Lakes Area Quilters started stitching 30+ years ago Special guests join the Lakes Area Quilters to expand their knowledge in the quilting arts. Here, Susan Cleveland, shows the group how to apply piping. Contributed photo They come from Douglas, Pope, Grant, Stearns, Todd and Ottertail counties, and they meet in Alexandria at the Bethesda Lutheran Church on the third Monday of each month. It’s all about quilting and it’s obvious that the group assembled has a lot of fun, and

Edna Lind’s hands are rarely idle. She’s given 101 of her handmade quilts to others, crocheted 15 baby blankets for Cameroon orphans and has made quilts for church members and family. “It keeps me out of mischief,” she says of all the activity. And it helped her a couple of years ago as she dealt with severe pain. Lind was reluctant to go to the doctor with her painful hip. “I’d just seen him for an ulcer,” she said. “I didn’t want to visit him again and say that now my hip w

growing one stitch at the time Grandma Arlean has won over 250 ribbons for her hand-stitched quilts. The number of awards could have been twice as many, but Arlean, who learned to quilt at the age of 15, didn’t enter any quilt competitions until 1976 when she was in her late 30s. “We went to a local fair where we looked at quilts,” Arlean remembered, “and when my kids saw the quilts on display, they decided to enter one of my quilts as they thought mine were better, and it to

“When I was a kid many women sewed most of their clothing. Everyday staples, like flour, came in cotton cloth bags that were washed and saved for sewing projects. They made things like tablecloths, kitchen curtains and dresses for little girls. If you wanted a little bigger garment you would look through the pile of flour sacks in the store and try to find more than one bag in the same print, they were usually prints with little flowers or something else. Sometimes you would

When it comes to describing The Gallery on 1st in Montevideo, words are inadequate. You need to see it to believe it and need to experience firsthand stepping into the shop and being greeted not only by Bob Christensen, the shop’s owner, and Ruth Walter, owner of Sewing Creations and Alterations by Ruth, but also the Gallery cats, Shadow and Alley. Those cats are the PR guys for the Gallery. They make sure they greet every customer that walks through the door. They’re a big a

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Quilters have donated nearly 2,000 quilts since 1994. #FairfaxMinn #quilting