Quilting Together

The Women Behind Gulfport’s Quilts

By Abby Baker

The Gulfport Senior Center Quilters Club consists of a team of seamstresses who sew year round for fun and for donation purposes.

This group of retired women sew because they always have. For a quarter century the group has completed projects for causes like Meals on Wheels, the Gulfport Police Department, Quilts of Valor, and others.

No-nonsense expert seamstress, Elizabeth Zanata, leads the group. “It’s just something we’ve always done,” Zanata said.

At the moment, the group has 25 members committed to the craft of sewing; they often donate their own handiwork.

“Most of us who quilt started with sewing clothes. I know my money went farther if I bought fabric,” said Gini Duke, a Gulfport Quilters Club member of seven years. “I started to quilt once I retired, when I had the time.”

While the seamstresses sew November through April, they find the holiday season especially important. At their last ceremony on Dec. 7, the Gulfport Quilters presented two veterans with quilts as part of the Quilts of Valor Foundation.

They wrapped the veterans in the quilts as a symbol of appreciation.

The group also donated 120 handmade stockings for the seniors of the Meals on Wheels program.

Quilting, it turns out, is no simple feat.

That’s according to Fabric Smart owner Karen Donnelly, who has sewed since the age of 9. The longtime seamstress explains that sewing a quilt involves combining three layers of fabric into one complex piece.

“There is a lot of detail in making a quilt, and that all takes time,” Donnelly said. “There’s no way to get around taking that time, but it can be very meditative.”

In these tough times, she said, stitching can offer a welcome outlet.

“People are turning to embroidery and sewing to help cope and keep the mind calm,” Donnelly said.

Staying in practice is key, and as a tradition, the seamstresses head to a cabin sewing retreat for a weekend each January.

“It’s out in the boondocks and we love it,” Zanata said.

The retreat, near Lithia Springs, typically gets used for youth camps during the summer.

But for four days in January each year, it turns into a seamstress haven.

“We work on personal projects and club things,” Duke said. “I know I joined the group particularly because of the retreat.”