ATHOL—Antique and recently-made quilts of all styles will be on display this weekend.

This Athol Historical Society will hold a quilt show on Saturday, June 17, from noon to 3 p.m. at 1307 Main St.

The present-day quilts were made by Diana Cooley of Petersham; Gayle Bassett, Jeanette Calvi, Charon Maier and Chelsea White, all of Athol; and Clare Barnes of Barre.

“Most of the quilts you will see are machine-quilted by Clare Barnes,” said Cooley, who explained that other quilters each produce a quilt top which is then processed by a longarm quilter—in this case Barnes, who uses a longarm machine that sandwiches the back, batting, and quilt top.

At the conclusion of the longarm process, Cooley explained, the quilter who made the top receives the eventual quilt back to machine-sew the binding to the top side of the quilt and then hand-sews the binding to the back of the quilt, similar to hemming a garment.

“When you see a handmade quilt,” Cooley said, “you can be assured that there are many hours and lots of love involved.”

Cooley said the local quilters participate in sew days that may last as long as 12 hours. They also attend quilt retreats three times a year.

“During sew days and retreats, there is a lot of laughing, pointers, sewing, and encouragement,” said Cooley. “We have all been quilting for many years. Quilting brings us satisfaction, happiness, and camaraderie.”

Usually made by women working alone or at group sessions called quilting bees, antique quilts often recycled fabric from discarded clothing or other useful items.

“Our fabrics come from many different quilt shops,” Cooley said. “We are always up for an adventure to find a new shop.”

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