CLINTON TWP — When Donna Tasker founded the Pieceful Patchers Quilt Guild more than 40 years ago with a few others, three or four ladies showed up at the first meeting.

Thanks to Tasker’s diligent leadership, and that of her successor, Debbie Gottshall, the group boasts about 70 members today.

Tasker explained that she had a small quilt shop in an outbuilding on her property many years ago that was patronized by women from southeastern Butler County who were interested in forming a quilting group.

“The quilters came in and they would say ‘We need a place to meet,’” Tasker said.

The guild meets once per month at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Buffalo Township, where members bring quilt tops they have created from pattern kits they can pick up at meetings.

The finished quilt tops are then collected by Gottshall, who brings them to the monthly meeting of the Pieceful Patchers Charity Quilters group at Clinton United Presbyterian Church in Clinton Township.

On July 24, members of the Charity Quilters worked at six stations, where the quilts were expertly assembled and finished.

The completed quilts are separated into patriotic-themed versions that are given to area veterans and regular quilts that are donated to others who would benefit from them.

Most of the quilts are twin-bed sized to cover an adult in snugly softness.

Tasker said the Charity Quilters promised the VA Butler Healthcare System at least 120 quilts per year, which were then donated to the men in the former VA Medical Center across from Butler Crossing in Butler Township.

The group also makes “comfort quilts” that are smaller in size for placement on the lap or around the shoulders.

Gottshall points to the 2023 annual financial report, which shows that the Charity Quilters donated an estimated $34,461 in quilts, pillow cases, handmade Christmas stockings, knitted caps, scarves and stocking stuffers to various charity organizations and eight individual veterans.

Recipients include the Butler VA; The Lighthouse Foundation in Middlesex Township, which receives Christmas items for its annual Toy Shoppe; ACMH Hospital in Kittanning; the Byron Foster family, who lost their home in a fire; four children who lost their parents; and other regional groups and individuals.

Gottshall said during the coronavirus pandemic, the VA did not accept quilts, so they went to Colonial Gardens, an assisted living facility for men in Penn Township, and Robin’s Home, a house in Butler for woman veterans.

The busy workers in Clinton United Presbyterian Church’s large basement “manned” their assigned stations last month, and nimbly worked to assemble the quilts that will end up warming a veteran, orphan, abuse victim or another in need of the tactile comfort only a handmade quilt can provide.

At the first station, thick batting is pinned to the colorful patchwork quilt tops put together by guild members, and a woman irons the large pieces of material that match the quilt top and will serve as the quilt’s reverse side.

The backing also is pinned to the quilt top and batting.

The pinned quilt then moves to one of three sewing machines, where the three pieces are sewn together inside out, with the exception of a small open area.

The next station sees a volunteer trim the edges with scissors and turn the quilt right-side out by inserting her hand into the open area from the former station.

The quilt then returns to the oversized ironing board, where the seams are flattened.

Next, the quilt is topstitched, which means a row of stitching is added around the outside so the top, batting and backing don’t flap around.

At the final station, the quilt is “tied” every 4 or 5 inches with heavy pearl cotton thread to further secure the three pieces together and prevent them from shifting.

A short length of pearl cotton thread is inserted into the back of the quilt and out the top, where it is tied in a knot. The process creates a charming decoration of short, white ties in equal intervals across the top of the quilt.

Gottshall said instead of being tied by hand, some large quilts are given to a Charity Quilters member who owns a long-arm machine.

The machine sews the quilt together in a whirligig pattern.

Charity Quilters member Janet Kocon, of Westmoreland County, explained that her long-arm machine once used a laser light to guide the needle around the quilt, but she now uses a computer program to enter the pattern she wants to apply to the quilt.

The quilts are then folded and placed in a storage room at the church before being collected and delivered as needed.

“When we deliver them, we get to see the joy they have when they receive it and how grateful and thankful they are,” Gottshall said.

Fabric, thread, batting and other quilting materials are purchased using the annual dues paid by the quilting guild members. Some materials come from closed quilt shops or estates after a quilter has passed on.

The women in the Charity Quilters group enjoy a happy camaraderie as they carry out their tasks from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the church basement each month.

Carolyn Graham, of Penn Township, has volunteered her skills with the Charity Quilters for six or seven years. She also is a member of the Pieceful Patchers Quilt Guild.

Like many of the ladies, Graham has a familial connection to quilting.

“My grandmother made quilts,” she said. “She did the old-fashioned hand quilting on a frame.”

Graham is glad the quilts go to deserving individuals who will use and cherish them. She also is glad to be part of the Charity Quilters.

“They’re a fun group of ladies,” she said.

Peggy Treadway, of Armstrong County, has volunteered with the Charity Quilters for more than 20 years, and she also is a guild member.

“I started sewing with 4-H when I was about 9 years old,” Graham said of her introduction to a needle and thread. “It’s so peaceful.”

She is especially happy to work on veteran quilts each month.

“I think the veterans deserve everything we can do for them,” Graham said.

Sue Davis, also of Armstrong County, has belonged to the guild for more than 20 years, and joined the Charity Quilters about one year ago after her retirement.

“I wanted to contribute,” she said. “It’s such a good program.”

Davis’ grandmother did charity quilting at her church, and she wanted to follow in her footsteps.

“I always admired that,” she said.

Tasker, who handed off leadership of the Charity Quilters to Gottshall due to the health issues that accompany aging, learned to sew from her mother.

“I did a lot of dresses for the family,” she said. “When I started quilting, I gave that up.”

She still makes quilt tops for the group and attends when she can.

“I just like material,” Tasker said of quilting. “It’s such a good feeling.”

She also appreciates that the Charity Quilters’ main recipients are veterans, as her ever-faithful husband, Ken, served with the Navy Seabees in the late 1950s.

Tasker said the ladies in the group have become friends who have helped and supported her in recent years.

“I’ve made so many friends over the years,” she said. “Debbie is doing a wonderful job.”

Tasker said she and the other two founders, Esther Hamilton and Doris Herceg, went on vacations to Lancaster County with their husbands to buy quilting material from the Amish.

Tasker summed up the thoughts of all Pieceful Patchers Charity Quilters regarding their volunteer work.

“I think it’s an excellent idea to make quilts for veterans,” she said. “We ought to honor them.”

More information on the Pieceful Patchers Quilt Guild or Charity Quilters is available at piecefulpatchers.weebly.com.