OGDEN — Ten years ago, Debi French took one of her newly made quilts to work to show a colleague.
Her co-workers liked it so much they asked her if she would teach them how to quilt. She agreed.
“I taught classes for about five years and then one of the girls suggested we get a group together and meet once a month,” French said. “We would sew together and exchange ideas and help each other with certain parts of the quilt. At first we had about six women in the group and now we have 10.”
The women named their group, “In Stitches,” and decided to start making quilts for charity. On Saturday, they delivered 30 patriotic quilts to residents at the George E. Wahlen Ogden Veterans Home.
“It’s been such a fun project,” Tresa Thomas said. “The quilts are all patriotic colors and patterns. They’re really beautiful.”
Thomas said she had never sewn when she met French, but French was willing to offer free lessons.
The first charitable contribution from the group included 50 quilts for the University of Utah Burn Center in Salt Lake City. The quilts were so well-received that the women decided to work on another project.
“The only problem we had was that we didn’t have any material or funding,” French said.
The women decided to make a queen-size quilt that earned them $1,900 in donations.
“We were able to take that money and buy the fabric and materials for the veteran quilts. We also have a member of our group who owns a quilt shop in Draper and she donated some items,” Thomas said. “For about the past two years we’ve met once a month and worked on them and now they’re ready to deliver.”
The women hope the quilts, which include both lap and twin size, will be a comfort to the residents.
“I really hope that whoever gets a quilt will get to keep it,” French said. “I want it to become their own personal quilt and I hope it will bring them warmth and happiness.”
Thomas said being part of the group has been very satisfying.
“I’ve made some wonderful friends,” she said. “We’ve gone on quilting retreats together. We’ve helped we other and learned from each other and we’ve done some great projects. It’s been a very positive experience.”
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