Quilts

Mention Pennsylvania Dutch Country, and for many, it conjures up images of the Amish people and their legendary Old World culture. Yet beyond that community's time-honored heritage, Lancaster County offers more. Visitors will find a vibrant and increasingly diverse population and a downtown bustling with urban appeal. "There are a lot of progressive things happening in the city," says Elizabeth Todd Lambert, a former Baltimore resident who relocated in 2006 and now heads LancasterARTS, a local arts advocacy organization.

Like many who heard about the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the students of Camp Achieve in Baltimore were upset to learn of the damage it caused, especially to the animals that were forced from their habitats. So they did something about it. First-through-fourth-graders at the summer academic program contributed to a handmade quilt that was donated to benefit the Art vs. Oil Spill charity auctions held on the Gulf Coast this fall. "The kids were really excited about the project and to help out," said Brenda Wade, founder and executive director of Achievement Services, the nonprofit organization that operates Camp Achieve.

Every other week, quilters gather in a sun-drenched community room that overlooks their Harford County homes. They will spend a few hours sewing and socializing, ever aware that they are stitching with a purpose. Like the quilting bees of old that provided families with warmth and comfort, the group, which meets at the Residents' Club at Bulle Rock in Havre de Grace, puts together coverlets that will ultimately let a wounded veteran sense the care and gratitude of a stranger. The quilters, mostly women but also a few men, are part of the "Quilts for the Injured Soldiers Project.

The O'Malley Senior Center, 1275 Odenton Road, will hold a vendor and bake sale from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday. Handmade and commercial craft items such as jewelry, needle crafts, purses, quilts, artwork and other items will be available. Call 410-222-0140 for more information.

She'd been making acclaimed art for years, and many of her works depicted little-known events from history. So when Joan Gaither encountered a professor a few years back, his words came as a shock. "Those stories on your quilt, the ones about the Underground Railroad, aren't documented," he said. "So they aren't historically true. They're just hearsay." Even now, Gaither, a professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art and a widely known maker of documentary quilts, bristles at that exclusionary notion of history.

S he'd been making acclaimed art for years, and many of her works depicted little-known events from history. So when Joan Gaither encountered a professor a few years back, his words came as a shock. "Those stories on your quilt, the ones about the Underground Railroad, aren't documented," he said. "So they aren't historically true. They're just hearsay." Even now, Gaither, a professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art and a widely known maker of documentary quilts, bristles at that exclusionary notion of history.

Kutztown Folk Festival Where:: Kutztown Fairgrounds, 225 N. White Oak St., Kutztown, Pa. When: : Saturday through July 5, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. What: : The 60-year-old festival celebrates the rich Dutch heritage of Pennsylvania with events including a roof-thatching demonstration, barn-raising for kids, folk entertainment and the largest collection of antique electric cars in America. The festival also features more than 2,500 traditional quilts, handmade by local quilters, along with a quilt auction.

Vivian Haughee draped the bright green prayer shawl over her shoulders and wrapped it around her body. Then she clutched her arms together over the shawl in a warm embrace. Whatever healing powers the knitted garment possessed, they weren't about to escape. "My heart is so full, I feel like crying, not tears of sorrow but tears of joy," said Haughee, 64, after receiving the prayer shawl in her room at Carroll Hospital Center, where she was being treated for fibromyalgia. She was among the first recipients of the hospital's prayer shawl ministry, which was launched by its spiritual care and volunteer services departments in February to offer holistic care.

They will be shooting for turkeys at a Pylesville church today. Marksmen, armed with pellet rifles, will fire at targets filled with signatures of those who have paid a dollar or two for a chance to win a hefty turkey, a ham with a well-known label, five pounds of shrimp or a handmade quilt. The name closest to the pellet wins, usually by less than an inch. "They measure to the nth degree to decide whose name is closest," said the Rev. Henry Kunkel, pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption Roman Catholic Church.