The Palouse Patchers have been quilting for more than 30 years, and their mission of philanthropy hasn’t slowed at all.
hayden crosby | rawr
Employee Anne Anderson pieces together a custom-ordered quilt at Stiches and Petals in the Village
Mall.
Club President Nancy Powers said they contribute to Quilts of Valor, which gives quilts to veterans, Habitat for Humanity and the Court Appointed Special Advocates program.
“Our hope is that every foster child — actually we do a tri-county area — has a quilt so they know somebody cares about them,” Powers said.
She said the group tries to provide a quilt for every finished Habitat for Humanity home.
Quilts of Valor is a national program to provide quilts for veterans from WWII and beyond.
Mary Shook, a community service committee member of the club said they also work with Gritman Medical Center to provide quilts for babies.
Each month, members of the Palouse Patchers club meet together to share their love of quilting, learn something new and, most importantly, to have fun, Powers said.
Celia Boland, a member of the club, said they will often have a show and tell about quilts they are working on.
The next meeting, on Nov. 6, will feature Debbie Munn, a Spokane-based fabric artist, Powers said.
Twice a year, in Oct. and April, Palouse Patchers are invited to quilt camp on Lake Coeur d’Alene.
“So we kind of take over the camp and have a good time,” Powers said.
She said participants bring projects to work on for five days. About 35 people attended the last camp.
The largest event for the Palouse Patchers is the quilt show in April. This year it will be held on April 20 and 21 at the Latah County Fair Grounds, in connection with Mom’s Weekend.
“We just take over the whole building,” Boland said.
This year, the quilt show is called “Lattice Fantasy,” and the challenge is “Nature Fantasies.”
Members can participate in the challenge, wherein they are randomly assigned a part of the theme and they have to make a quilt based on that theme.
These challenge quilts are 18 by 24 inches, Powers said, so they are all uniform.
Last year, the challenge was color themed. Members were assigned a random color off of a color wheel, and made quilts based on that color.
Powers said they were displayed at Dahmen Barn in Uniontown, Wash., and they made a rainbow around the barn.
“The sum was greater than the individual parts,” Powers said.
Boland said there are no dues for participating in the Palouse Patchers, but each member is required to work at the quilt show.
“Because it takes a lot of manpower to work the quilt show,” Powers said.
She said members are also required to bring two-dozen cookies for refreshments at the show.
Powers said some members of the club are worried about losing the craft of quilting.
“We would love to have college-age people join us,” she said.
She said the club is open to all. They meet on the first Tuesday of every month, with the exception of January, July and August. Most meetings are at the Latah County Fairgrounds, but November’s meeting has been moved to Moscow Middle School because of the election.
Kasen Christensen can be reached at [email protected]