New Life Workshop at St. Luke's Episcopal

On Saturday, February 27 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., 20 quilters gathered at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Des Moines to make "New Life" quilts.

The devotion from Ezekiel 37 was about a vision given to Ezekiel from God. A dry desert full of old bones returned to human form, but were not fully alive until they received ruach, the breath of life.

Quilters began "breathing life" into fabric strips and scraps to create new fabric. They began by selecting many strips and small pieces to sew together.

A colorful jumble of fabrics and machines!

Laura selecting more small pieces from the pile. A finished New Life quilt is behind Laura.

Diana sewing.

Sue with a strip of pieces.

Nancy and Lois

Debra shows off her "new" fabric.

Laura sewed lots of blocks.

Dorothea cutting "foursies" and "fivesies."

Janette and Laura

Some of the 20 block-makers were happy to pose with their blocks.

The group sewed 132 - 6-1/2" X 6-1/2" blocks that they donated to St. Luke's!

Quilters at St. Luke's will use the blocks to make quilts that will be raffled for a fundraiser.

Great work, everyone!

An Honor

After five years, and 20 - going on 21 - Stitchin' Mission series in the Des Moines area, including a Stitchin' Mission last year in Sydney, Australia, it's appropriate to thank and recognize all of you who have contributed to this ministry.

Quiltmaking helpers, called "Rebekahs" are the backbone of all Stitchin' Mission lessons. Without their help, quiltmaking lessons would not be feasible. Rebekahs are so-named based on Genesis 24. It was Rebekah at the well who offered water to Eliezer, Abraham's servant, and ten camels, and so Stitchin' Mission Rebekahs help teach newbies quiltmaking lessons.

Without each of you, teaching more than 600 people how to make quilts would not have happened. Thank yous do not begin to convey my appreciation to these 80-plus Rebekahs since 2005:

Elaine Anderson

Mary Baker

Cindy Barnett

Sharon Beerman

Dolores Belisario

Marna Billings

Debra Bird

Judy Bishop

Katie Borwey

Di Bracey

Linda Brewer

Emmaly Burklund

Jane Christenson

JoAnn Christians

Teresa Coady

Sue Conard

Connie Cook

Kimberly Coulter

Debbie Cowling

Jane Davis

Lynn DeGroot

Debra Dickerson

Beth Duensing

Ann Gerdom

Becky Gernant

Maggie Gilbert

Lori Githens

Missy Godfrey

Lois Grove

Norma Hamilton

Hollie Hart

Lorna Heemstra

Laurie Hews

Lyssa Hoffmann

Erika Horstmann

Barb Hyler

Deb Jacobs

Di Jobbins

Julia Jones

Nancy Jones

Deb Kellogg

Deanna Kennedy

Katie Kisling

Laura Kovarik

Linda Lack

Janet Leete

Kathleen Levinson

Abigail Livingood

Connie Lovelady

Doris Martin

Susan Mathison

Rhonda Matus

Su McCurdy

Robyn McGregor

Jean McLaughlin

Cath Midson

Leslie Miller

Susan Murdock

Mary Nichols

Kim Ogle

Gail Opie

Elaine Remoff

Norma Rohn

Jan Rosander

Lu Saf

Helen Schleicher

Nancy Schroeder

Susan Scrivner

Ann Shoemaker

Sharon Shultz

Julie Siefken

Norma Soethout

Ann Spencer

Michelle Tepley

Vivian Thatcher

Shirley Thomson

Alice Wegner

Nancy White

Marjorie Wildgoose

Lyn Wilson

Gigi Wilwerding

And extra special thank-yous go to the women who have accepted the responsibility of hosting a Stitchin' Mission. This is no small task! Consider the publicity, fabric donations, room arrangements, name tags, hand-outs, batting-shopping, photo arrangements, and quilt displays that each of them accomplished... dispensing smiles for everyone while an exacting teacher directs their moves! Thank you to these indispensable women who have coordinated Stitchin' Mission lessons in their churches since 2005:

(In chronological order)

Helen Schleicher - Valley Evangelical Free Church, West Des Moines

Norma Rohn - Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Urbandale

Sharon Beerman - St. John's Lutheran Church, Des Moines

Janet Leete - Berean Assembly of God, Pleasant Hill

Deanna Kennedy - Living Faith Lutheran Church, Clive

Jane Christenson - Westminster Presbyterian Church, Des Moines

Gigi Wilwerding - Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Des Moines

Ann Gerdom - West Des Moines United Methodist Church, West Des Moines

Norma Hamilton - Lutheran Church of Hope, West Des Moines

Susan Mathison - St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Des Moines

Joann Christians, Jane Davis - Johnston Evangelical Free Church, Johnston

Di Jobbins, Di Bracey - St. Mark's Anglican Church, Darling Point (Sydney), Australia

Lois Grove - First Federated Church, Des Moines

Because all of you have stood so faithfully behind Stitchin' Mission, supporting it and me in countless ways, this was given:

American Red Cross 2010 Heroes of the Heartland Award

Thank you, Jaci Gordon, women's ministry director at Lutheran Church of Hope, who made the nomination.
I am honored and more than humbled. This moment cannot be about me, but about all of you who have steadfastly participated in, and assisted with Stitchin' Mission. And numerous friends who have been my sounding board and advocate throughout the past five years. God's perfect timing put each of you in the right place, at the right moment, to fulfill his plan to help others in need of quilts, and touch lives in a unique way.

Thank you all for being such an incredible blessing. To God be this glory.

Linda

It's a Wrap!

A wrap of quilts that is!

Stitchin' Mission #20 lessons at First Federated Church concluded last evening with a little celebration,

and photos. Have you ever seen so many beaming faces?

Look for this group photo in the Des Moines Register (communities section) on Tuesday, February 16.

Thank you, Rebekahs, for giving your time to help our newbies. And thank you, newbies, for the gift of your time and struggles to learn to make a quilt, and then give it away! During show and tell we saw lots of fun boy quilts, and darling girl quilts that will surely bless the children at Dolce Refugio Children's Home in Monterrey, Mexico.

SM20 participants have until March 7 to complete and turn in their quilts. First Federated will display them in their worship center on Sunday, March 14. Come and see them!

New Life Quilt Made in Australia

Quilters at St. Mark's Anglican Church in Sydney (Darling Point), Australia, have been busy! Di Bracey sent this picture of her New Life Quilt, made with leftover fabrics from Stitchin' Mission #19 held there last October/November.

Learn how to make this quilt at the New Life Workshop on Saturday, February 27, at St. Luke's Episcopal Church here in Des Moines. We'll provide the scraps - unless you want to bring your own - and enjoy a day of sewing together. For more information or to register, go here.

Another Stitchin' Mission Scheduled

Though the last Stitchin' Mission #20 class at First Federated Church is next Tuesday, it's not too soon to mention that another Stitchin' Mission has been scheduled. Stitchin' Mission #21!

Please invite your friends and family to join in this next series of five free beginner quiltmaking lessons. Register now!

Stitchin' Mission® beginner quiltmaking lessons start Tuesday, March 2, 2010, 6:30 p.m., at Capitol City Baptist Church, 5990 NE 14th St., Des Moines. Choose from four 36” X 48” quilt patterns and in five free lessons, learn the fundamentals of quiltmaking. As much as possible, supplies are provided. Your cost may be $15 or less. Please consider donating the quilt you make to Alpha Women’s Center, Ankeny, Iowa.

Stitchin’ Mission is interdenominational—everyone is welcome! For more information and to register visit www.StitchinMission.org or phone (515) 289-1419.

Five Stitchin' Mission, beginner quiltmaking lessons are:

Tuesday, March 2, 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, March 9, 6:30 p.m.

No class spring break week, Tuesday, March 16

Tuesday, March 23, 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, March 30, 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 6, 6:30 p.m.

Stitchin' Mission #20 - Lessons Learned!

A hallway display case for Stitchin' Mission, at First Federated Church, Des Moines.

Stitchin' Mission #20 is rolling along... swimmingly! Or perhaps I should say snowingly! Our lessons have squeezed between an ice storm, and snow with white-out conditions. We're grateful to be able to continue to meet weekly.

This week's class found several quilters whirring away at sewing machines, while others spent time sandwiching and tying quilts.

If you continue through to the end of this post, you'll see a short video clip of a tying lesson everyone learned, including the instructor! You can teach an old dog new tricks!

Jeanette, tying her quilt sandwich.

Everyone loves Rachel's striking soccer print fabric.

We're glad to see Suyau at her second Stitchin' Mission!

What a skilled team Ashley has to help her sew! At left is Lois, our coordinator, and Linda, an able Rebekah.

Rebekah Deb helps Laura.

We didn't make Rachel sandwich her quilt on the floor, but she doesn't look too unhappy about it.

This mom Colette (L) and daughter Missy seem to be having a lot of fun together.

Mary worked away diligently, and was still at it at 9:45 p.m!

A highlight of the evening was watching De Ette's method - learned from ladies in her own church - of tying a quilt. Thank you for sharing this clever technique, De Ette!

Stitchin' Mission Lesson Questions Answered

Sue emailed these comments and questions. In case anyone else has similar questions, here are my responses.

Thanks again for another great class! I’ve laid out my blocks and I think the quilt is going to be really neat, so thanks to you and the Rebekahs for their help.

OK, I’ve come up with some questions:

1) How many safety pins do we need? I think I can scare up a few 1” ones but I have at least 16 bigger ones (1¾” total length) if those aren’t too big. The short answer is lots! I have several hundred that I use for pinning a large quilt. But if I were to guess for this baby quilt, I'd say 80-100 pins. They need to be pinned into the quilt sandwich approximately 4" apart to security hold the layers together. All that said though, you can thread baste your quilt. OR if you're planning to tie it, no basting is needed because we'll sandwich and tie the layers all at one time.

2) What width of masking tape do we need? The best roll I have is wider than the standard roll, but I can purchase a regular width roll if that will work. The regular width roll I have is old and likes to shred as you remove it from the spool, plus the back is rather sticky and I’m afraid it will leave a residue on the quilt. Any width tape works. We'll use it to tape the backing fabric to a table top.

3) Will you cover how to make the binding in the 4^th class so we can finish the quilt before the 5^th class? Yes, the fourth lesson is about binding.