Frozen In Time: A Quilting Tradition [VIDEO]

ST. CLOUD -- In this installment of our weekly Frozen In Time series we stopped out to St. Anthony's School for a lesson on quilting.

One group of women have been getting together for more than 80 years to make quilts for charity. The members have changed over the years but the quilting tradition remains the same despite the passing of time.

It's an activity that got started in a former group member's basement. The women hand-stitch quilts which are sold once a year at a charity bingo. The proceeds are donated to St. Anthony's parish.

The church eventually gave the women a space of their own to quilt at the school. Since then, the group has been meeting every Tuesday.

Olivia Schmitt says she buys all of the materials from local craft stores. The ladies get together about 40 times a year to decide the quilt's pattern and color scheme. They hand-stitch a whopping 40 quilts a year.

The women say you don't need any prior quilting experience to participate, they will teach you everything you need to know. Mary Brinker has been quilting with the group for more than 40 years. She has helped make more than 1,600 quilts.

Kathy Walker has been quilting in the group for about two years. She says she enjoys quilting because it reminds her of her childhood, "my grandmother and my mother quilted and when I was little. I used to play underneath them when they were quilting. That was the funnest, you had a tent."

This year's quilt bingo is scheduled for October 27th at 6:00 p.m. in the Parish Center. The ladies will be auctioning off all 40 quilts.

See a video of the quilts below as well as the story behind the $1,000 quilt.

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