A quilt used to be a thrifty...

A quilt used to be a thrifty way to get some more use out of that old work dress, or the last shirt your youngest son grew out of, or leftover fabric scraps.

Nowadays, quilts are considered works of art, like the ones made by the women of the Mark Keppel Adult Center quilting and needlecraft classes on display Wednesday at the Atherton Baptist Home in Alhambra.

“There’s some beautiful things that have come out of that class,” said instructor Barbara Cascelli.

She was referring to the quilting class, a group of about 35 women who gather every Wednesday morning to sew and learn new patterns.

“Each person made their own sampler quilt,” said Cascelli, putting together 24 blocks of designs made by piecing, the process of cutting scraps of fabric and sewing them together.

“What I’ve been offering is one quilt a year,” said Cascelli. Although the classes are offered

on a semester basis, most students continue with old projects or start new ones. “They’ll do a lot of piecing during the class. Most of them are doing hand quilting and that takes a bit of time.”

The quilting is the decorative stitching sewn through the piecework, stuffing and backing to hold the stuffing in place. Hand-sewing thousands of little stitches over a king-sized sheet takes time indeed.

Cascelli’s needlecraft class, which meets Wednesday afternoon with 20 women, will also have its handiwork on display, including a variety of sweaters, crocheted afghans, cross stitch and baby blankets.

“One of the things I’ve introduced is Hardanger embroidery. It’s Norwegian. It’s very different,” she said.

The show will be held 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the classroom at the home, 735 W. Irving. Admission is free and there will be refreshments.