Every Wednesday morning for most of the year, Charles and Elise Bornschein of Lake Ronkonkoma drive east to Chez Shea, a big Victorian house in Southold, to join a quilting workshop that owner and teacher Maureen Shea calls The Flying Geese Quilters. It’s a group of half a dozen seniors who meet to work on quilting projects while socializing — in much the same manner as quilters of generations past gathered for quilting bees. Others join a guild like the Smithtown Stitchers, The Eastern Long Island Quilters Guild in Peconic or The Evening Star Quilters Guild in Mineola, while some sign up for classes at senior centers or at any number of local sewing stores like Patchworks in Sayville. Laura, 70, teaches free quilting classes at The Rainbow Senior Center’s Quilting Angels in Lindenhurst and at the Yours, Ours and Mine Community Center’s Platinum Quilting Seniors in Levittown, where some members are in their 90s. She also belongs to a private group of longtime friends, The Calico Cutters, who meet in each others’ homes for quilting bees and often work on communal quilts for special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries. Eighteenth- and 19th-century quilters developed heirloom regional and universal patterns that are much copied today, such as the evocative Log Cabin and Wedding Ring, but many modern quilters use personalized themes for inspiration, such as anniversaries, births, housewarmings, pets, flowers and travel destinations, and embellish them with embroidered names and dates.

Tags: beginner quilting, free quilting patterns, quilting patterns, patches, quilting machines, long arm quilting machines