At first, Steve Colson watched his wife Pat sew from the sidelines. A dedicated member of her quilting group with Trinity Lutheran Church in Park Forest, Illinois, Pat often brought sewing “work” home. Before long, Steve's interest was piqued, and he asked Pat to teach him.
After he tried it for the first time, he was hooked. “At first Pat encouraged me," Steve says, who has been sewing quilt tops for LWR for nearly a decade. “Now, she thinks I sew too much! She can’t get a turn at the machine!”
Steve Colson lays out fabric for LWR quilt tops. He’s been sewing them for a decade.
When they retired to Florida several years ago, Steve and Pat joined Atonement Lutheran Church in Wesley Chapel. They didn't have a quilting group yet, so the couple set up a sewing area at home, which quickly grew to take over the top floor.
Two of Steve’s finished quilt tops.
They send quilt tops home with their former church friends when they visit for the winter. In exchange, they receive more fabric to make more quilt tops! The couple also make frequent visits to Park Forest to reconnect with loved ones. During these visits, they bring more quilt tops for the quilters at Trinity to finish and pick up more fabric. The cycle continues.
“I know our quilt tops are not quilt show material, pun intended, but that’s not the point," Steve says. “We’re part of making warm, comfortable and sturdy quilts that will help someone.”
Supporting the journey
While Florida is a far distance from where Steve and Pat’s quilts — and comforting presence — end up, we are all truly connected in this journey, from the first stitch of a quilt to the grateful hands that receive them.
The Quilt & Kit Shipping Fund is an excellent way to support the journey and to get your congregations involved. You can also honor or recognize a loved one through our Good Samaritan Quilt Plaza and become part of the “Many Trips Around the World” quilt pattern in Baltimore. Learn more here.
