web powered by 
Home 
Northcoast Life Quilts for Troops: 120 and going strong
Quilts for Troops: 120 and going strong
 20-year-old Heather Shaffer, the newest member of the Lighthouse Quilt Guild, sews together pieces during the Quilt Day Tea on Saturday. The Daily Triplicate/Adam Madison “So far we’ve made 120 that have gone and we get thank-you’s from the hospital in Germany,” said Lois Gehrman, chairwoman of the Quilt Day Tea on Saturday at the guild hosted its annual Quilt Day tea. “And most of them come with a story.” Ruth Burrell, member and coordinator for the Quilts for Troops program, said production has grown due to more local members joining. “We are sending a minimum of 10 quilts each month since a little over a year ago,” said Burrell. She said more than five women have joined since last year and become contributing members. To see more photos click here .
There are now 53 members who contribute to the effort of making the quilts for the wounded soldiers.
The guild also routinely donates quilts to the Harrington House battered women’s shelter and the Pregnancy Care Center, she said. “These ladies are dedicated to it, we all see it as a way of giving help,” said Burrell. “Most of us are very patriotic.” She said the guild is donating an ornate quilt to Habitat for Humanity for fundraising efforts. Burrell said the guild is also selling raffle tickets for a large quilt that will go toward a guild-sponsored scholarship. Raffle tickets for a colorful, pink, green, and purple quilt are also being sold to support breast cancer awareness. Each of the quilts is the culmination of the entire group’s efforts. Some members piece together entire quilts, while other members may complete at least one “block,” a patterned, sewn-together square of fabric a month in order to participate in the “Block of the Month” program. That program is what inspired the guild’s newest and youngest member, 20-year-old Heather Shaffer, to start in January of this year. Shaffer said she had watched guild vice president Judy Potter make many patchwork pieces and quilts and wanted to know how she could participate. “She was always doing quilts so I was always very interested,” said Shaffer. “I started by doing just blocks for the ‘Block of the Month,’” she said. Since her membership began in January, Shaffer has decided to complete an entire quilt — by summer. “I hope to complete it for the August Quilt Show,” she said. Burrell said “we have members that work full-and part-time jobs and still others that don’t live here anymore.” She said work or location never stops a guild member from contributing. “Members send in finished tops and then we put them together,” said Burrell. “We have very ambitious ladies.” Burrell said the guild doesn’t just slap together anything turned in. “I’m very picky,” she said, with a quick laugh. That pickiness extends to the thickness of the cloth. “It has to be thick enough so you can’t see through it,” she said, picking up a piece of thin fabric off a shelf in the guild’s storage room. “It has to last.”
|
