It’s been a year since Coffee Creek Quilters once again welcomed quilting students and rolled out quilt kits, sewing machines, and other tools for the benefit of Adults in Custody at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. We started with 7 instructors, about 25 students, and a little uncertainty about how this new adventure was going to work out. Fortunately, it has been a fantastic success! Over the past year we have trained 14 new instructors; all are actively participating in our Monday or Wednesday classes as dedicated instructors or as floaters. Their tasks include checking tools out and back in, instructing students, evaluating their work (from “This stitching looks great!” to “You need to take this seam out and try again.”), and providing individual assistance when students are struggling with a technique or concept. It is great to have these willing instructors available each week to make our students’ quilting experiences even more enjoyable.

Most of the students who started the program in February 2024 are finishing their second quilt or working on their third quilt. You may recall that students complete three quilts over the course of the program. The first two quilts are given for donation and the student keeps the third quilt (or gives it to a loved one). We also have a cadre of volunteer longarm quilters who use their longarm machines to quilt the third quilts. We have had 4 students complete the program during our first year back. Two students will be released very soon and have requested a “release kit.” They will be leaving the prison with a sewing machine, quilting tools, fabric, and books containing patterns and strategies to continue their quilting journeys.

Thank you for your support and interest in Coffee Creek Quilters!