Audrey Fisher grew up on a farm in Western Washington. She remembers always having an abundance of blueberries. “My father planted those once, 75 years ago. There’s not a lot of things that you plant once that produce for so long.”
You could say the same thing about Audrey. In her many decades of life — she celebrated 90 years this past June — she has produced more than 18,000 LWR Mission Quilts. In fact, she has been supporting neighbors in need through Lutheran World Relief since our founding in 1945. When her pastor learned about a new organization making bandages to send to those harmed in World War II, he asked his congregation for support. Audrey’s mother encouraged her to help because she had such good sewing skills.
A lifetime of quilting and thousands of lives impacted
Audrey began sewing at just 6 years old. She hasn’t stopped since. “It’s in my blood,” she said.
In 1979, she became the leader of her quilt group at First Lutheran Church in Bothell, Washington, a suburb of Seattle near where she moved after she married. The size of the group and numbers of quilts sewn have ebbed and flowed over the years. One year, in the early 1990s, they made nearly 700 quilts, which is still their annual record.
The group hosts quilt-a-thons when they need help in meeting their goal, bringing in other church members. After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the need for quilts was so great that Audrey held a special quilt-a-thon to make sure her church could meet the demand.
She has a large poster board thermometer in the back of the church that proudly displays how many quilts are made each year by the group.
A community of service
Quilting can be intimidating, especially for newbies who aren’t familiar with the more complicated methods. So, she keeps the patterns and stitches simple and does a lot of prep for those who join the group.
While she’s currently one of ten quilters at the church, as the group lead, her hands touch every single quilt. She cuts the backs and tops and makes holy sheets to make it easier for quilters, who then take the parts home and sew them together.
After all these years, Audrey has her system down pat — and so many friends that lend their support. A friend at her church created a compression machine using car jacks, pipes and wood, allowing the group to flatten the quilts for better packing. And her group is so well-known in the community, that when a community member who collected fabric passed away, their relative reached out to Audrey and donated nine storage units packed with fabric, all 3-10 yard pieces. There was so much fabric that, in addition to the quilts it produced, the group filled 37 boxes with excessive fabric for the subsequent ingathering. “Most of the group was beside themselves!” she said.
QUILTER'S TIP: Audrey's quilting group ships their quilts in banana boxes, like the kind you find at grocery stores, which are stronger than regular cardboard boxes
Sharing her gifts from God with others
Audrey has a bit of a ritual herself for her quilts. “Some people think it’s crazy,” she said, “but I like to talk to them. I wonder where you’re going, I wonder who’s going to get you. When I’m quilting, I’m not worrying about the problems of the world. I’m talking to my quilts and I’m talking to God. That’s my relaxation. And I just really enjoy doing it.”
In addition to making quilts with her church, Audrey helps make LWR School Kits every year and likes to teach sewing to others.
Audrey likes thinking about how many people around the world have felt comforted and loved by her quilts. “Sewing is a talent that God gave me at an early age. And he tells us we are supposed to help other people. I’m giving warmth to a family somewhere, even if I don’t know where. It’s what I do.”
