When Ethel DuBois and Carole Pettinelli, both of Lewiston, pick up a needle, the stitches fly and so does the conversation. The two are members of the Pine Tree Quilters’ Guild and have exhibited their award-winning work at the annual guild shows.

DuBois and Petinelli name quilts, some after significant family events and others after well-known quilting patterns. DuBois named one quilt North Atlantic 57, because she crossed the North Atlantic in 1957. Another, The Baltimore, is embellished with a design depicting the Auburn Private Hospital, owned by her family on Western Prom in Auburn.

All of their work is done by hand. They both use patterns but alter them to suit their designs and intentions.

When asked how long it takes to finish a quilt, Pettinelli remarks, “Until it’s done!”

“The Baltimore took 10 years, but I did four others during that time,” DuBois said.

There are more than 2,000 members in the Pine Tree Quilters Guild, with the local group numbering 22. “These quilts are like our children and when we have to send them to a juried show, like the one in New Hampshire, we experience separation anxiety,” Pettinelli reflected.

The ribbons they’ve won seem to be an afterthought, compared with the camaraderie and bonding they experience with each other and their fellow quilters. “We help with each other’s problems. We depend on each other,” Pettinelli said. “We laugh a lot.”