Queens Of Quilting Catholic Sewing Ladies Turns Old Blankets And Donated Fabric Into Beautiful Bedding

Thu., Sept. 25, 1997

Story And Photos By Sandra Billi

Nothing goes to waste Thursday mornings in the basement of the chancery of the Catholic diocese of Spokane. Not a scrap of fabric, a piece of yarn or a moment of the Catholic Sewing Ladies’ time. After their summer hiatus, the women are back at work, cranking out an average of six quilts for charity every week.

Mary Helen Rotondi, 91, remembers when her mother Anna Brunk, started the group in the early 1930’s. At first, it was just the two of them. “We didn’t have any (quilting) frame or anything, mother and I,” says Rotondi. “It got to be that we were really loaded down, so I said to mother, ‘Why don’t you contact one of the priests and see if we can get some help?’ ” Two women came to pitch in at the West Sinto home that Rotondi shared with her mother that first week and it grew from there, eventually moving to the chancery.

They work from about 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., pausing to chat and tell jokes now and then and for lunch, which is followed by recitation of the rosary. Topics of conversation swing from Mother Teresa and Princess Diana to canning, fishing and the Mariners: “They’re all good looking, and Randy Johnson is kind of cute when he has his cap off.”

Jo Merwin, who describes herself as “not a very quiet person,” is the ring leader. At their first session two weeks ago (note: September 18th) she asked that they say an extra prayer for being brought back togther. “It’s good to see you all,” she said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 4 photos

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