Uncle Eli's Quilting Party - a 95 year tradition

How Uncle Eli’s Quilting Party became a 95-year-old Alamance County tradition

by Laura Brache, NCLocal
April 6, 2026

One day a year, the typically stark walls of the Eli Whitney Recreation Center are draped in colorful quilts with vibrant geometric patterns and patches of soft flowy florals. Quilt blankets aren’t the only ones on display. Garments like coats, jackets and bags of every shape and size, each their own intricate designs, hang alongside the decorative textiles on metal and wooden frames.

Every year on the first Thursday of April, Uncle Eli’s Quilting Party is held at the former Eli Whitney School gymnasium. Late historian and master quilter Erma Kirkpatrick believed the gathering was the oldest continuously running quilting event in the country.

In the 1920s, Ernest Peter Dixon, a local teacher and a Quaker, spearheaded the consolidation of five rural single-classroom schoolhouses in southeast Alamance County. Before an actual school was built, students met in the only local building large enough to hold them: An unused cotton gin. Hence, the name Eli Whitney School, honoring the inventor of the cotton gin. In an effort to get the newly joined rural communities to engage with each other, Dixon proposed a social gathering centered around the craft of quiltmaking.

And so, Uncle Eli’s Quilting Party was born.

Under my needle

I am longarming a fantastic quilt for a favorite customer of mine. She does exquisite work! Look at the hand stitching! And the quilt lays completely flat.

8 Fun Mini-pincushions

I found a book called Pin Pals by Carrie Nelson and had to have it!  It has patterns for 40 mini pincushions and they are adorable!  The first pin cushion I ever made was over 30 years ago.  It was lopsided but I was proud of it.  I stuffed it with poly-fil.

This book helped me hone my cushion making skills I will say!

        

I decided to use Civil War theme fabrics on the first one. It went together quickly and I'm happy with it!

The second one took 4 hours to sew all the tiny half square triangles.  Each was 1-1/4 in.

Filling for all the pincushions is crushed walnut shells.  TIP:  Buy walnut lizard or bird litter at the pet store instead of the walnut shells sold at fabric stores.  It's much cheaper that way!  This 5 lb. bag was only $8.00!  

I placed all of the pin cushions in a basket and they sit on my desk.

A True Story with 12 Million views

 I put this post on the blog in 2016.  It is a true story that is so good I had to repeat it!

My granddaughter Agatha

 Agatha, 18 months old, is my third grandchild. I am babysitting Agatha 

and Sammy, 3 yrs old. I have never disciplined Agatha 

before, until today. I told her no yelling and this is the face she gave me.

"What's wrong with Grandma?"

Bernina L890 Serger review

My birthday is today!! I turned 66 and I've been sewing for 53 years! I bought this machine as a birthday present to myself.  I bought the Bernina L860 serger a year ago and regretted not buying the L890 almost immediately. I didn't think I would use the coverstitch feature though so I went with the L860. But I sew for my toddler grandchildren and I really want that coverstitch now. So I traded up and I'm so happy I did.

This is what a coverstitch is... 

My goodness is this machine awesome! Right away I was stitching away on my first pair of toddler pajamas. All due to the on board touch screen and the features called "Expert Mode" & "Guided Mode". I learned how to use these features on the L860 but I need the help of the new machine's Guided Mode to learn how to set up the machine for coverstitch. This is a dream feature! A video right on the screen to show me what to do.

12 inch Treasures

 I started a new project over the weekend.  It's a pattern called 12 inch Treasures - Dresden Pattern I found at ConnectingThreads.com.  The pattern is from Bloom Creek.  

It uses 2-1/2" squares so I bought a charm pack and cut it down to that size.  It worked out great doing it that way. Here's what I have finished so far...

Cute Fabric Box Tutorial

I found the cutest tutorial online for these handy little fabric boxes.  They can be used next to your sewing machine as a thread catcher, a holder for wonderclips or maybe even in the bathroom to hold cotton balls. All it takes is squares from a layer cake and an 11" square of batting!  Pull 2 fabrics from the package, choose 1 for the lining and 1 for the outside. You can follow along with the tutorial found here.  The author is a wonderful gal whom I had the privilege of meeting 3 years ago at our local quilt guild.  She was the speaker for the evening.

It is possible to get into the tight fit to sew down the flaps on the outside.

 Tutorial by Tina Craig of Seaside Stitches.  She lives on the coast of Rhode Island