HOULTON, Maine — Prior to 1993, Kim Hazlett of New Limerick had never thought of giving quilting a shot.
She was diagnosed with cancer that year, however, and she needed something to keep her mind occupied.
“I had always sewed and had made my children’s clothing, and after I got the diagnosis, I really needed something to busy my mind besides just thoughts of cancer and when the next appointment would be,” she recalled during a recent interview. “So I decided quilting would be it.”
Hazlett bought herself a few books and magazines to teach herself the craft, joined the Friends and Needles Quilt Guild in Houlton and took a few lessons.
“My husband always says that he knew how bad I was feeling by how fast my machine was running,” she jokes.
Twenty-three years later, Hazlett, a past president of the quilt guild, continues to be a prolific quilter who estimates she has made close to 400 quilts. Like others in the 70 member guild, she will be showcasing her skills in the upcoming Friends and Needles Quilt Guild annual show Aug 19-20, 2016 at the Houlton Higher Education Center. Admission is $5 to the show which runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Hazlett and the guild’s founder, Karen Gallop, also have founded County Comfort Quilts, a group that gives quilts to people who have suffered traumas, military families, and children who have suffered sudden losses. Thus far, they have given out more than 1,200 quilts as part of their mission.
“Just seeing the expression of thanks on the faces of people who receive those quilts makes us so grateful,” said Hazlett. “Quilts are so comforting to people, and they can bring a sense of peace at a really dark time.”
Lorrie Little, another guild member who lives in Hodgdon, said she learned to quilt in the late 1970’s by teaching herself from books and taking a few classes.
“My sister really got me into it and I really caught the bug,” she said. ““I love to do almost any kind of quilting and wall hanging. I have made so many quilts that I can only guess at the number, and then I give most of mine away. Being part of the guild, we have really learned a lot from each other. Someone would learn a skill or technique that no one had heard of yet and they would teach it to everyone else. In that way, we would be able to advance as a group.”
Little said she also taught quilting classes for two semesters at Hodgdon High School and spends a lot of time teaching her friends.
Guild member Barbara Sharpe of Orient, who has been sewing since 1963 and took up quilting in 1999, also teaches quilting classes out of her home.
She enjoys the friendships she makes and sustains in the guild and the techniques that she picks up there.
“I believe I have made about 50 quilts since I have taken up the hobby,” she said. “My family has a ton of them. “There is nothing like picking out the fabric for a new quilt and envisioning how it is all going to fit together and rearranging it and then sewing it and seeing it all come to fruition. I also enjoy the aspect of passing my love of it on to other people.”
