The day could hardly have been hotter, but quilt enthusiast braved the heat and came out to the Middle Intervale Meeting House in Bethel over the weekend to view the approximately 100 quilts displayed across every pew in the building.

Co-chairmen of the Cross Country Quilters of Bethel, June Abbott and Shireen Vincent hosted the quilt show, an annual occurrence for the past 15 years. The Cross Country Quilters meet every Tuesday and have formed a fellowship around quilting.

The quilts displayed varied in age as well as design and told a bit about the quilter and the purpose for which it was made. One 1892 quilt was pieced with linings from men’s coats.

The quilt, which won second place in this year’s Maine state show, was on display. Lee Barth of Bethel had made the quilt, called “Star Struck,” from a pattern she picked up in Pennsylvania. It is a multi-state quilt – she bought material in Washington, Idaho, Montana, Maine and Arizona for the piece.

Becky Shaw, a former member of the Cross Country Quilters, was killed last winter in a car accident. One section of pews had Shaw’s quilts on display as a memorial.

Twelve to 20 women in the group each year help to make a quilt to be raffled off. This year Jackie Van Leuven of Bethel won the quilt.

Built in 1816, the Middle Intervale Meeting House was primarily used by the Methodists and Baptists for religious purposes and by the town of Bethel for its annual meetings. Around 1857, it underwent extensive renovations, but after the Baptists left it became vacant.

The Middle Intervale Meeting House Society was organized in 1979, and they have undertaken careful restoration of the building, and it is now used for several functions.

The Cross Country Quilters show is one such function, and the proceeds will be used for the ongoing preservation of the building.

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