Millwood church members make, sell uncommon items at bazaar

The back rooms of Millwood Presbyterian Church are bustling this week as the Women of Millwood put last-minute touches and price tags on items for their 25th annual bazaar Saturday.

The sale will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the church, 3223 N. Marguerite Road.

Almost everything is handmade except for the items in the “recycle room.” The group spends all year creating things for the bazaar: The women have a crafting group that meets every Monday and a quilting group that meets twice a month.

“We have the joy of being together,” said organizer Maureen Schneider. “It’s nice to be able to sit and talk.”

They sell artificial flower arrangements, jewelry, aprons, cards, baked goods and much more. Schneider pointed out an antique pin that has been made into a necklace. A watchband was turned into a bracelet. Some of the men in the church create wooden trays and decorations that the women paint.

Many of the crafts are created using things that are donated to church, including all those artificial flowers.

“People give them to us,” Marji Billings said. “They just appear. Truly God provides for us.”

It’s not only craft supplies that are donated. Some church members put together their own creations at home and then bring in the finished product to be sold. On Monday while the women prepared for the sale, someone dropped off a Christmas wreath and two shovels with their blades painted with winter scenes.

When the bazaar started 25 years ago, no one expected it to be so successful. “It just started as our own thing,” Schneider said. “We all love doing it.”

The church’s bazaar is different than others in that it doesn’t allow outside vendors. That’s because the money raised by the bazaar, usually between $3,000 and $4,000 a year, is donated to community organizations such as Spokane Valley Partners and the Union Gospel Mission. “They make the profit,” Schneider said of outside vendors. “Our purpose is to help the community with our sale.”

Schneider’s specialty is handmade cards. She said it will take her all morning to make three or four. “It’s so fun to put them together,” she said. “You’ve got to find the right thing on that card.”

Marlene Montgomery is part of the group that makes quilts for the bazaar. Any quilts that don’t sell are donated to local nonprofit organizations. “Then we start all over again,” Montgomery said.