On the third Monday of each month, about 50 to 75 quilters gather at the Newark Senior Center in Delaware, arms laden with project bags and works-in-progress. Some arrive for the show-and-tell, others for the guest speakers, and many simply for the chance to sit beside a friend who understands why you’d spend 90 hours on a single quilt. This is the Ladybug Quilt Guild, and for 46 years, it has been Delaware’s quilting heart.
“You show your husband, and he says, ‘That’s nice, honey,’” said Barb Gallagher, president and member of 10 years. “But I spent 90 hours on it!”
“For me, it’s validation,” added Julie Burkey, past president and current treasurer. “You can sit at home and make, and you’re not sure if it’s good or not. [At guild meetings], you can get feedback on it, and that helps.”
The guild was born in May 1979 when Sallie Matthews, a quilting teacher at the University of Delaware, Conrad High School, and a local fabric shop called Dannemann Fabrics, found that her students wanted more than just classes—they wanted community. Those students nudged her to start a guild, and the Ladybug Quilt Guild was awarded membership from the National Quilting Association (NQA). When the NQA disbanded in 2015, the Ladybugs continued on their own.
“One of the first classes I took at the guild was with Sallie,” said Sue Norfleet, Quilt in a Box committee chair and member of 25 years. “She was an expert in Hawaiian appliqué. That really got me going down my path of loving hand appliqué more and more all the time.
She was knowledgeable, let me tell you. And if you didn’t do it right, Sallie would let you know how best to do it!”
Today, the guild has about 150 members representing every style and skill level imaginable. Members can join hand appliqué bees, modern bees, social bees, online groups, or in-person gatherings—whatever suits their schedule and creative spirit.
“Our guild doesn’t specialize in one type of quilting,” Barb said. “We have people who make modern quilts all the way to people who make very traditional quilts. We have people who like hand work and appliqué, and new quilters and experienced quilters.”
“We have people who don’t do anything anymore,” Julie said with a laugh. “They still come for the camaraderie. If you’re having trouble with your project, everyone’s willing to help, whether you ask for it or not.”
In 2025, after an eight-year hiatus, the guild hosted the Diamond State Quilt Show at Goldey-Beacom College in Wilmington. One hundred and fifty-four quilts hung in the exhibition, and rather than bringing in certified judges, the guild tried something different: people’s choice voting. “Everyone who came judged the quilts,” Barb said. “People who weren’t quilters loved seeing the quilts. People, especially the non-quilters, loved that they had input in [the awards].”
The people’s choice went to Melodye Marks for her Harry Potter quilt, a wedding gift for her daughter. Measuring 60 by 70 inches, it was stitched with symbols meaningful to the couple, using various techniques. “It was everything,” Julie said. Barb added, “Everybody, even friends who were not quilters, stopped in front of that quilt.”
Beyond exhibitions and monthly meetings, community service has long been part of the Ladybug tradition. Each year, members gather fabric and thread not only for themselves but also for those who need comfort most.
The Ladybugs make about 35 quilts and 350 Scent Hearts annually for the NICU at Nemours Children’s Hospital—tiny fabric hearts that mothers wear to transfer their scent to their premature babies. The quilts are draped over the incubators to shield infants from bright light. In 2024 alone, they donated 150 pillowcases through Ryan’s Case for Smiles, 30 lap quilts and fidget quilts to BAYADA Hospice, and an astonishing 2,000 stockings for Stockings for Soldiers. They make twin-size quilts for the Sunday Breakfast Mission and Habitat for Humanity, as well as ornaments for Delaware Hospice’s Festival of Trees fundraiser. “This year, we’ve already pre-sold the tree,” Julie said with a smile.
The guild is as much about belonging as it is about sewing.
“For me, it’s the community and the camaraderie and the encouragement you get from being together,” Barb said. “With quilting, you’re never done learning. You can learn new things from a speaker or the person sitting next to you.”
“When I moved to Delaware 25 years ago, I joined the guild fairly soon after, and my best friends are guild members and my quilting buddies,” Sue said. “We have the same interests, and those friendships just grow. We travel to the big quilt shows together, including the [American Quilters Society QuiltWeek] Paducah show.”
In her sewing room, Sue works on a hand appliqué project featuring sunflowers and morning glories. Julie finds creative outlet in the tactile feel of fabric. Barb recently made a quilt from her late father’s shirts.
“For my mental health, quilting really helps me,” Barb said. “I love to challenge myself with the extra fabric I have left over from projects, and losing myself in creativity is my favorite part. When I’m making a quilt, especially for someone, I find myself thinking about that person, and it’s peaceful in a way.”
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