Terry Berger started quilting when he was about 5 years old.

His mother would take him to quilting bees at an area church, where one of the sisters talked more than she quilted. And when she did quilt, it wasn’t up to par.

“When she’d leave, they’d ask me to pull the stitches out,” the Mahoning Township resident said. He figured he might as well learn how to put the stitches in.

That’s when his love of quilting started. He took his mother’s sewing instructions and turned it into a lifelong hobby. He’s made shirts, bluejeans and at least three dozen quilts.

The clothing is tailored and holds up better than store-bought, he said.

And the quilts become heirlooms.

Berger was demonstrating hand-quilting in a hoop last Saturday during the inaugural Airing of the Quilts in Palmerton.

On this day, he was working on a baby quilt for a gift, carefully hand stitching as he talked to people about his art.

He was on site at Bethany Wesleyan Church, where Shelba Scheffner was the featured quilter.

Scheffner, a perennial West End Fair grand champion quilt awardee, also started at a young age with handquilting.

Scheffner was inspired by her grandmother Eva Haydt, who started teaching her with basic cardboard squares and templates.

Over the years, she has traded cardboard for modern quilting equipment and paper piecing.

Paper piecing, also known as foundation piecing, is a quilting technique that involves sewing fabric patches onto a paper template, or foundation, and then stitching them in place. The paper is then torn away, leaving behind intricate designs.

“People asked how I am able to do the points. That’s paper piecing,” Scheffner said, as she answered questions during the show.

More than 500 quilts were featured throughout the town, borough park and at the high school.

A special display of vintage quilts were draped over pews at Living Hope Lighthouse Church.

The Christ Collection Museum Showcase was on display at the Palmerton High School.

Arlan and Pat Christ of Berks County collect and study quilts, documenting their historical significance and preserving their heritage.

The display included quilts obtained through the auction of the Packwood House Museum in Lewisburg, which closed in 2020. Quilts dated from 1840 to 1940.

Musical entertainment, story telling, children’s programs and demonstrations added to the daylong event.

Members of the Blue Mountain Fiber Guild demonstrated spinning and showed various types of wool and projects made from them.

“All sheep are not the same,” Kathy Augustine said as she showed everything from tradition wool to silk to Angora.

The guild meets from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. the first Tuesday of the month at the Palmerton Library.

The Airing of the Quilts is scheduled to return next year on May 3. For more information, visit the AiringoftheQuilts.com.