THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!
A Note from Dorothy C., Head Quilter at St. Paul's
I want to share with you just how the quilters operate.
We started in October 1992 with six members and a little donated fabric. We had to bring our own sewing machines, thread, cutting board, cutting blades, etc. We used 18-inch squares of fabric. Picture three squares across and four squares down measuring a 60 x 80 piece. We’ve always asked for fabric and used sheets, which we still use today.
I don’t remember how long it took for us to realize we needed some funds to purchase supplies. Most projects that one undertakes need money to be successful. To make some money we sold some of what we called our “better ones” to the congregation and our friends. One year we held a silent auction for a hand quilted quilt done by Marie Jordan. She and I hand quilted the top many nights before it was finished. Kenneth Jordan knew how much time and effort was put in it and said it would be a donation to a good cause, he placed a bid of $500.00 on it. Naturally, he got the quilt. That may have been how we started making special items to sell. We have been self-sufficient since then. Sewing machines were donated, and we were able to buy thread and notions.
The 6 members originally started on Tuesdays from 10am to noon. We soon learned that we spent more time getting ready and putting things away then getting anything done. So, we changed the time to start to 7 a.m. and worked until noon, and that is still the time many years later. Not everyone comes at 7, but enough come that early to make it work while others come in anytime between 9 and 10 and still stay till noon.
The original purpose was to make quilts for Lutheran World Relief in new Windsor, Maryland. After a visit to their warehouse and seeing how they packed and stored the quilts, we decided to sew for the local community. The size of the quilts didn’t change, but the patterns did. We no longer use that large square. We made lap blankets for nursing homes for wheelchair patients. Just last year we bought a Serger which is used to sew scraps of fabric into a quilt. Scraps that most people would throw away, but not our group.
This pretty much covers what we do on Tuesdays. It is our mission to give what we sow to anyone who needs a quilt to bring them comfort, warmth, and to know someone cares about them. The only time we sell these quilts is at our annual quilt sale. I think you would agree they make a pretty sight on the pews. Our sewing group on Tuesdays makes no money.
I get the job done, but I do not keep good records. Therefore, I cannot tell you how or when our sale turned into a big event, but it started to raise funds for our Tuesday mission. It’s grown from $500 that first year to $20,000 this year. We have “show and tell” on Tuesdays to show off what we, the quilters, have made for the sale on our own time. We have some very talented and generous ladies in our group, and it pleases us when someone wants something we have made. Not all of our members can sew. Some are learning and others support in different ways. Some do paperwork, some take care of the flowers in the windows, some participate in the annual cherry blossom walk, while others speak to groups telling them about our mission on Tuesdays as well as our annual quilt sale. We have some that help in the delivery of quilts to nursing homes and gathering sheets from different places. All 27 members work at the annual quilt sale. Due to the success of our sale, we are able to give annually to our church, the local fire department, the Crofton library, and the Ronald McDonald house. We also give to other charitable organizations. We keep enough money to buy supplies for our Tuesday mission and what we need to have a great successful sale.
According to the records kept in 2024, we gave 207 twin beds size quilts to various people and places, and 335 lap quilts to two different nursing homes. We never have a goal unless it is special request like the winter relief program. Last year we gave 10 large quilts from our sale inventory, and all the twin size bed quilts that we were left on the pews from our sale to the flood victims in Tennessee. They were very grateful.
Our membership has grown from 6 to 26 over the years. Our attendance on Tuesday is anywhere from 17 to 22. Something just keeps them coming back! I often think of how good it is to have such a wonderful, kind, and caring group of ladies to be with on Tuesday. Five of the ladies come to my home, “the quilters warehouse”, each week to prepare the sewing to be done on Tuesdays when we gather.
When fabric is donated, we never know what to expect, many times there are projects to be finished. Most of our quilts and projects for the sale and our Tuesday mission are made from donated material. That’s what makes them so unique. We cannot duplicate them, and no one can buy one like it. They truly are one of a kind,
This year two of our quilters got to meet Ronald McDonald on December 10, 2024, when they delivered 15 bed quilts and presented the Ronald McDonald House with a $500.00 check from our sale.
Catching up has been fun!
Thank you,
Dorothy
