Piecemakers make quilts for charity

The Piecemakers ministry at United Lutheran Church in Bella Vista meets weekly to make quilts for Lutheran World Relief as well as for local needs.

Louise Wobig of Piecemakers said the group has crafted 8,500 quilts since 1986, which is as far back as the records go. For many years they never made fewer than 100 quilts, with the year 2006 standing out with a total of 405 quilts, she said. The pandemic hurt their numbers. They used to have 25 to 30 members working on quilts each week, and now there are only 13 on their roster.

The group has given quilts to Decatur Schools and Restoration Village and other local needs, but the majority of the quilts go to Lutheran World Relief. According to the Lutheran World Relief website, the quilts are given to people who are survivors of natural disasters or civil war and can be used for warm bedding, floor coverings or simple tents. The Piecemakers follow the guidelines prescribed by Lutheran World Relief for making the twinsize quilts. Lutheran World Relief has been giving quilts away since it reached out to war-torn Europe following World War II, the website says, and it provides an average of 300,000 worldwide each year.

“All over this country women are meeting in church basements and making quilts for Lutheran World Relief,” Wobig said.

She said they mostly rely on donated fabric and sheets to make the quilts. They hold an auction as part of the church’s Oktoberfest, and they use that money to buy batting to fill the quilts and backing for the quilts.

Not everyone involved knows how to quilt, but there are plenty of jobs to go around, Wobig said.

“We keep busy and we are productive,” she said.

There are several steps involved in making a quilt including cutting the blocks, arranging the blocks into patterns, sewing the blocks together to create the quilt tops, cutting the batting to fill the quilts, cutting and ironing the backing, tying the quilt tops using yarn and then finishing the border with a sewing machine.

“It’s such a fun thing for these women. It’s such a good social outlet. And they’re doing something that matters,” she said.

She added, “We welcome anybody that wants to come and help us. It’s a lot of fun to do this. Sometimes I can’t get them to break for coffee.”

The group meets Tuesday mornings from 9-11:30 a.m. in the church’s fellowship hall.

Rachel Dickerson/The Weekly Vista Quilters (from left) Vicki Dehnert, Margaret Christianson and Cindy Johnson tie a quilt during a meeting of Piecemakers on Feb. 14 at United Lutheran Church of Bella Vista.

Rachel Dickerson/The Weekly Vista LoGene Test lays out quilt blocks in a pattern during a meeting of Piecemakers on Feb. 14 at United Lutheran Church of Bella Vista.

Rachel Dickerson/The Weekly Vista Margo Webb cuts fabric into blocks for quilts during a meeting of Piecemakers at United Lutheran Church of Bella Vista on Feb. 14.