Showcase: Hampton Seniors Resource Centre hosting Quilt and Fibre Art Display on Saturday

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Erin Dwyer
For the Telegraph-Journal

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HAMPTON - Jean Prosser remembers the first time she laid eyes on the hand-embroidered quilt.

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Cindy Wilson/Telegraph-Journal

The Monday morning crafters, clockwise from bottom left, include Verna Isnor, Connie Heighton, Millie Dunklee, Dorothy Marshall, Margaret Bennett, Nancy Wetmore and Huanna Clarke.

The long-time Hampton resident immediately knew it was special.

"It is a beautiful thing," she said. "There's no two ways about it."

Quilted in 1892, the 72-inch square quilt features 81 blocks that are each embroidered with a different picture - from a little girl with her hands in a muff, a horse's head and a pair of old skates to an eagle and a U.S. flag with only 13 stars.

"In other words, there were only 13 states when it was embroidered," she said.

The antique quilt, which is believed to have hailed from the New England States, will be among some 60 quilts on exhibit at the Hampton Seniors Resource Centre's first Quilt and Fibre Art Display.

Taking place on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., the event will also see displays of Swedish weaving, rug hooking, and cro-hooking as well as antique quilts, linens and furniture, including an antique sewing machine, trunks and a spinning wheel. Many artisans will also be on hand to demonstrate their knowledge.

The show is being organized by the crafts and quilting group at the Hampton Seniors Resource Centre. Every Monday morning, about a dozen or more members of the group gather at the centre to quilt.

"It's a wonderful group," said Anna Young, who is helping to organize the event. "To me, it's the best part of the resource centre."

Every week, the women, who range in age from 65 to nearly 90, sit around a stretched quilt top, each working a quilting needle through the layers in their section, their conversations becoming more personal as the completed sides of the quilt are rolled up. The teapot is always on.

"It's a wonderful way to get to know people," Young said.

Over the last four years, they've quilted dozens of quilts together - some that they've raffled to raise money for the centre, others for people who needed some quilting done on a topper. So when one member recently suggested holding a show, the members all jumped on the idea.

"A lot of our members are getting older and we'd like to do it while they can enjoy it and participate in it," Young said.

The 1892 quilt belonged to her former employer. When the woman died, most of her belongings were left to Prosser. But Prosser, who already owned a fully furnished home, gave most of them away to friends and family who needed them. The sole item she kept for herself was the beautiful hand-embroidered quilt.

When the Canadian Antiques Road Show was in Saint John several years ago, Prosser brought the quilt to show the experts. They told her the quilt, which features several types of embroidery stitches to give a three-dimensional effect to the squares, likely originated from the New England States in 1892. In mint condition, the experts believed the quilt had never been used and appraised its value at no less than $2,000.

"It's a beautiful thing so I really do think people would be interested in it," she said.

The show will also feature a quilt that took first prize back in 1939 during the first Queens County Fair, as well as an appliqué quilt the members are working on now, which will be raffled off. Tickets will also be sold on a basket full of quilting supplies, with draws every hour and the grand prize at 4 p.m.