Faces of the Valley: Members of Parish Piecers provide comfort to people in need

After retiring from her job at the University of Pittsburgh, Fawn resident Pat Slobada said she needed a pastime with a purpose.

The novice seamstress joined the Parish Piecers, a quilting group which meets from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays to create warm handmade blankets and other treasures for people in need.

“Being out and about with friends is great,” Slobada said. “The work is relaxing, and these things will keep someone warm.”

The club is an outreach of Guardian Angels Parish, which operates two churches in the area: Most Blessed Sacrament in Harrison and Our Lady of Victory in Springdale Township.

Founding member Carol Strobel, 85, said the group launched in the mid-1990s at the former Holy Martyrs Church on West Ninth Avenue in Tarentum.

There were about half a dozen women who initially came together to hand-stitch sleeping bags for the homeless, Strobel said. The goodwill soon swelled to include baby blankets and lap robes.

Now, the focus is on colorful queen-sized quilts, the three layers of which are tied together by the hands of dedicated members.

They turn out more than 200 pieces a year. The quilts are distributed to the Salvation Army, Veterans Administration hospitals, Clothing Closet in New Kensington, Allegheny Valley Association of Churches in Harrison and the Family Promise House, a just-opened temporary homeless facility in Brackenridge.

“This is our way of giving back,” said Strobel of Lower Burrell. “I have to give. I don’t care if it’s making cookies or whatever. Service has always been my first love.”

Tarentum resident Marie Tartamella has been enjoying the camaraderie for about 10 years.

The 81-year-old said God works in mysterious ways.

“When we dropped to about five members, we prayed and said we can’t do this without more hands,” Tartamella said.

“Before you knew it, five new people joined.”

The club has enjoyed continued growth in recent years. About 15 ladies gather each week in the church social hall off Low Grade Road.

Longtime sewer Emily Stanoski lovingly dubbed the group “the over-50 club.”

“Some of us are just really way over,” she said, laughing.

Stanoski, a resident of Natrona Heights, joined the fun about six years ago. She said the club couldn’t operate without the kindness of donors who give bolts of fabric, batting, thread and other necessities.

“We depend on our donations,” she said, pointing to “the stash” tucked in plastic bins and hidden behind curtains.

“Fabric can run $13 to $14 a yard, and it takes eight yards to make a quilt. We can’t spend that kind of money on each one. We might as well go buy them at Boscov’s.”

The group hosts two craft sales a year to bring in enough money for the polyester fill, which is the biggest expense.

“We love when we get donations that we can use instead of batting,” she said. “Concordia donated a bunch of sheets, and we used those to layer our quilts.”

For many years, the group donated to Aspinwall resident Nancy Heil who ran a homeless ministry from her home.

“We used to give so many quilts every month, and she’d take them to the people on the streets in Pittsburgh,” Stanoski said.

Mary Lynn Scanga, a nearly 20-year member, said when the club first started members created baptism quilts to be gifted to families at Holy Martyrs.

“I remember because the first one was given to my grandson,” said Scanga of Fawn.

“Whatever we’re making, we just enjoy getting together.”

When their fingers get cramped after hours of pinning and tying, the women know it’s time to take a break.

“We have lunch and, more importantly, we have dessert,” said Peggy Bloch, with a laugh.

The 71-year-old Allegheny Valley Hospital retiree said she has never been a quilter, but she can complete tiny tasks with the best of them.

“I’m a utility girl,” said Bloch of Natrona Heights. “I measure, I tie, I make the coffee — which I don’t even drink.”

Bloch joined about eight years ago with her cousin, Jan Sommer of Fawn.

“The week after I retired from UPMC, I joined,” said Sommer, 73. “I thought I was going to learn to hand-quilt, but that’s an activity of days gone by. What we do is different but still wonderful.”

Sommer spends much of her time each week crafting children’s quilts from donations that are colorful, cartoonish or otherwise kid-centric.

She and Bloch said service was instilled in them from childhood.

“We were raised that way,” Sommer said.

“Our mothers were active in service, and that’s what you did,” Bloch added.

Club newbie Loretta Beresik of Natrona Heights said time spent with the group is enjoyable.

“You come and you feel like you accomplish something,” said Beresik, who joined about a year ago.

“We have a great time.”