A stitch in time: Signature quilt is piece of Freetown heritage

A little piece of Prince Edward Island history will be on display this weekend at the Freetown United Church, in the form of a nearly 90-year-old pearl-whitequilt with the names of more than 200 localscarefully sewn into its fabric.

The signature quiltwas created in 1928 as a way to raise funds for the Willing Workers Mission Band a mission group associated with the church.

People paid 10 cents to have their names sewn into the fabric.

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This is an artifact. Ishouldn't be having it on the bed and Ishouldn't be washing it in the washing machine.Katherine Dewar

Katherine Dewar, the quilt's owner, said it has been in her family for "as long as she can remember" and that her grandmother bought it around 1932.

"There's three generations of us that have slept under it my parents, me, my children It's sort of a family treasure but it's at a time where it needs to be preserved somewhere," she said.

Many names still in Freetown

After many years, Dewarrealized that the hand-me-down she was holding was something truly special.

"This is an artifact," she recalled saying."I shouldn't be having it on the bed and I shouldn't be washing it in the washing machine."

She plans on donating it to a local museum, but first she wants it togo back home so members of the Freetown community can meet up and see their family member names across the fabric.

"Many of the names that are on the quilt are still in Freetown, so the people that are still going to that church would be the grandchildren, or grand nieces or nephews of the peoples names that are embroidered on the quilt," she said.

Hopes people spots familiar names

The quilt will be on display on Sunday at the Freetown United Church.

Dewar hopes many people will drop by to take a look and spot the names of their ancestorsand maybe even share a storyor two.

"People there might really like to look and say 'oh there's my grandmother's name' or 'this is my great uncles name' and start to think about them."

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