BY CADY KUZMICH
GAZETTE REPORTER
Dozens of local quilters gathered on the second floor of the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library on Moe Road between 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Dec. 4, for Quilt North’s annual charity event.
About 35 members of the long-standing community group spent the day stitching together quilts at various stages of completion — all to be donated to local charities. The group, comprised of roughly 180 members in total, makes an average of 110 quilts each year.
For the past 20 years Quilt North has been donating handmade quilts to local groups and charities such as CAPTAIN Youth and Family Services, the Captain John J. McKenna IV Military Courtesy Room at Albany International Airport, the Maplewood Manor nursing home in Ballston Spa and Camp Erin — a free weekend camp for children who have lost loved ones.
Quilt North also makes wheelchair and walker caddies to donate to local nursing home residents — a constant need according to Quilt North President Ann Pastore. She said the group has donated quilts to families suffering from flooding and house fires, as well.
She said Quilt North began when local quilters decided to meet in the evenings after work in the mid-nineties.
She recalls her introduction to quilting when a friend convinced her to tag along for a beginner’s class at the YWCA in Albany. “The same friend knew of Quilt North’s meetings and we started going to them together,” explained, Pastore.
She found the guild was a great way to to sustain her love and passion for the craft and “meet others who share it.”
“It’s a great group of people,” she added.
Pastore estimated there were about 20-30 quilts in progress during the event. “Everybody works on a stage. We’re moving a lot of material through the process,” she explained.
Quilt North holds workshops similar to the one held on Dec. 4 once or twice a year.
The post Quilt North gathers for annual charity event appeared first on Your Clifton Park.