Meet our members: the CCQ kitmaking committee

CCQ offers four weekly quilting classes for women incarcerated at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. Every year our students make at least 100 quilts for donation; last year it was 140. Some years ago it became apparent that it would be most efficient to have a kitmaking committee assemble quilt kits for the classes, so member Nancy Pettit offered to start  one.

These days, Nancy and Cindy Pease co-chair the kitmaking committee. They monitor the quilt kit inventory and periodically invite other members to participate in kit making meetings to assemble more kits. They’re pictured here leading a meeting of kit makers and instructors who gathered recently to fine tune the guidelines for kits. For example, patterns for first quilts are simple, with squares and rectangles. Patterns for second quilts are more challenging and usually introduce half square triangles. Other guidelines cover fabric color selection, the size of fabric pieces, labeling, etc.

We are so grateful to Nancy, Cindy, and the other kitmakers for their efforts. The kitmaking committee is a “behind the scenes” effort that helps to make our classes and organization run smoothly.

A thank-you from Evans Creek Retreat “UP” Camp

Evan’s Creek Retreat ‘Up’ CampIn addition to quilts, CCQ students and members make pillow cases for donation. We received a lovely thank-you card from Evans Creek Retreat “UP Camp” for pillowcases we sent for participants in their Christmas program last year. The card reads:

“Just a few of the many faces that say thank you for Coffee Creek Quilters work and thoughtful gift to these special people at Christmas. Everyone is very proud of their unique pillow case and they recognize that someone took the time to make it especially for them. A true gift of love. Blessings, Evans Creek Retreat ‘UP’ Camp, 2019!”

 

CCQ donated 140 quilts in 2019

Student quiltCCQ gave 140 student-made quilts to six community organizations in 2019. The quilts were crafted by women in our prison quilting program in classes we teach in the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility dining room. Recipients of the quilts include:

Each student in our program makes three quilts. The first two are for donation and they keep the third quilt. We poll our students periodically to ask them what types of organizations they would like to support. They’ve told us they want to give quilts to organizations that support foster kids, hospice programs, and families in need.