Irma Sharpe of Hartselle was the lucky winner of this quilt, which was given away at the New Beginnings Quilt Show Sunday. | Clif Knight

Clif Knight

Hartselle Enquirer

A quilt show hosted by the New Beginnings Quilt Guild attracted a large crowd of viewers to Hartselle Saturday and Sunday in spite of cloudy and rainy weather.

“We were afraid the rain would hurt attendance,” said Elizabeth Quint, guild president. “Instead, it may have helped. “We had a steady flow of traffic all day Saturday and again Sunday afternoon. Perhaps it was because a lot of people just wanted to get out and do something where it was dry.”

The quilt guild, which has 35 members, staged its show in the Hartselle Gymnastics Building on Corsbie Street.

Displayed for viewing were about 120 quilt, representing traditional and contemporary designs in double, queen and king sizes. Also shown were lap quilts, baby crib quilts and other quilted pieces. Handmade quilted crafts – adult bibs, pin cushions, place mat etc. – were also available for sale, and guild members demonstrated quilt making by hand and sewing machine.”

As a fundraiser for the Special Needs Accessible Playground (SNAP) in Hartselle, Guild members made a queen size quilt, sold tickets and donated it for a drawing. Irma Sharpe of Hartselle was the winner.

The Guild sponsors a quilt show every other year.  Its members meet on the second Thursday each month at 6 p.m. at the Alabama Cooperative Extension Office on Hwy. 36, west of Hartselle. A workday is held on the third Tuesday of each month  from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the same location. Membership is open to beginner, intermediate and experienced quilters.

“The fellowship of the people who have the same interests as I is one reason why I enjoy my association with the quilt guild,” said Janis Temples. “We also learn from each other, and there are so many new things in the quilting market today.”