Oct. 16—POTTSVILLE — During the Great Depression, when new fabric was unaffordable to many households, women cut old clothing and feed sacks into squares and transformed them into quilts.

Ida Miller, who is believed to have lived on a farm near Cressona, made a series of patch quilts in the 1930s.

Five of her quilts, which are in the collection of the Schuylkill County Quilters Guild, were displayed Wednesday at a program in the Schuylkill County Historical Society.

"This Trip Around the World quilt has 26 colors and was hand stitched by Ida Miller," said Susan E. Paul, a master quilter. "It has 1,301 squares."

Paul, a member of the quilters guild, discussed the origin of quilts during an hourlong presentation that attracted about 25 people.

One of Miller's quilts, she said, is made out of clothing donated by Landingville residents.

Quilts bearing signatures, Paul said, are among the most prized.

"People who were moving away were often given quilts with signatures sewn into them," she said. "A lot of the time signature quilts would be given to pastors moving on."

One of the quilts on display was a signature quilt from the historical society's collection.

Diana Prosymchak, society executive director, said it was sewn by members of the Ashland Quilters Guild and was mounted on the wall of a doctor's office in Ashland.

Paul's relationship with quilts goes back to when she spent time in the summer with her grandmother, Sarah Keilman, in Barnesville.

She set it aside for a time, but became heavily interested in quilts during the nation's bicentennial in the 1970s.

A retired Minersville Area High School home economics teacher, Paul lectures on the origin and importance of quilts.

Her presentation centered around a 20-panel quilt sewn by Kathleen Ebner Leh, formerly of Quakertown, Bucks County. Leh donated the quilt to the Schuylkill guild when she retired and moved to South Africa.

Paul explained the origin of each of the panels, some of which came from patterns in newspapers and magazines.

The Log Cabin pattern, for example, played a role in the Underground Railroad that brought slaves from southern states to the north prior to the Civil War.

If the center patch was black, her research indicated, it signified that the house was a safe place for slaves.

The Miller's Daughter pattern, published in the Chicago Tribune in 1937, enjoyed a revival in the 1960s.

Honeycomb, first published in Godey's Lady's Book in 1835, was copied from English periodicals.

"Many quilters use English Paper Piecing or hand sewing to create this block since it can be challenging to stitch it by machine," she said.

Customs played a large role in designing quilts back in the day.

Young women were discouraged from quilting the Drunkard's Path block for their dowries, Paul said, lest their husbands might go down the same path.

Paul insists that Leh's quilt, which measures 80-by-94 inches and is made from cotton, was sewn around 50 years ago.

"The ivory, yellow, rust and brown colors scream 1970s," she said.

Paul was accompanied by two guild members, Barbara Schoenauer and Judy Piel, both of Pottsville. They assisted in displaying the quilts.

Louise Guers Kalymun, who attended the presentation, sews quilts and table runners in her Blythe Twp. home.

She recently made quilts for her nephew's daughters, Wren and Willow Connors-Kissinger, of New Jersey.

One girl likes dogs and the other ice cream and candy. Kalymun tailored her quilts to the girls' likes, and made matching pillow cases.

"People ask what a quilt is worth," she said. "There's no way you can put a price on a quilt."

Paul offered a few tips on how to store a quilt — never store it in a plastic bag because condensation can create mold. Instead, store it in a pillowcase or a muslin bag. Also, don't fold the quilt, roll it when storing.

Her final piece of advice: "Use your quilt. Don't put it away in a cedar chest, display it."

The Schuylkill County Quilters Guild meets at 6 p.m. on the third Monday of each month in First United Methodist Church, Schuylkill Haven.

For information, message Susan Paul on the Schuylkill County Quilters Guild Facebook page.

Contact the writer: rdevlin@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6007

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