OKEECHOBEE — When a group of women was asked for the name of the best quilter in Okeechobee, immediately, the name Ginny (Virgina) Bryant was on their lips. Ginny, however disagreed. She said she was just one of many, and thought there are probably a lot of women who were more talented than she.

“It seems like Okeechobee is a hotbed of quilters,” said Ginny. “Then we have northerners come who are into it too.” She specifically mentioned Mary Hurley, who she said quilts completely by hand, and is the best of the best. Whether Ginny is the best in Okeechobee or not, she is definitely a gifted seamstress and quilter and has many beautiful examples of her art all over her home.

Ginny and her daughter Melissa Bryant are both a part of the quilt ministry of First Baptist Church. They meet on the first Saturday of each month. The leader of the group is Beverley Shurley, they said, and the group is always happy to have new people join in. Melissa said, often people think quilting is just a bunch of old ladies sitting around sewing, but it’s not. “We have an absolute blast.” You do not have to be a member of First Baptist Church to quilt with them.

Mostly, they make quilts for Hospice, Ginny said, but they also do some for Real Life Children’s Ranch. In addition, they make a quilt for every widow and widower in their church. At one point, they were trying to make sure each squad car had a quilt in it for children who were involved in some sort of traumatic experience. She said she is not sure if they are still doing this or not. They make quilts for women at the Lighthouse Refuge and have recently received instructions on how to make Quilts of Valor.

It varies based on the needs and the types of quilts they are making, but the group turns in about 15-20 quilts each month she said. Most of the quilts are 50” x 60”, but sometimes they are bigger. The ones for the women’s refuge go on their twin beds, so they are larger. The quilts that go to Real Life Children’s Ranch come with a pillow case too, said Melissa. Normally, the quilts go out almost as soon as they come in, she said. Right now, they have a bit of an abundance because of COVID, but normally, what they make is used almost immediately.
They have had fabric donated occasionally from families who have lost a family member who sewed. This is always greatly appreciated, they said. “We turn it into something that can bless someone else,” said Melissa. They use every scrap of fabric. Nothing is ever wasted. Ginny cuts her fabric scraps in 2”, 3 1/2” and 5” squares and stores them in neatly stacked containers. Some of the fabrics are used to make dog beds for Trail of Hope. Some is used to make back packs. When they have small pieces of batting fabric, too small for quilts, they use it in the dog beds. Fabrics that are too heavy for quilting are used for this as well.

One of the main focuses for the group is Operation Christmas Child. This is Shurley’s pet project, because for most of these children, this is the only gift they will ever receive. The group makes what they call, “Boxy Bags — tote bags, back packs.” One of the things inside these bags, is a sewing kit for each of the older girls. Melissa said they all felt it was important to them to pass on the skill they all loved so much to the next generation. Of course it is also something the girls will most likely find necessary as they need to repair holes in their clothes or sew on a button.

Ginny even made a trip to Haiti with More 2 Life to teach the women there how to sew, and said it was a very rewarding experience. They took two treadle sewing machines over there. “Some of those girls picked it up so quickly!” she said. “I was amazed.” They taught them to make a pillow case and showed them how to piece together a square.

About 98% of the quilts Ginny makes are for ministry of some type, and Melissa has followed in her mother’s footsteps. She said she thinks what she enjoys most about quilting is that she shares it with her mother. Her mom taught her how to quilt and when Ginny is gone, Melissa will feel as though some part of her is still with her, because she will always have the time they have spent together with the quilts, and she can carry it forward with new quilts.

When asked if they think quilting as an art might be dying out, both women said absolutely not. Before COVID-19 caused such a disruption in every day life, there were classes being taught at the church with some of the attendees being as young as 13. In one of the last classes, they had over 30 students.

Ginny’s mother taught her to sew as a child and her mom even did a little quilting. Ginny learned to quilt in 1992 and said she has made so many quilts now, she can not even begin to count them, but it is well into the 100s. When her mom passed away in 2010, she left Ginny some money, and Ginny used it to buy a long arm quilting machine. She said she knew it would make her mom happy to know she used it for that. Now, Ginny uses the machine to put, not only her own quilts, but the quilts of others together, and the money she earns doing this helps support her quilting ministry which can be rather costly. For example, just to make a throw sized quilt, approximately 65” by 65”, it would take the following:
• Six yards of fabric for the top at $11 per yard = $66

• Five yards fabric for backing at $13 per yard = $65
• Two yards of batting at $11 per yard = $22
• 5/8 yard of binding at $11 per yard = $6.88
Total cost of material = $159.88

Labor based on $10 per hour:
This includes preparing the fabric, cutting the pieces, sewing the blocks, setting into rows and adding borders.
•50 hours at $10 per hour = $500

Assembling the quilt sandwich:
Charged by the square inch in a simple all over design
• 4225 square inch at $.015 = $63.38
• Thread for quilting - $15
Total cost for construction $768.26

Finishing:
Making the binding:
• Two hours at $10 per hour = $20
Attaching the binding:
• 10 hours at $10 per hour = $100
Total finishing costs = $120
Total cost of small throw quilt = $888.26

People often wonder why quilts cost so much, and this is why, Ginny explained. She enjoys being able to donate, and the quilts she sells and the money she charges to put quilts together for people help support her ministry.

Right now, the quilters are making placemats for Meals on Wheels. They just finished up over 200 for Thanksgiving and are starting on Christmas. They plan to make some for spring and summer as well.

Ginny has done some custom quilts for people too. She had one client who asked for quilts for every grandchild, and she wanted pictures of her husband with each child on the quilt, so they could be keepsakes for the grandchildren.

Although First Baptist is the group Ginny is a part of, there are several others in Okeechobee. The Okeechobee Stitchers, is a big one. They normally meet on Thursdays but are not meeting now because of COVID. Tantie Quilters does their quilting by hand and meets out at the Historical Society Museum on U.S. 98 on Thursdays. If quilting is something that interests you, why not check into one of these groups? Maybe you will make some new friends.