Quilters bring color and artistry to Wood Activity Center
By Carole Kelly
Carole Kelly
Susan Teasley (left) visits the Clinton Wood Activity and Therapeutic Center to view the quilting handiwork of Marie Smith (right) who calls this quilt a military “quilt of valor,” made in honor of her daughter-in-law.
Colorful cloth pieces await attention from enthusiasts gathered to enjoy being part of a quilting session or a quilting bee on the first and third Mondays at the Wood Activity and Therapeutic Center.
A recent Monday saw Marie Smith of Edwards, who is a mainstay, teacher and encourager on quilting days, working with Brenda Alexander and Earnestine Barker as they cut, trimmed, ironed and created memories in colorful quilts. As they work, they also share their memories of sewing and quilting over the years.
Director of Therapeutic Recreation Chandra Fontenot says, “Ms. Marie does an awesome job helping our new quilters learn the basics,” noting that she inherited the “teacher” title when the first instructor moved to D.C. “She never hesitated to step in to help, and, although she doesn’t consider herself the leader of the group, everyone knows that she is.”
A quilt is a layered textile composed of a decorative top, a warm filler called batting or wadding, and backing. Quilting stitches join the layers. Whether quilts are considered art is a question that has been discussed for some time and apparently has no simple answer. New quilts versus old ones, or formally-trained artists versus the domestic home sewer—there’s a fine line somewhere between art, craft and design.
A recent quilting session at the Wood Activity Center
Quilting bees began during the nineteenth century and gained enough popularity to continue a long time after. A “bee” is a social gathering where participants make quilts. Most persons viewing examples at the Wood Center on a quilting Monday would agree that they simply feel admiration for a colorful well-placed and spaced design.
Smith began quilting with the Pearl Street Quilters in Jackson but moved to the Wood Center some six years ago where space was available for sessions at 11 a.m. each first and third Monday. The faithful quilters had to take a break with the interruption of COVID. Resuming their sessions last year, they continue to enjoy the quilting process.
“I’m really not sure how long I’ve been at quilting, but it’s been a while,” Smith says. An energetic quilter, she continues with her quilting projects while mourning for her mother Ida Gaddis Harris, who recently passed away at the age of 102.
Smith saw quilters at a State Fair demonstration a number of years ago and decided she wanted to quilt. She came into a number of outdated, unused sport t-shirt samples, which she turned into her first lap quilt. She gave the quilt to her nephew, who was participating in track at the time. She admits she wishes she had kept that first effort.
“He may not even know where it is now,” she smiles. Continuing with her quilting hobby after that first time, she says, “I make them, and I share them with family members.” She doesn’t make them to sell.
“It seems like she starts and finishes her quilts within a week or two,” comments Fontenot. “It’s amazing how quickly she completes them.”
Smith’s works feature original designs, but she is inspired by quilting pattern books, which she collects. She is currently developing a design she calls “the ginger jar,” a colorful rendition of a jar which will eventually be surrounded by colorful squares in a finished quilt. After the initial effort of cutting, designing and sewing, the part she most enjoys, the quilting batting and backing can be turned over to specialists for that part of the process.
Smith’s new “ginger jar” design
Brenda Alexander of Bolton and Earnestine Barker of Edwards were on hand for a quilting session on a recent Monday. As Alexander worked with an obstinate tangled bobbin on the sewing machine, Barker sat ready at the ironing board to press and prepare pieces of cloth for the needle.
Barker recalls her mother collecting scraps of cloth and buying remnants at the five and ten cent store to quilt. Then there were the social sew-ins, the Friday night parties when the mothers would gather after a week of working in the fields to “quilt and sew, laugh, have fun and drink a little of this and maybe that,” she adds with a wink. Sewing projects included making a variety of skirts and shirts that helped clothe the family, as well as repairing rips and tears.
The quilters, who bring their own cloth, sewing machines, irons and ironing boards, say the space and the tables available at the Wood Activity Center are perfect for the quilting sessions. They also say there’s room for more aspiring quilters who want to make something special and enjoy great company on the first and third Mondays at 11 a.m. The Wood Activity Center is located at 111 Clinton Boulevard. For more information about the quilting sessions or other offerings of Clinton’s Therapeutic Recreation Department, call 601-924-6387.
