Tercentennial Textile Quilted For Holiday Festival Auction

A new volunteer group, started in February 2005 in honor of Newtown’s Tercentennial, has made a special tercentennial quilt to be auctioned for Family Counseling Services. The auction will be held at a the counseling center’s annual black-tie gala in December, traditionally held on the eve of the Newtown Holiday Festival.

The seven members of the Sew Together Gals — Holly Walczak, Robin Thomson, Lori Jacques, Peg Jacques, Marian Wood, Frances Ashbolt, and Emily Ashbolt — wanted to make it a historic quilt and so it is all handmade, the way it would have created 300 years ago.

The hand pieced and hand quilted textile required more than 500 hours of labor. The fabrics are historic reproduction cottons, and the end result is a scrap quilt containing more than 30 different fabrics.

The finished quilt measures 58 by 58 inches and could be used for a lap quilt or a wall hanging. The batting is 100 percent wool, which is another historical touch and was donated to the group by J.T. Trading Company in New Milford. The name of the batting is Matilda’s Own.

The six 14-inch blocks on the quilt top are traditional designs. Each member picked the design she used and pieced it by hand. The feathered quilting is also a feature that dates back hundreds of years. Everyone took turns with the hand quilting.

The group started in February when some people asked Peg Jacques to teach them how to hand piece a quilt. Ms Jacques thought it would be fun for everyone to learn together and do a group project for charity. The call went out for volunteers and the response brought hand quilters, machine quilters, and both novices and experienced sewers. Some members have worked on their personal projects as well as the group project.