News and Events

At this year’s Gingerbread Festival we will raffle a quilt made by members of our Families Learning Together program. Expert sewer Marsha Biggs has been donating her time and fabric to teach a new class to FLT participants; the women are learning to sew pillows, pajamas, baby clothes, and now quilts! The photographs below show the actual materials that will be used in the raffled quilt at this year’s Gingerbread Festival on Saturday, December 3.

America has a long tradition of sewing circles, and for good reason. Sitting around a table and sharing stories while creating something both beautiful and useful is a healthy, fun way to pass the time. Plus, at the end of the day there is a beautiful new quilt to commemorate the time.

“It’s great that they can work on something, finish it, and then take it home with them,” says Helene Maloche, a coordinator of the FLT program.

The students take obvious pride in their work and much of the conversation around the sewing table concerns plans for future projects. Sewing is a life skill that participants will take beyond The Family Place and beyond their first years as parents. Perhaps someday, many years from now, they will even apply the stitches they learned here to handmade quilts for their own grandchildren!

We hope you will join us at our annual Gingerbread Festival on Saturday, December 3rd to view the lovely quilt made by this very special group of women!