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Arts & Entertainment

Backroom Quilters Inspire and Entertain

Edgewood's Backroom Quilters breaks the mold of quilting groups.

In the backroom of the C.C. Mellor Library in Edgewood, anything goes.

Except politics and religion, of course. It's important to keep the peace among a dozen women armed with sewing needles.

The Backroom Quilters group meets every Thursday at the library for a chance to work on individual quilting projects and socialize with fellow quilting enthusiasts.

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“This group has been meeting for five years, but it is a spin-off of other groups that have been meeting in the area for 30 years,” said Edgewood resident Penny Fishman.

Beyond an opportunity for skilled seamstresses to congregate weekly, the group serves as a sort of discussion group for everyday situations.

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“It’s a place to share our life stories, our projects and our ideas,” said Elizabeth Cowie of Swissvale.

Quilting, it seems, serves as a remedial craft for these women.

“It’s therapeutic, social and there’s something calming about hand work,” Cowie said.

Beyond trading project ideas and encouraging each other, the women openly discuss a diverse variety of everyday situations and problems. There are no membership dues, no qualifications; simply a passion to quilt, no matter the reason.

“It’s a very open and accepting atmosphere,” said Cheryl McCoughlin of Shaler. All the women chimed in to agree.

They all work on their own projects alone and have collaborated once. It was for a “Mr. Rogers” quilt now proudly displayed in one of the children’s department’s playrooms.

Their projects range from the abstract to the extremely personal. Some are in the middle of sewing “diary quilts” that trace along the story of the quilter's life. Fishman has symbols like flowers, children and hats to symbolize her home and family. Quilts show a life of stories through the needle and thread.

Backroom Quilters also participate in charity work for Little Dresses for Africa, a group that donates hand-sewn dresses to impoverished women in Africa.

At its core, the group is an opportunity for creative women to come together and simply talk. The no politics or religion rule holds fast, but it doesn’t stop the quilters from opening up about themselves.

Even though most of the women were strangers before they joined, they now all seem to be close companions who are unafraid to share their quilts or their lives.

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