THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 12, 1995 TAG: 9511090010
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: K1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KERRY DOUGHERTY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 109 lines
THEIR HANDS are stiff, gnarled with arthritis and wizened with age. But the Sewing Ladies of Galilee Episcopal Church in Virginia Beach don't let a little thing like years slow them down.
``I'm 86 and I don't care if you tell people,'' says Irene Hilliard, who truly doesn't look like an octogenarian.
``Just say the average age of the group is 80,'' offers another with a grin.
Let's just say these ladies are not young. They have white hair and thick glasses and they don't get around as easily as they once did.
But they work. Boy, do they work.
They gather every Tuesday in a Sunday school classroom about 10 in the morning and sew until 2. Pillows, tote bags, Christmas tree skirts, baby nightshirts, quilts and aprons. All meticulously hand-stitched.
``Some people might glue these sequins on,'' says Hilliard, lifting the edge of an elaborately decorated Christmas tree skirt for a closer look. ``But we sew every single one on.''
This is more than a sewing circle. It's a gathering of old friends. They sew and talk. About their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. About how they met their spouses. The weather.
The Sewing Ladies are just one small part of the Galilee Bazaar, which is scheduled for this Wednesday at the big brick church at 40th Street and Pacific Avenue.
And it's just one of the scores of Christmas bazaars being hosted by various churches across Hampton Roads.
As surely as the leaves turn yellow in the fall. As surely as Thanksgiving follows Halloween. As surely as winter follows autumn. There are the annual church bazaars.
They began years ago as a way for women's groups to earn a little extra money by selling jams and jellies and baked goods before the holidays.
But they've grown. Oh, how they've grown.
Around this time of year many churches are transformed briefly into mini-shopping malls. Everything from hand-painted furniture to garden equipment and used clothing is sold, along with the old reliable homemade goodies.
Galilee's is one of the biggest and one of the oldest bazaars in the area. Ironically, no one seems to know for sure how old it is.
The Sewing Ladies can trace their roots back to 1942. But they pre-date the bazaar by at least a decade.
``I think the bazaar must go back at least 35 years,'' muses Ann Gilliam, who chaired the bazaar in the late 1960s. ``That's the best you're going to get, I'm afraid.''
From the cookies and cakes to the delicate Christmas ornaments, it is clear this is not something slap-dashed together in a month. The Women of Galilee - several hundred of them - have been toiling since January, many several days a week for these 10 months.
``It's almost a year-round project,'' says this year's co-chair Ann Malbon, who remembers her mother working on little wooden ornaments for the bazaar when she was a child.
Bazaars have become big business. Galilee's bazaar has grossed as much as $12,000. All of it for charity.
``We give it all away,'' says Marcia Wheeler, treasurer of the Women of Galilee, the group which organizes the affair. ``We don't have a party with it.''
Meals on Wheels, the Sugar Plum Bakery, the Joy Fund, Samaritan House and Judeo-Christian Outreach are just a few of the local charities that benefit from the bazaar.
Perhaps the most tireless workers in this enterprise are also the oldest.
Like 83-year-old Alice Miles who is famous in Virginia Beach for her hand-knit sweaters. She used to knit about 75 children's sweaters for the bazaar, but a broken shoulder a few years ago slowed her down and this year she produced only 54. That's 54 sweaters with matching caps.
``I learned to knit from an aunt during World War I,'' says Miles. ``I love to read and I don't feel so trifling if I knit while I read.''
Yes, you read that right. Mrs. Miles knits while reading. She just finished a Sidney Sheldon novel and is starting a detective story. She puts the book on a stand, picks up her knitting and goes to town.
``I practically knit all day,'' she says, laughing. ``I don't know anybody who knits as much as I do.''
Her little hand-made sweaters and hats sell for $15 at the bazaar.
``We sell every last one,'' says Pat Proulx, one of the bazaar's organizers.
Miles works at home while the Sewing Ladies work together. If the aging seamstresses have any regrets, it's their failure to recruit new members.
Their circle is getting smaller.
``This is a good turnout today,'' Hilliard says, eying the eight women scattered around the room, thimbles on their fingers, eyes fixed on their work. ``We've had quite a few of us leave because of poor eyesight. And, of course, several members have died recently.''
Sewing is going out of fashion these days.
``I don't know what will happen when we're gone,'' Hilliard says. ``Then again, the younger girls are really getting into crafts, and making beautiful things.
``That may be the way of the future. No more hand sewing, but gorgeous ornaments.''
She smooths the delicate white baby nightshirt she is feather-stitching across her lap and sighs.
``I guess sewing is becoming a bit of a lost art.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by Bill Tiernan, The Virginian-Pilot
The Sewing ladies of Galilee Episcopal Church in Virginia beach
gather once a week to sew pillows, tote bags, Christmas tree skirts,
quilts, aprons and more.
Detail of sewing...
by CNB