The annual Fiesta and Flea Market that will be held Saturday, Sept. 27 at St. Rose of Lima Church in Gaithersburg will mark the 25th year that a parish-based group of quilters will raffle off a quilt they created.
In addition to marking a milestone anniversary, the quilt being raffled this year recently won a top prize at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair in August.
“We won first place in our category for a large quilt made by a group,” said Mary Lou Naughton, a member of the parish and the quilting group.
The award-winning “Jubilee Jewels” quilt will fit a queen-size bed and measures approximately 80 inches by 96 inches. The quilt is comprised of 99 7-inch blocks encircled by a 2-inch yellow border and a 7-inch blue border.
Naughton said that the group of about 12 quilters search for possible quilt patterns and then bring those ideas to the other members who then vote on what pattern they will use.
“We will be starting soon looking for patterns for next year’s quilt,” she said.
Once a pattern has been selected, the quilters will gather in January with their sewing machines and follow the pattern of a sample block. They will create several test blocks until they are certain each member can create the block. They will then work on the pieces individually. Once all the blocks are sewn and put together, they are handed off to be completed as a quilt.
“We were very happy to get first (prize) this year, especially since this is our 25th year,” Naughton said. She added that it is “it’s kind of fun to see who wins” the quilt each year.
“We have a lot of people who come back every year” to try and win the quilt, she said.
The St. Rose of Lima Fiest and Flea Market will be held Saturday, Sept. 27, starting at 8 a.m. at the parish, 11701 Clopper Road, Gaithersburg Maryland.
The daylong event includes shopping, food and music and a Mass.
For more information, call 301-948-7545.
