Sew - We Keep Giving

The quilts that our "Sewing Ladies" put together were displayed on the church pews on October 31st. The next day they were packed into boxes, stacked into the back of a pickup and later in the week delivered to Lincoln. Those blankets and kits are then joined with shipments from churches around Nebraska to be trucked to Minnesota to large LWR warehouses where they will be prepared for shipment to areas all over the world.

Even before the blankets that were displayed were all packed up, our Sewing Ladies had begun to make blankets for the 2011 shipment. Throughout the year, there are blocks of material being "pieced" together into colorful patterns in homes of some of the Martin Luther Church ladies. When the ladies gather at church for their sewing days, the blanket tops are paired with an interlining and also material that makes up the back of the quilt. They are then stitched and hand-tied. The blankets are then hemmed along the outer edge. This is another procedure that often is done in the homes of the ladies during the week.

The Sewing Ladies would like to invite anyone to join them in this effort. You can see by the pictures here that they ENJOY what they do - it's good to give!!




Laura Ottemann is working on a hand-tied quilt for the 2011 shipment



Arlene Schuette working on a hand-tied quilt.

Sewing Trivia - (a few tidbits from a book they've kept of their endeavors):
LWR is not the only recipient of the pieced together blankets. Over the years, they've noted gifts to Lydia House, Indian Oaks, Tecumseh Action Center, SENCA at Auburn, Hallam tornado victims, foster children, victims of fire, David Oestmann, Camp Carol Joy Holling, and High School graduates of MLC.  In addition, MLC members may buy a blanket on the day they are displayed with proceeds going back into the fund to buy supplies for the next years' blankets.

A note from the book: In 1997-98, the ladies put in over a combined 1900 hours at church and countless hours at their homes to put together 200 covers and two quilts.  That particular sewing year, 18 ladies participated throughout the year. 

There are names of ladies in the log book that are still recognized but have gone on to their heavenly home - Deloma Bohling, Alice Rademacher, Emma Rademacher, Irene Meyer, Irene Knippelmeier, Hilda Behrends, Arvilla Behrends, Zola Caspers, Lucille Rippe, Alvera Ebeler, Zola Antholz, Gladys Schneider;
the names of ladies still with us but unable to come to sewing days - Leola Heuke, Emma Nolte, Elvera Bohling, Sylvia Fass;
and the names of ladies that are still sewing yet in 2010 - Marcille Bohling, Joan Bohling, Laura Ottemann, Ellen Oestmann, Norma Speckmann, Arlene Schuette, Sharon Oestmann. 

The list of names in the log book has grown quite short now

but those few Sewing Ladies just keep on going ....

AND giving...and giving.