Timeless Textiles Day to celebrate the fiber arts on Saturday, July 5

NEW HAMPTON — The Dana Meeting House Association will host Timeless Textiles — a day filled with quilts old and new, textiles from near and far, and demonstrations and talks and will highlight a Patriotic theme in recognition of Independence Day.

The event will take place at the historic Meeting House in New Hampton on Saturday, July 5, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. 

In addition to traditional and contemporary quilts, the event will include talks, historic costumes and museum displays and demonstrations on spinning.  There will also be a corner for kids to try their hand at making a paper quilt.

“Timeless Textiles” is co-curated by guest quilt artist Eileen Lovett from Holderness, board members Blair Folts and Jonann Torsey, and volunteers Margie Huckins Litwin and Maud Anderson.  

“The Meeting House is a perfect venue for displaying quilts and other unique textiles,” Lovett said. “Quilting, sewing, mending and knitting have always been about community and it is doubly special to display the quilts in a meeting house built in 1800 and harken back and think about ‘how things used to be.’”    

In honor of Independence Day, this year’s featured quilts will be presented by Quilts of Valor Foundation, a national non-profit organization that gifts individually hand-crafted quilts to Veterans.

At 10:30 a.m., Donna Swanson, state coordinator for NH Quilts of Valor Foundation will speak about the work the foundation does and share its founding story.  Swanson will then award Vietnam Veteran William Bartowicz of Ossipee his own unique Quilt of Valor as a recognition of his loyal service and courage in facing multiple challenges.

At noon there will be an informal discussion by historian Stephanie Drake on how to date a quilt.  She will talk about different fabrics, patterns and quilting techniques and how one can learn to identify when and where things were made.  

The Tamworth History Center will bring two mystery quilts to display and have Drake discuss them. Attendees are invited to dig out old textiles and bring them to share with Drake who may be able to help date them and tell a bit of their story.  

Spinner Elizabeth Humphrey will demonstrate the different ways fiber was spun and will talk about the history of that craft. 

For more information, visit

danameetinghouse.org.