Bazaar brings bevy of crafts with local flair
by JAMES STURDIVANT
They've sat, some of them, in limbo for years. Purloined pillows and quilted cushions. Delicate embroidery. Needlepoint pictures. Unfinished craft projects of yore, stored in the Chestnut Hill Senior Center and waiting for some enterprising soul to come along and finish the job.
"They were packed in closets," said senior center director Mary Zell. "A lot of crafts didn't get started here; they were donated by families or individuals. They think of seniors as people who know how to do beautiful handiwork."
Yesterday's cast-offs have indeed become today's treasures, as center members gamely tackled the project of finishing off these myriad items in anticipation of this year's senior center bazaar, which will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church.
The bazaar, which has moved this year from its former location at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, promises to be the best ever, Zell said.
"We have a greater variety of hand-made items, partly because members have gone through and found things that were started and not finished, and people have been finishing them -- pillows, tote bags, embroidery, tree ornaments."
Add to that list crochet and gloves, pill cases, shopping bag holders, embroidered picture frames, bolsters, cushions and aprons. The top item on the crafts list, made entirely by members of the senior center's craft club over the last few months, is a hand-sewn quilt, "Tulip Time," which will be raffled off at the bazaar at $1 per chance -- or $5 for six chances. Chances can be purchased in advance at the Chestnut Hill Welcome Center, 8426 Germantown Ave., at the senior center, 7999 Crittenden St., or on the day of the bazaar. The quilt itself is on display at Kilian's Hardware Store.
Members go all out in preparation for the annual event, the most important fundraiser of the year for the Chestnut Hill Senior Center
"I don't think anyone realizes how much work they really do," said Dorothy Corn, a bazaar volunteer and the group's former treasurer. "The craft group members do almost all of the work toward this bazaar."
Along with the crafts, there will be a large "white elephant" sale. Choice items include a Waterford vase, a wood-framed mirror, a Cézanne print, an early photograph of Joe Lewis, and an old print of New York City, according to center board member Sandy Drinker. As in past years, there will be a large selection of jewelry, and a selection of high-quality books. A silent auction will feature 50 pairs of dinner tickets from neighborhood restaurants, and theme baskets will also be chanced off.
The heart of the bazaar, however, is crafts and craft supplies.
"A generous interior decorating 'angel' has bequeathed us masses of designer samples, yard goods of every description. For those whose penchant is sewing, we have a collection of exotic fabric with which to fashion wearables or home décor," Drinker writes in a press release. "We have fallen heir to bushels of luscious colors of knitting wool, or synthetic, with which the amateur knitter can create as if there were no tomorrow ... if you need help with your project, come to our arts and crafts sessions."
And, if help and encouragement just isn't enough, you can always donate that unfinished item to the center. You might even be able to buy it back, completed, in a few years at the bazaar.
For more information about the annual bazaar or any other Chestnut Hill Senior Center program, class or special activity, or to request a monthly activity calendar, stop in at the center, at 7999 Crittenden Street, or call 215-248-0180.
