divas, a sister group, in sewing small handbags and other items. Once there are around 100 quilts ready to be sent out the door, they are blessed in the church before they are picked up by the participating groups that hand them out to children who need some comfort. The quilts and the children they’re made for are a big draw for most of the people in the group, but they also enjoy the peo-
‘We wanted ple they work with and the to concentrate on people they meet through Angel Quillocal kids.’ ters. “I’m new to Smithfield, and I’m a new quilter, because after I retired, I wanted to learn,” said Pat Farmin, who moved to Smithfield a year and a half ago. “I think the mission is fabulous and these are great ladies and talented ladies. It’s great for me because we’re trying to meet people, and I have met a lot of people.”
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