Auctioned Quilts

January 22, 2009

Quilts Raise Funds for SimmonsCooper Cancer Institute

Five quilts were auctioned at the 2008 Denim and Diamonds, an annual fundraiser held in Springfield, raising more than $1,800 for the SimmonCooper Cancer Institute at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.  The quilts were made from quilt blocks donated from around central Illinois.

The quilts were a friendship sampler (80 by 94 inches), a sawtooth star (72 by 86 inches) with three matching pillows, woven ribbon (102 by 102 inches), kaleidoscope (60 by 96 inches) and a small lap quilt.  Several other pillows, a table runner and a framed quilt block also were auctioned.  The 2008 Denim and Diamonds event raised a total of $240,000.  The 2009 event is October 2 in Springfield.

Plans are for volunteers to make additional quilts and quilted items from the remaining blocks for fundraising projects or for SIU patients undergoing treatment.
Beginning in November 2007, sewers and non-sewers completed 12½-inch blocks for the challenge, using one of two challenge fabrics, which were available at area quilt stores.  The effort was coordinated by Lois Weissberg, co-owner of peace & Appliqué in Rochester, and several SIU volunteers.

The participating quilt shops were -- peace & Appliqué, Rochester; Calico Heart and Sew Unique, both Springfield; Peddler’s Way Quilt Co., Washington; The Quilt Corner, Morton; Quilters Delight, Clinton; Cozy Corner, Metamora; Sewing Studio, Normal; Prairie Points, Peoria; and Cotton Stitches, Pekin.

The SimmonsCooper Cancer Institute at SIU is focusing the medical school’s efforts in cancer research, physician and public education, and treatment for patients from across central and southern Illinois.  Its new three-story building, dedicated in July, will consolidate SIU’s multi-disciplinary cancer clinics along with research and outreach service programs when it opens, pending release of operational funds from the State of Illinois.  The Institute’s Web site is www.siumed.edu/cancer and its phone number is 217-545-6000.

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