LONE ROCK – Quilters will have an opportunity to come together and quilt for a cause this weekend.
The Quilted Steeple, 2605 90th Ave., rural Lone Rock, in conjunction with the Quilts of Valor Foundation, will be hosting a quilt-a-thon starting at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29 and wrapping up around noon on Sunday Oct. 2.
“We have had three previous Quilts of Valor retreats with around 25 to 30 quilt tops done on those weekends, so we are looking forward to getting those made,” said Susan Busch, co-owner of the Quilted Steeple.
Quilting can be done around the clock Thursday through Sunday in hopes of completing as many quilts as possible. When completed, the quilts are given to veterans and their families.
All quilters are welcome to attend the quilt-a-thon and may bring their own Quilt of Valor project to work on, or help with sewing those created by the group.
“If anyone has a Quilt of Valor they are working on, they’re welcome to bring it,” said Busch. “We will also have quilt squares cut that are ready to be sewn. You can bring your own sewing machine, or we may have a few extras that can be used.”
Quilts of Valor began locally about three years ago, Busch said.
“The Quilts of Valor group started with the Lone Rock American Legion Auxiliary and the Ames American Legion Auxiliary as a combination of those groups,” she said. “There is a national executive director, she is from Ames, and we have a state director; local people help out sewing and pressing the fabric.”
Also this weekend, the annual outdoor quilt show will be held from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on the grounds of the Quilted Steeple. This year’s show will be dedicated to Quilts of Valor.
“The quilt show is always a really big event,” said Busch. “We hang clothes lines from the trees and display the quilts, which will be especially beautiful on a fall day.”
At 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Marianne Fons, co-host of Public Television’s “Fons and Porters’s Love of Quilting,” will be speaking. Fons is a board member of the Quilts of Valor Foundation and has dedicated her time to promoting Quilts of Valor throughout the United States.
For more information about the quilt-a-thon or Quilts of Valor, contact Busch at 515-570-9625 or Ann Rehbein, executive director of the Quilts of Valor Foundation at 515-231-6198.