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Brentwood Press - OakleyPress_08.15.08 - Index

AUGUST 15, 2008 COMMUNITY THEPRESS.NET | 21A
Quilters have generosity all sewn up
by Dave Roberts
Staff Writer
“Happiness is a warm blanket.”
– Linus van Pelt
Quilting seems quaint and oldfashioned,
something a pioneer woman
might do at night by candlelight after
a hard day of milking cows, churning
butter, cleaning out the hen house and
washing clothes on rocks by the river
– light-years away from today’s hyperspaced,
nanotubed society.
So it might come as a bit of a surprise
that one of the largest volunteer
organizations in East County is the
Delta Quilters guild, numbering nearly
100 women – and one man.
The guild meets at 7 p.m. on the
second Monday of the month at Golden
Hills Community Church on Lone
Tree Way to share yarns on quilting and
learn more about it.
While there’s much satisfaction in
making quilts, there might be more in
giving them away to comfort the needy.
Recipients of Delta Quilters quilts
include troubled youths in halfway
houses, foster children at Christmas,
battered women in a shelter, wounded
soldiers, premature babies in hospitals
and special-education students in local
schools.
“I love doing charity work because
I love giving to the needy, and quilts are
such a comforting thing,” said Claudia
Hubbard, Brentwood resident and
charity coordinator for Delta Quilters.
“It’s a very warm feeling when you give
something. There is so much love that
gets put into the quilts. As we are making
them, it’s like a big hug we are giving
to the recipient. It makes you want
to do more for them.
“Sometimes foster children …
many years later into adulthood, they
still have these quilts because it’s something
that has brought them great comfort
in their times of trouble, their times
of need.”
A quilt is comprised of cotton
fabric that has been cut and sewn into
pieces to make little squares. Batting is
laid in the middle, providing thickness
and warmth and a back to keep it all
together.
While it seems relatively simple,
quilting can get as detailed and complex
as the quilter would like. A simple
quilt can be sewn up in a day or two,
while others take more than a year to
complete.
And quilting can involve a lot more
than just making bedspreads. Quilters
also produce artistic wall hangings,
practical pot holders, place mats and
clothes such as jackets.
To get started, you could come to
a Delta Quilters’ meeting or visit East
County’s quilting shops: Queen B’s
Quilt Shop, 720 W. Second St. in downtown
Antioch, and Sew Ewe Quilt, 470
Harvest Park Drive in Brentwood. The
shops offer classes for beginners.
Photo by Dave Roberts
Claudia Hubbard, charity coordinator for Delta Quilters, displays two of
her colorful creations.
“We welcome any visitors,” said
Hubbard. “We have a good workshop
– we help each other. They are intent to
teach and enhance our skills. It’s a lot of
fun; it’s very fulfi lling. It’s my love.”
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