Assistance League Way Side Inn Thrift Shop Pieces Together Quilt Event

Assistance League® of Diablo Valley is a nonprofit, member volunteer organization dedicated to improving lives in our community through its 10 hands-on programs. Throughout the year, member volunteers at Assistance League Way Side Inn Thrift Shop, located at 3521 Golden Gate Way, in Lafayette, have collected quilts and related items in preparation for the Quilt event scheduled to begin Tuesday, January 12.

While quilting is an ancient art practiced in many cultures, quilting in America is relatively new. During colonial times, quilting was rare because women typically made clothes for their families by spinning, weaving and sewing methods. Few colonial women had enough free time for quilting.

Toward the mid-1800s, mass production of textiles made fabric affordable to most families. Quilting became widespread and quilters began experimenting with combining fabrics into blocks, then merging the blocks together. As the pioneers moved west and settled new territories, the availability of manufactured goods was limited. Ingenuity and innovation encouraged pioneers to use and reuse materials to make badly needed bed-coverings.

Over the years, quilts, whether applique or piece, vintage or new, have enjoyed a balance of practicality, heritage and art. To this day, a valuable lesson endures; we need to continue this example of ingenuity and innovation by renewing our resources rather than (by) discarding and replacing them.

Venture through the Assistance League Way Side Inn Thrift Shop to find a selection of more than 50 beautifully crafted quilts, many of them hand pieced and hand stitched. You will also find fabrics, quilt frames, quilt books (some no longer in print) and thimbles, all donated. If you have any quilt related donations, the dedicated thrift shop member volunteers will happily add them to this special event.

As with the early chapters of our nation’s history, our local community faces numerous challenges, as related by news accounts of those facing misfortune. Your generous donations and purchases to the Assistance League Way Side Inn Thrift Shop will not only ease suffering, they will restore hope.

To learn about Assistance League of Diablo Valley’s philanthropic programs that the thrift shop funds and its recently awarded GuideStar Exchange gold participation level status, please visit this website: diablovalley.assistanceleague.org or the GuideStar Exchange.