The Quilting Circle

Fabric, friends and fun, that’s what the quilting club is all about according to Mary Pluntz of Lacrosse Wisconsin. Wednesday saw a group of 18 ladies gather for the second quilting club meeting of the year, one of the many side clubs formed by the Snowbirds group in Destin.

“It’s just fun,” said Pluntz of the reason behind the club. “Not everybody brings their sewing machines with them, and most have closets of fabric back home…it’s a social event.”

Each week club members meet to share quilting ideas, plan area trips and enjoy a demonstration or lesson on a new quilting technique. Show and tell was the first on the agenda this week as women took turns displaying quilts they are working on, or projects they have recently finished.

Lynda Iannandrea of Ontario showcased a quilt she made for a non-profit organization, Project Smile that gifts new quilts to children during long hospital stays. Iannandrea told The Log that she makes one quilt per week while she is vacationing in Destin, averaging about 12 quilts per season for the organization.

“They are always asking for quilts for teenage boys,” she said, adding that her suspicion is that the girls also prefer the sports-themed blankets she creates.

Paddy Taylor of Ontario received a lot of praise for her project she dubbed her crazy quilt.

“For this project I used green velvet and pieces from an antique dress, a man’s silk tie and a piece of fabric from my mother-in-law’s favorite chair,” she said. “This was my fun project until I got to the sashing.”

Taylor then asked the group for ideas of how to finish her quilt with the slippery velvet fabric.

For more photos of the gathering CLICK HERE

The Quilting Club meets weekly in the Destin Community Center on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., and is open to all snowbirds.