For the twelfth year, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church will be sponsoring a quilt exhibition and sale from the Tutwiler Quilters, a women’s group from the Mississippi Delta.

The Tutwiler Quilt Program first began in 1989 with the Tutwiler Community Education Center, which in turn was established by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary.

Elizabeth Payne, on the faculty at Ole Miss, says that she first came across the quilters’ work in 1996 at the Chimneyville Arts and Craft Show in Jackson. Payne says she was “smitten” by the quilts she saw on display. She would visit the craft show every year when in 2004, Payne’s husband asked Sister Maureen Dulaney with the group if they would consider bringing their work to Oxford.

And since then, the quilters have not missed a year at St. Peter’s.

“The annual Tutwiler quilt sale is a joyful occasion for me,” Payne said in an email. “The fellowship hall at St. Peter’s becomes vibrant when the quilts are hung and the placemats, table runners, and bags are spread. I feel like singing ‘Joy To The World’.”

Payne notes how the annual Oxford sale has allowed her to get to know the women from Tutwiler and she’ll often choose their work for wedding, birthday and Christmas gifts.

The quilters receive 80 percent of the sales directly with 20 percent going to the purchase of more quilting materials. Over the years, Oxford has netted the group a profit of $60,000.

The Tutwiler Quilters will have their annual sale on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in St. Peter’s.