Helena quilting group prepares to donate over 200 quilts

A group of quilters at St. John's Lutheran Church is doing "sew" much good for others, making over 200 quilts to be donated.

"We can hardly wait for Wednesdays," said Linda Roessner, one of the heads of the St. John's quilt project.

Allie Kaiser MTN News

The group of roughly 20 people meets every Wednesday from 9:00 am to noon.

Depending on how many people show up, they typically complete five to ten quilts.

Each person has a different job. Some measure fabric or fold, and others tie knots or sew.

Allie Kaiser MTN News

Roessner said, "Everybody can be useful somewhere."

Each quilt is 60 inches by 80 inches and has top and bottom layers, so the group goes through over 13,000 square feet of donated fabric per year.

Allie Kaiser MTN News

They estimate that every year, over 5,000 hours of manpower go into quilt making.

"When I look at this, the cliche of there is love in every stitch is so true," said the pastor of St. John's, Keith Weatherford.

Allie Kaiser MTN News

The group sends 200 of the quilts to Lutheran World Relief, which distributes them worldwide to people in need.

Another head of the quilt project, Mildred Twingley, said, "It gives us satisfaction to know that we are helping somebody that may not have a quilt to cover up with."

Extra quilts will be donated to local nonprofits, such as God's Love and Family Promise, or to Bible camps and reservations.

Allie Kaiser MTN News

The group makes quilts from after Labor Day to the middle of May and takes a few breaks, like around Christmas and Easter.

St. John's Lutheran Church will send the quilts to a distribution facility on May 10th.