About twenty years ago, two ladies from our church heard of a young mother who was trying to keep her newborn baby warm by laying her on a pile of clothes in front of her oven. They decided to get together and make her a warm baby quilt. More volunteers joined the group and soon there were plenty of projects to keep everybody busy. Today, His Quilters with the support of the missions committee are involved in many projects such as making quilts for cancer patients at St. Mary's and Bass hospitals, foster kids, and children who are victims of sexual assault. Fifty quilts have been sent to our mission in the Philippines and many more to wild-fire victims in western Oklahoma. Their biggest project is to make several quilts for Oakwood's dessert auction which helps to raise money to send our youth to church camp.
It is said that it takes a village to raise a child. It takes a team to make a quilt. The process begins with an idea or pattern. It then moves to the fabric room and the hard decisions as to color and print or solid are made. Now, off to the ironing stations to be pressed and then to the cutting tables to be cut into the size needed. Once all these steps have been accomplished the pieces are ready to be sewn together and put on the design wall. When the pattern is completed on the design wall, it can be sewn together to complete the quilt top. It is pressed well and a backing is made. The time has come to make a quilt sandwich. The top, batting, and backing are put together and given to the quilter. She loads it on the longarm machine and begins sewing the three layers together. When the quilting is complete it is taken off the machine and the sides are trimmed. The final step is to bind the edges. This is done by sewing a strip all the way around the quilt on the back side and then turning it over and sewing the strip to the top side. A label is added to show who made the quilt. This is like an artist signing a painting. It takes a lot of work, coordination, and time to make one quilt.
Wow, what a year it has been! We have been blessed in many ways. The year began with the BIG move. The Deacons decided that we had outgrown our space in the White House and allowed us to more into the Rock House. It was a daunting task, but with the help of many burly men from the church, brawny husbands, energetic children and grandchildren the task was completed. Shelves were built and painted. Fabric was moved and organized. Tables, rugs, chairs, and machines were set up. Finished quilts now had a place to hang proudly. We are very thankful for this space and grateful to God for the opportunity to show his love through quilts.
We have also been blessed with generous donations of fabric and sewing notions. The things we cannot use are passed on to other charitable groups.
His Quilters have made 141 quilts this year that were donated to cancer patients at St. Mary's and Bass hospitals, babies at the Bass Nursery, 4RKids, Youth and Family Services, Care Campus (CASA), CDSA, Enid Street Outreach, Circle of Care, and victims of last spring's tornados. Twenty NICU quilts were delivered to Southwest Medical Hospital. Six twin size bedspreads were given to Freedom Gates Boys Ranch in Kiowa, KS. Eighteen quilts were donated to the youth auction in March which raised $6,520!
This team of ladies produced 185 quilts!
In addition to quilts, they also made over 100 pillowcases donated to Garland Road Nursing Home and Integris Health Meadowlake.
We are blessed and grateful to be able to show Jesus' love through our passion of quilting.
