Sewing Seeds of Community: Piecemakers Quilt for a Cause

A complicated quilt can take more than a year to finish. You need to find the right fabric, match and cut the pieces, sew them together, add the middle layer (that’s called batting!) and then add a back layer. Next, a talented craftsperson can stitch an intricate pattern along the cover. To complete, binding is sewn to close the edges.

In other words, it takes time. And, for a group of people who meet at the local Lutheran church, time spent quilting is time best spent in the company of friends pursuing a noble cause.

Every Thursday, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., a quilting club called the Piecemakers meets at the little Lutheran church on Highway 26. More than a group for hobbyists, the Piecemakers are doing their part to feed underserved mountain locals.

Every week, between 10 and 20 people make the trek from as far away as Gresham to spend several hours crafting among their friends. There is no real organizational structure. There is no guided agenda. These women are compelled to focus only on the projects that stir their passion. They trade tips. They exchange materials. They catch up.

There are perhaps only two mandates in the Piecemakers. Lunch is at noon (dessert is the responsibility of a different attendee each week), and community comes first.

“We do such wonderful work for the community,” says member Joan Knowlton. “We’re getting ready to do a quilt show and craft fair to benefit Neighborhood Missions.” The quilt and craft show will be held at the Lutheran Church on Saturday, September 27, from 10:00-2:00.

Neighborhood Missions is a food drive run out of the Lutheran Church. Its goal is to distribute food to any family that needs it. On the last Monday of every month, Neighborhood Missions hosts a “Free Food” Day for families in need.

Though they get help from the Oregon Food Bank, Neighborhood Missions supplements that food with their own contributions. Recent budget shortfalls from the Oregon Food Bank have put more pressure on the organization than ever before. 

On any given “Free Food” Day, organizer Ron Jagow says Neighborhood Missions goes through about 4,000 pounds of food in a 45-minute window. “And,” he adds, “We’ve been adding about 400 to 600 pounds over and above what Oregon Food Bank sends us.”

In July, Neighborhood Missions fed more than 75 families. Anyone in need is welcome to attend “Free Food” Day. If you require some help, you’ll get it. No questions asked. 

Anyone who wants to help out can also show up and expect to get put to work. On an average “Free Food” Day, about 14 volunteers arrive at the church around 6:45 a.m. to start preparing boxes.

This year, in addition to a wide variety of crafts, the Piecemakers are shaking things up by offering one of their prized quilts as a raffle item to support Neighborhood Missions. When asked how much they expect their quilt to draw in, Piecemaker Judy Edelman explains, “We’ve never done a raffle before … but the cost of making a quilt like that would be around $1,000 maybe, when you consider the cost of the material and the hours that go into it.” Neighborhood Missions isn’t the only beneficiary of the Piecemakers’ efforts. Completed quilts are also donated to women’s shelters, the Ronald McDonald House, the Hopewell House, the Mt. Hood Medical Center, and Quilts Without Borders.

“It’s a great support group,” says Edelman. “It’s a sisterhood. We laugh. We cry. We make mistakes. We encourage each other. It’s just a great group of women doing what we love to do.”