Odessa Quilt Club activities abound all through the year

The Odessa Quilt Club elected new officers for the coming year at the monthly October business meeting. The new officers are as follows: President, Debbie Buscher; Vice President, Kathie Donahue; Treasurer, Julie Weishaar; Secretary, Sherrie Heimbigner; Sgt. at Arms, Joyce McClanahan.

The club sponsors many activities throughout the year. In March, they hold “Quilt ‘Til You Wilt,” an all-day quilting bee with games and quilt classes. In April, the annual Spring Fling Quilt Show is offered in the High School Gymnasium. Last year, over 200 quilts were shown. One of the club’s biggest annual fund-raising activities is the offering of a raffle quilt which is given away each April at the quilt show. Tickets can be obtained from any quilt club member for $1 each. In September, during Deutschesfest, the club shows antique and vintage quilts at St. Matthew’s Church. In December, the club holds its annual Christmas Party and Secret Sister Reveal.

Each year, Quilt Club members and their guests participate in a three-day quilting retreat at a resort or special retreat venue. Last year and this year, they chose Palouse Divide Lodge in northern Idaho for their retreat during the first week of November. The lodge, built on a high ridge off White Pine Highway 6, was built on the site of an old ski lodge used from the 1930s up through the 1980s by WSU students. The lodge commands a spectacular view of the surrounding country. Retreaters will be quilting for three days while enjoying the hospitality of the lodge.

The club designs, sews and quilts donation quilts for Angel Flight, the Family Resource Center (FRC) in Davenport, and other groups providing humanitarian services in the region. This past year, the club provided five finished quilts to FRC for their annual fund-raising auction. Angel Flight flies local patients to the west side of the state for specialized treatment and gives each of their passengers a quilt to keep them warm on the way.

This November, the Quilt Club will hold its third annual open house on Saturday, November 12, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Christ Lutheran Church, 602 E. Amende Drive. Chairing the open house are Laura Estes and Lise Ott. The free event offers guests the opportunity to learn quilting skills and take home a lovely gift at the end of the day. Participants will be able to choose from three projects designed to teach quilting skills: a wine gift bag, a sack lunch bag, or a purse.

A soup lunch and refreshments will be served and everyone is welcome. Please RSVP to Estes at 982-2908 or Ott at 988-0085. All participants will receive a coupon for a free Fat Quarter at the Quilt Crossing, 4 West First Ave., Odessa.

Estes suggested bringing any of the following items if possible: scissors, rotary cutting tools, seam ripper, pins, portable sewing machine. She said, “If you have none of these, come anyway; we will have extras for you to use that day.”

Anyone interested in joining the Odessa Quilt Club can contact any of its members for more information. Meetings are held weekly on Monday nights at the Odessa Museum, north entrance, beginning at 7 p.m. Membership is free and open to all who are interested in quilting. Club members are taught hand and machine quilting, appliqué and other related skills. For more information, please contact Kathie Donahue at 982-2879 or email prairystitcher@gmail.com