Wainscott History Quilt 2025
Wainscott Quilters
The Wainscott Chapel quilters came back together about six years ago. The origin of the group goes back to the smoky past. There’s a quilt on display in the Chapel that was most likely completed by Wainscott women prior to World War I. The names of some of the sewers are visible on the patchwork squares including the local names, Osborn, Topping and Hedges.
The new group’s first quilt was an ambitious piece done in a windmill pattern. It was raffled off as a fund raiser for the Chapel and helped pay for the recent upgrades made to the building. Which include replacing the outhouse with an indoor ADA bathroom and the hand pump with running water. But that’s another story.
The quilters decided they wanted to leave a lasting legacy in the Chapel and settled on a history quilt. The next decision was how to tell Wainscott’s story. What stood out in local memory and what could be represented with needle and thread?
The center image obviously needed to be the Chapel. Then we added an ocean view looking east to Georgica Pond and a farm field with geese flying in. These images set the core of our story. Wainscott’s history continued with a basket of potatoes and a cluster of ripe strawberries. The Osborn General Store although closed for 50 plus years remains in the town’s collective memory as does the windmill that was moved from the hill at the hollow to Montauk and finally back to the Georgica Association. Wainscott life has included fishing and whaling from the shore so we added surfcasters, a harpooner in a dory and a spouting whale which have returned to Wainscott to feed on the bunker fish. Wainscott is still a farming village so a tractor was necessary to include as well as the once ubiquitous chickens.
The group designed all eleven images and selected the fabrics. They appliqued the images adding embroidery details. It was a learning experience for most of the sewers who ranged from expert to novice. Nine women have worked on the quilts under the guidance of Barbara Ann Wilson. The others are Patricia D’Andrea, Barbara D’Andrea, Quincy Egginton, Ann Gegelys, Mary Petrie, Tanya Nevins, Liz Hedges and Joyce Walker.
The group is now working on a hexagon quilt that will be made from 500 - 5 inch hexagons. Like the history quilt, all the cutting of shapes and sewing are being done by hand. It will be raffled in 2027.
