Colorful quilts made by the Stars and Stripes Quilt Guild of Hinesville will brighten gray metal bars and soften former inmates’ brick-hard cots at the Old Liberty County Jail now through July 31.
The exhibit is open from 10 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The historic jail is located at 302 South Main Street in Hinesville, next to Heritage Bank.
A reception for the quilts and history exhibit will be held from 4-8 p.m. Thursday, July 1. The Hinesville Downtown Development Authority office is located inside the old jail.
HDDA administrative assistant Jessica Sanchez said there’s an amazing amount of detail in some of the quilts, like the ones which appear as bed-size family photographs.
Guild members contributed quilts of all kinds to the exhibit, from patriotic quilts to those bearing delicate embroidery or appliqué. Quilting, they affirm, is a relaxing pastime.
“I like being able to feel the fabric,” guild member Debbie Flatt said. “It’s therapeutic. And, it’s rewarding to see something grow from all the different pieces of fabric. We just love the finished product. There’s never been an ugly quilt.”
Flatt said she and most guild members give away the quilts they make to family and friends. Otherwise “there’d be quilts all over the house.”
The guild was formed in the late 1980s on Fort Stewart, according to Flatt. Today, guild members meet at 6:30 p.m. the first Tuesday of the month at the Hazel B. Carter Senior Center to learn different quilting techniques and work on joint projects. They also meet from time-to-time at Cross Screen Printing on Martin Luther King Drive in Hinesville to work on projects.
“We’ve got between 20 and 25 members. We’re always looking for new members,” Flatt said.
Marsha Cross is the guild president, she said.
Flatt said anyone can join the guild, whether they’ve been quilting for 40 years or are interested in getting started.
“We help each other out if someone has a question, or with different ideas,” she said.
For more information, call the HDDA at 877-4332.