Tuesday quilting benefits many

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Five women sat quietly sewing in a basement room of McKinley Avenue Baptist Church Tuesday.

One quilt was white with yellow flowery patterns, one was white with pink hearts and one was purple with large squares.

Reva English is the matriarch of the church's quilting bee. She will be 102 next Mothers Day. English, who has more than 400 completed quilts under her belt, is the go-to person for embroidery and repairs. Her fingers worked patiently, purposefully and without a tremble.

"She's taught me a lot," Barbara Borders said.

"She's taught me a lot, too. If we want to know anything we ask Reva," Wanda Waite said.

English learned stitching from her neighbor, Ethel Oelheim, "when I was a little girl, a few days ago," she said.

Pleasures were simple growing up west of Harrisburg. Quilting gave women an excuse to socialize and create functional works of art to keep them comfortable in the days prior to furnace heating.

Quilts were not considered valuable except for their warming function and as keepsakes for family.

"Everybody made their own," English said.

Groups like McKinley Avenue's preserve the heritage of quilt making. Most quilters are in their senior years. The youngest is Barb Agin who, at age 41, joined the bee in January and was a quick study. Agin is an exception to the unspoken rule quilting is the craft of the elders.

English did make some money selling quilts when she was young. She recalls quilts selling for $1.50.

One of the quilts in the room Tuesday carries a price tag of $500. Another is selling for $300 and another for $250. One quilt raised $1,800 in a silent auction, with the $1,000 bidder winning and donating back the quilt for the $800 bidder to take home.

The quilters operate on demand with buyers specifying patterns or choosing templates provided by the quilters. There currently is a backlog of orders.

"We've given close to $50,000 back to the church," Waite said.

The quilts also go to the needy. On Sunday women from the group donated six throw or lap quilts to nursing home residents. Their quilts have reached every nursing home in the county.

The church quilting bee has quietly served the church, the community and the women who deftly poke the needles in and pull the thread through.

"You just like it, just enjoy doing it. We come down here every week and quilt," English said.

-- DeNeal receives e-mail at bdeneal@yourclearwave.com.

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