Quilters to meet at Edison and Ford Winter Estates
Area quilters are now gathering monthly at the Edison and Ford Winter Estates to enjoy sitting out on the front porch of the historic homes and quilting.
Many North Fort Myers residents are part of the group, The Southwest Florida Quilters’ Guild, including Darlene Ferrer, Sandy Ludwig and Barbara Greene.
Organizer Nancy Jones reported that the guild had its first “Front Porch” gathering on Jan. 24 at the famous home.
Once a month quilters have been invited by the estates to gather on the front porch of the home and do their hand-quilting, as well as answer questions from the public about quilting.
“We do what’s called a Clothesline Quilt Show with the Ford and Edison Estates each fall,” Jones said. “Last year it was very good. We probably had about 100 quilts out on a clothesline around the Ford home. From that we asked officials there if it would be possible to meet once a month on the porch and just do some hand-quilting.”
They got the nod, and the next gathering will be held from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Feb. 28. They then plan on meeting there the fourth Saturday of every month.
“Henry Ford was a collector of all sorts of Americana, including many quilted items,” Jones said. “Our guild is now hand-quilting a replica of one of his quilts top given to the estates here in Southwest Florida.
“It’s great fun, and a lot of people do stop by,” she added. “If you want to join us, just show up that day.”
For more information on the guild, go to” swfqg.com, or e-mail sarahobbs@aol.com.