by Dennis Dalman
A stunning homemade quilt hanging on a wall – as radiant and glowing as a stained-glass window – wowed the people who recently entered Heritage Hall by the Catholic Church in St. Joseph.
The king-size quilt, entitled “Prism,” was pieced together by Ilene Schmitt, a member of the St. Joseph Parish Quilt Group. It is one of nearly 40 quilts hand-made by the members of that group.
The magnificent quilts were made by the quilting ladies to raise funds at a Fourth of July Quilt Auction for any needs the Catholic parish may have. The auction takes place every summer during the St. Joseph Parish Fourth of July celebration. The St. Joseph Quilt Group started in 1986 and its members have been making and auctioning off quilts every year since.
The third quilt is a red-and-white stunner – a quilt that was made to honor the Saint John’s Johnnies football team. It’s 98 inches x 85 inches and contains 42 panels, each with a transferred color photo of the Johnnies team active on the playing field or celebrating victories. The quilt was pieced together by Delrose Fischer, chair of the quilt group, who has been with the group since its inception 44 years ago.
Long Process
Creating so many quilts (king-size, queen-size, small ones for children) is a very long labor of love for the 14 quilters in the St. Joseph Quilt Group.
Once a quilt’s components are cut and pieced together, the Quilt Group starts to work. They meet at Heritage Hall. They put the pieced-together quilt front on a large frame, then they start the hand-quilting process, stitching it all together with a layer of batting inside and a cloth backing. They attach a binding strip around the whole quilt, then hem it and stitch it – thousands and thousands of meticulous stitches by hand.
The quilters work together every Monday from 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and in some cases if they don’t finish a particular quilt they’ll continue working until 7 p.m. in order to finish the job. The quilting-session Mondays start in mid-August, with the month of December off, then they start again in January and go until March. The women create the quilts inside Heritage Hall.
On average, it takes 100 hours to complete a quilt, Fischer noted, and some can take up to three days of work. Each summer, at the Fourth of July Quilt Auction, the quilts bring a total of about $10,000 at auction to be used for the parish’s needs.
To see and learn more about the quilts up for auction, visit the following website: churchstjoseph.com
This dazzling quilt on display at Heritage Hall in St. Joseph was created by the St. Joseph Parish Quilt Group. Titled “Prism,” it was pieced together by quilter Ilene Schmitt. It’s one of many quilts that will be auctioned off to raise money for good causes.
