Joe Piper describes his late wife as a "social creature," someone who could take a ride on a crowded elevator and get off with a couple of new friends.

Gina Piper was also a talented quilter who discovered her quilting skills almost by accident.

"She thought she was taking a sewing lesson," Joe Piper says. "It turned out to be more than that. She enjoyed it so much that she became active in it and was quite a talented quilter."

A forthright Southwest Philadelphia girl who had no trouble speaking her mind, Gina loved movies (especially John Wayne's), knitting, exercising, and walking and dancing with Joe, her husband since Valentine's Day 1976. She doted on her three granddaughters.

"Mostly, she quilted," Piper says. "She really got into it. She loved it. She took over a room in our house. I called it Bernina-ville (for the sewing machine line). It was jam-packed with quilting materials, machines and accessories."

In January, when Gina Piper lost the seven-year battle she had waged against endometrial cancer, she left an unfinished quilt that several of her quilting buddies decided to complete in tribute to her. The cream and rustic red Lone Star piece will be raffled during the Sixth Annual Blue Jean Ball. The fundraiser for the Cancer CARE Fund of the FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital Foundation will be held Saturday, June 6, at the Fair Barn in Pinehurst.

Joe, who calls the quilt "Gina's Star Performance," has written the copy for the card that will detail its features for Blue Jean Ball-goers. In that copy he describes the quilt like this:

"It was likely the most complex and challenging design she had ever worked on (It) features the Lone Star pattern, one of the oldest designs in the craft and one Gina had always admired. It's known by other names as well, including 'The Star of Bethlehem,' 'Star of the East' and 'Morning Star.' The pattern features a central medallion, the star, with elements of diamond-shaped fabric to form the star points. While the basic design is an established one, Gina added personal touches that make it uniquely hers."

Gina made lots of quilts. Joe has 10 of them in their Seven Lakes home, one hanging over his desk, others displayed on a quilt rack. She made special quilts for her son, daughter-in-law and granddaughters. Others, she gave away.

One quilt hangs where she worshipped, in St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church in Seven Lakes. Joe has photos from the presentation ceremony presided over by the Right Rev. William Gregg, Assisting Bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina.

In addition to her personal quilt-making, Gina also worked tirelessly -- making quilts and recruiting volunteers -- for Project Linus, a national organization that gives "security blankets" to children in hospitals and shelters.

"She was really good about doing things to help out other people," says quilting friend Joann Hanley.

One of Gina's donated quilts went to a fundraising auction at Academy Heights Elementary School, where it was bought by Dr. and Mrs. Paul Kuzma.

Paul Kuzma, an anesthesiologist at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital, knew Gina from his work at the FirstHealth Back & Neck Pain Clinic. Laura Kuzma coordinates FirstHealth's CARE-Net program, which connects trained volunteers with people dealing with chronic illness. She knew Gina as a CARE-Net patient.

"We decided to bid on the quilt at the auction and were thrilled to get it," Laura Kuzma says. "I called Gina and her husband afterward and told them we had won the quilt and we were going to hang it in our new daughter Nora's room. I believe that Nora will be blessed to have a bit of Gina's strong and wonderful spirit watching over her."

Joann Hanley got to know Gina through a Wednesday quilting group at RoseMary Hansult's Quilting Room on Linden Road, where her friends good-naturedly dubbed her "the queen of scrap."

"She could take leftovers and put them all together beautifully," Hanley says.

The unfinished quilt Gina left behind needed just a little more work, so Hanley, Hansult and Gina's other Quilting Room friends (Suzanne Sullivan, Judy Leslie and Bobbie Marder) each made a square and put them together. Sullivan did the corners before the piece went to a professional in Greensboro for machine finish-layering. Quilting group members did the binding and finishing work when it was returned and now look forward to seeing it at the Blue Jean Ball.

"It's a tribute to a wonderful, kind and thoughtful friend," Hanley says. "I don't mean to make Gina a saint, but she was pretty special and unique. She was fun, funny, full of zip, a great storyteller, and always upbeat. There was never a dull moment when Gina was with us. We thought this quilt would be something really nice in her honor. She was just a really good person."

The Blue Jean Ball will include music by The Cowboys and The Sand Band, a barbecue buffet, beer, wine and other refreshments. Tickets are $50 person; table reservations are available for groups of 10. For more information or tickets, call (910) 695-7510.

Brenda Bouser works for the corporate communications department of FirstHealth of the Carolinas.