In 1978, a quilting instructor teaching at the Lynchburg Department of Recreation, Isabel Biller, started meeting regularly with a core group of six other women. Together they formulated a plan to start a club where interested members could learn techniques, tools, and tips to make lovely quilts. After deciding on the name Patches ‘n Pieces Quilt Club, officers were elected and on March 22, 1979, bylaws were adopted, making the group an official co-sponsored club under the Department of Recreation. Fun fact: This is why we are a quilt club and not a quilt guild.
Early in the club’s existence, members engaged in the tradition of making and donating quilts to charity. In the summer of 2002, this effort formalized through the efforts of a generous club member, Karen Baker. After discussions and invitations, the initial gathering of the newly named group, the Queen Bees, occurred in September at Karen’s home. At that first gathering, Karen shared her wish to name these projects Community Quilts as a reminder of where they would stay.
The process of making and distributing quilts in our community through the Queen Bees continues to this day and is a cherished tradition. Bees offer copyright-free block patterns as well as other types of kits with fabrics for creating strip sets or blocks, or for quilting and finishing. A few Bees are responsible for specific types or sizes of quilted blankets for particular organizations, and others coordinate the delivery of quilts to a variety of local non-profit agencies.
To date, with the help of other club members, the Queen Bees of Patches ‘n Pieces Quilt Club have distributed more than 1,200 quilts for at-risk children and adults throughout our community since 2002.
