By Gail Van Horn

Many talents are required to create hundreds of quilts and pillows donated each year by the Wednesday quilting group that's been in existence for some 50 years at Roseville Lutheran Church.

The 12-15 volunteers are always looking for others to join them in the basement Heritage Hall located below the church preschool on Ryan Avenue.

While several volunteers insert yarn ties to bind three layers of fabric together, others stuff decorative pillows to accompany the quilts. The group donates to nursing homes, Bridging, Lutheran World Relief and even the Animal Humane Society. Leader Muriel Anderson counted 27 cat blankets donated to the Humane Society on Jan. 31, 20 large and 9 children's quilts donated on Feb. 9, and 15 children's quilts and 3 large ones to Bridging on Feb. 22.

Bridging, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization serving the greater Twin Cities, is the largest furniture and household goods bank in the United States. It has furnished more than 80,000 homes since 1987. Recipients are referred by a network of some 150 referring agencies and nonprofit organizations that verify need. On average, Bridging distributes 11 semi-truck loads of furniture and household goods to 80 households every week. Bridging accepts quality, gently used items, and by doing so, diverts 200,000 pounds of inventory from the landfill each week.

Lutheran World Relief welcomes and resettles thousands of refugees referred by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to the United States each year. It also provides disaster response in other countries.

Treasurer Ardis Zantek and Virginia Cronin note that people who don't sew can sort yarn, stuff pillows, iron fabric, organize supplies, serve treats and clean up afterwards. All volunteers are welcome, and some even sew at home.

The group meets weekly except for December.