Quilters make millions of stitches in hopes of raising thousands of dollars

If pressed, quilt-show chairman Jolene Bennett would estimate that quilts in this year's show use hundreds of yards of fabric. She would put the estimated time spent at "thousands and thousands of hours." And when it comes to stitches — "oh, at least a million or more."

No one's really inclined to count up all the effort that went into making the quilts, however, because the important thing is this: Every fabric chosen, every hour spent, every stitch taken was done with love.

That's what the 2005 Holiday Quilt Show and Auction is all about. Women spend two years making the quilts that are donated to the Deseret Foundation, put on display and then auctioned off to raise money for education and research at LDS Hospital, Alta View Hospital, Cottonwood Hospital and the Orthopedic Specialty Hospital.

Unlike any other quilt show around, Deseret Foundation requires that all the quilting on these quilts be done by hand. Piecing can be done by machine, but all the actual quilting is stitched by hand. It's not that they have anything against machine quilting, which is becoming increasingly popular and can be equally beautiful, says Bennett. It's just that they want to preserve the traditional methods of quilting.

"It's not like our numbers have diminished," says Sandra Okland, a past chairman of the show. "This year we have 74 quilts, and that's about what we've had in the past. We see no reason to change. That's what makes this show unique."

Every year, she says, the show keeps getting better and better. "The quality improves year after year. Every year I wonder how they can get any better, but they do. This year, they are all just fabulous. So many creative, outstanding quilts."

Many of the quilts are made and donated by Utah Quilt Guild chapters and other groups around the state. Others are made by individuals. Quite a number were made at Colonial House, at modern monthly "quilting bees."

"We meet every fourth Tuesday," explains Miriam Zabriskie, "from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Anyone is invited. Usually, we have about 50 women, but they come and go." They piece and quilt and enjoy the camaraderie of other quilters. "It's also a great place to get ideas for your own quilts," says Zabriskie.

This year's crop of quilts features both traditional designs and applique, and both bed-size quilts and wall hangings.

And every one of them has a story.

For example, there's "Baskets and Blooms," a 42-by-50-inch quilt made by the KNOTTS quilt group in honor of their longtime member, Tamara Boren, who lost her struggle with breast cancer earlier this year.