By Connie Leinbach
The quilt gods have been shining on Dave and Sylvia Nestor, who since 2012 have won three quilts raffled by the Ocracoke Preservation Society.
The Nestors, of Spotsylvania, Virginia, won the 2025 quilt, the 2018 and the 2010 quilts.
And the couple is over the moon about their luck in winning these quilts, especially the last two since they lost the first one.
“It was a dream come true when we won the first one,” Sylvia said.
That was back in 2010.
The couple and their family typically rent a house on Hatteras and visit Ocracoke during that time.
“We only bought five tickets, but it was a dream come true,” she said about winning the 2010 quilt.
Two years later when the family returned to Hatteras, Sylvia had not brought the quilt with her and while they were away, their Virginia home burned to the ground.
Everything was lost.
“The car, everything,” she said. “I was crushed. It was so hard. That quilt was my most cherished possession.”
So, in 2018, after dropping $50 or $100 on quilt raffle tickets, the couple was surprised again when they won the raffle
Sylvia sleeps with that one and makes sure to bring it along on their vacation and now, after capturing last year’s quilt, Dave has one, too, she said.
“We want to give back to the Ocracoke community,” Sylvia said about their support of the raffle, and to win a quilt three times is “unheard of.”
“I can’t tell you the joy we get just being able to have the island with us in these quilts,” she said. “It’s a joy beyond description.”
This year, Sylvia will bring a big container of fabric scraps to donate to the Ocracoke Needle & Thread Club, whose members create a large hand-sewn quilt each year for the raffle.
This year’s quilt features a center panel of the Ocracoke lighthouse and a few Ocracats, designed by island artist Barbara Adams.
“It’s special because she is such a great artist,” said Debbie Leonard, club spokesperson. Raffle tickets are available for purchase at the Ocracoke Preservation Society museum, 49 Water Plant Rd. It is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
The all-volunteer club, which began in 1976, creates their quilts to benefit island nonprofits—a large quilt for the OPS and a throw-sized one for the Ocrafolk Festival,
They also will make a throw-size one for the Firemen’s Ball auction, she said.
They used to make more quilts each year, but the membership has dwindled in recent years and welcome more members, no matter the skill level.
No experience is necessary, Leonard said. The club members will teach anyone.
Anyone interested in learning the craft can contact Leonard via their Facebook page.
Rear: Debbie Leonard and Elizabeth Dyer. Not pictured, Arleen Burley and Nancy Carlson
