“Imagination and deft needlework combined with a real artistic flair” propelled the Presbyterian Hospital Auxiliary in Denver to a 1961 sweep of top prizes at the annual “Tables Extraordinaire” festival sponsored by the Assistance League of Denver. The entry was designed for a sewing club luncheon and featured a glass compote filled with spools of red thread, little scissors and thimbles. Velvet pincushions shaped like strawberries circled the compote’s base.
“Each place was marked with a white darning egg accented with a thimble flower pot from which sprouted a spool of red thread and tiny strawberries,” the July 1961 issue of The Auxiliary Leader reported.
In an unprecedented feat, the Denver auxiliary took home two $200 prizes — one a grand sweepstakes award and the other a popular vote prize. It also won $50 in the “original” vision category. The entire $450 plus an additional $25 raised through the sale of the handmade velvet pincushions was donated to the hospital for the purchase of surgical equipment.
