Quilt fest shows off needlework

The first time Joan Todd tried her hand at quilting, she made a pillow for a fundraiser at Elgin's First United Methodist Church. She was so pleased with the results that she ended up buying the pillow herself.

"I thought if I did all that work, I wanted to have it," the Sugar Grove resident said.

And why not? After more than 50 years of nifty needlework, the First United Methodist Quilters continue putting in a remarkable number of hours on the job.

That's because while they could submit to technology, they insist on doing most of the quilting by hand.

Their fine work will be for sale at the church's inaugural Quilters Fall Fest, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 29 at the church, 216 E. Highland Ave.

Hand-quilting is a commitment that many needleworkers are no longer willing to make, now that quilting machines can do the job faster.

So what's the appeal for these dedicated ladies?

"It's a craft that you want to keep alive," said Elgin's Myrtle Zimmer.

"It's very satisfying," Todd said. "When you get through and you hold it up, it's a lot of 'oohs' and 'aahs.'"

"It's kind of a way to connect with women of the past," said Cheryl Hayes of West Dundee, "because they didn't have the option of a machine."

The ladies' work is so meticulous, said Elgin's Phyllis Blizzard, that when some people eyeball it closely, they find it hard to believe a machine isn't used. Uniformity matters most.

"The big thing is, you want your stitches all the same length," she said.

The women meet every Monday at the church, bringing a sack lunch to break up the day. Working manually, a large spread can take three to four months to quilt -- meaning to stitch through the top, batting and backing in a decorative pattern, with those meticulous hand stitches mentioned above -- even with a half-dozen women plying their needles for hours on end.

Blizzard doesn't actually consider herself a quilter.

She and some of the other women choose fabrics, cut squares and piece them together by machine, leaving the actual quilting to those they believe can do it better.

She admires the work these handy women do.

"A quilt top doesn't look like anything," she said, "but after it's been put together and it's been quilted, it's really pretty. The quilting gives all your shadows; it gives it three dimensions."

Among the 13 current members, Blizzard and Huntley's Caryl Clark have been with the group the longest -- about 35 years, they figure. Clark joined the group after a fall broke a couple of fingers and ended her golf game. She does a lot of the design work and also participates by piecing squares with a sewing machine.

The ladies have worked up a large selection of pieces for the Sept. 29 sale: baby quilts, spreads, wall hangings and table runners, as well as assorted purses, pillows, Christmas and autumn decorations and more.

They also will have quilt blocks and three antique quilt tops for sale.

One of the guild's favorite projects started out as an antique top, which is the decorative layer of a quilt before a plain bottom layer is attached. The top was donated by group member Marilyn Smith, who said her husband's grandfather, Stephen Smith, cut the pieces for it in the 1920s.

Stephen Smith was a well-known Elgin contractor at the turn of the century who helped build the Lords Park Pavilion in 1898. His wife sewed the contractor's quilt pieces together by hand.

But Marilyn never cared for the design, known as Grandmother's Flower Garden.

"It was folded up in my chest, and I didn't like that pattern, so I didn't do anything else with it," Smith said.

Her friends in the quilting group are thankful she let them adopt the family heirloom; they gave it a bottom piece and a middle layer of batting, quilted and bound the spread and now consider it their "prize."

But they're willing to let it go for the right price to boost the missions fund, so the antique will be included in the sale.

The ladies weren't sure what the asking price would be, but Clark said it's worth every bit of $1,000.

They also couldn't guess how much money their well-crafted projects have made for church missions over the years, but acknowledged the dollar amount would be in the thousands. Large pieces generally go for $400 to $500.

Considering the amount of work that goes into each piece, that is quite a bargain.

"My husband used to say, 'You ladies would make a lot more money for the church if you'd just go out and get jobs and donate your salaries'," Blizzard said.

"We figured we were making about 10 cents an hour."

But the quilting guild is like a support group, she said. "The women like to get together on Monday, and they like to keep their hand in it. This is their talent to give to the church. Some people can sing, but they can stitch really well.

"It keeps us out of the pool hall," she quipped.

If you go

What: Quilters Fall Fest

When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 29

Where: First United Methodist Church, 216 E. Highland Ave. in Elgin

Admission: Free

For details: (847) 741-0038.