New Creative Instructor At Senior Center

By Nancy K. Crevier

After a yearlong search, Newtown Senior Center director Marilyn Place is happy to announce that Donna Betts has taken over the position of creative instructor at the center as of Friday, March 3.

Ms Betts, a Newtown resident, will be at the center every Friday morning from 10:30 am to noon to instruct seniors on the ins and outs of sewing and quilting. A retired banker, Ms Betts has been quilting for 15 years, describing herself as “totally addicted to quilting.” She currently has quilts for sale at two stores in Vermont and also does embroidery for a Bethel business in her spare time.

“I saw an opportunity to come [to the Senior Center] and do quilting and look forward to what we will do,” she said.

At the first class, Ms Betts offered quilting tips to the five women who had braved the roads left slippery from Thursday’s storm and discussed the skill of “free motion” quilting. In this technique, she said, the entire piece is moved in freestyle patterns beneath the needle of the machine, or figures and letters on a quilt are outlined to make them stand out.

Most of the quilting projects, said Ms Betts, will be done on the sewing machine. She is available to assist anyone who is interested in finishing a piece using a hand quilting method, though.

Hilda Wilcox, who attended Friday’s class, has done “a lot of plain quilting, but not so much of the fancy sewing,” she said. For others, like Marion Ferguson, the class will be the first foray into the world of quilting. Ms Betts welcomes quilters and sewers of all levels.

The initial quilt project, an ABC quilt, is for the personal use or gifting by the participants, but Ms Betts anticipates the group moving toward creating quilts and other sewing projects to be donated to various charities.

The class is limited to 15 participants and only a few openings remain. To register for the Friday class, call the Senior Center at 270-4310. A fee of $20 covers the cost of any kits used in the class. While the Senior Center does have a limited number of sewing machines available for use during the class, it is recommended that class members bring their own, if possible.