On Sunday - 95 Quilts Blessed & Donated

On Sunday, March 13th, the 95 quilts were blessed at Zion Lutheran Church. The quilts were made by mostly Zion Lutheran WELCA members, Ardell Opdahl, Ione Nelson, Joyce Austad, Liz Follmann, LaVonne Brown, and a former Oklee resident, Leona Brekke, who sewed tops at her home.

The quilts are many different sizes and colors and will be divided up by the best use for them. In the past quilts have been donated to the Veteran’s at the VA Hospital, Linus Project, Grand Forks Mission, Northland Mission, Pathways, Clear Waters in Gonvick, VIP (Violence Intervention Program), and the Salvation Army.

The ladies opened up the quilting to anyone who wanted to participate this year, and Leona Brekke who used to live in Oklee volunteered to sew quilt tops for the projects. Ione Nelson would bring her material to use and then pick them up again. 

The rest of the ladies gatherned on Monday mornings for quilting. Some days only a few came, but other days there were all there, cutting pieces, sewing, tieing, putting the trim around the edges and before they knew it, they had created 95 quilts.

And when lunchtime came around, the ladies gathered for a potluck lunch. 

When they have a blessing of the quilts in church, there is a special litany used for the blessing, but the best part is singing the song “Bringing In The Quilts” to the tune of “Bringing in the Sheaves.” The words were written by Doris Hanson, a Zion WELCA member and quilter. Her wording to the tune of Bringing in the Sheaves has been borrowed by many churches in the area and they now use it for their quilt blessings.

We don't know who will get the 95 quilts yet, but whoever they are, are also blessed by the unselfish handiwork of these ladies and the many other churches & ladies groups who share their handiwork.