News

Honoring Martha Messa

At a recent Coffee Creek Quilters membership meeting, we honored Martha Messa for her outstanding contributions to the organization. Martha served on our Board as Program Coordinator for 13 years until stepping down at the end of 2022. In that capacity she was our liaison with Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, making sure we were up-to-date with security badges, training, and prison procedures.

Martha also maintained vital information for and about our organization including class student lists, our membership roster, information about organizational roles and responsibilities, and much more. Martha served as a point of contact with people and organizations outside of CCQ as well, keeping track of donations and requests for speakers. She will continue to make herself available to the CCQ Board on a consulting basis.

Martha has been an instructor in the prison quilting program for 18 years and plans to return to the classroom when we resume teaching quilting classes at CCCF.

At our February meeting we presented Martha with a special thank-you gift created by CCQ member Sherri Culver: a stunning art quilt with a portrait of Martha appliqued against a colorful plaid background. We invite you to view the quilt in a larger format.

Our pandemic activities

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During the pandemic, CCQ hasn’t been able to teach quilting classes at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, but that doesn’t mean our members have been idle. We’ve been making quilts for donation, learning new quilting skills, and organizing our sewing spaces.

Gail Norby, who teaches in our Tuesday evening class, made the stunning quilt shown here. She took on the project as a pattern tester for Legit Kits, a company that offers paper pieced patterns and kits. It measures 60″ x 80″ and includes 115 different fabrics from her stash. Quilting is by Sally Eagleman, a longarm quilter with our program. Gail plans to hang this quilt in her sewing room.

A CCQ student publishes her memoir

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Karen Campbell was convicted of a felony for driving intoxicated and causing a fatal car crash that killed two people. She served six years at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility and has now published a book about her experiences. Falling: Hard Lessons and the Redemption of the Woman Next Door is available from Amazon in paperback and Kindle versions.

In her memoir, Karen describes her life before the accident, the harsh realities of prison life, and the path to atonement after release from prison. As she says:

“Falling is the story of how a middle-aged mom learns to navigate life on the Inside. Over the six years I was incarcerated, I learned how to eat a meal in 10 minutes with a spork. I learned obedience and humility. I learned lurid slang. I learned how to keep my mouth shut. I learned how to mother from behind bars, miles from my teenage daughters. And finally, I learned how to love the unloveable, including myself.”

During her time at CCCF, Karen participated in the Coffee Creek Quilters program. She made two quilts for charity and one to keep. Her personal quilt is a beach scene, illustrating her dream for release. Here’s what Karen has to say about her experiences in our program:

“My teacher from the Coffee Creek Quilters, Marjorie, was both an angel and an artist. Her quilts were landscapes and had international renown. She treated me as a student, and fellow human being who dreamed in colors besides beige and prison blue. Creating the quilt was a hands-on example of the skills I would need for parole. Marjorie encouraged me to challenge myself, step back, evaluate, make adjustments, and try again, eyes on the prize. After I released, I hung the landscape quilt of the Caribbean above my bed. Nine years, two months and five days after I was released from prison, the quilt still hangs in its place above my bed. My gratitude to the Coffee Creek Quilters.”