The altar at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church in Ferndale is adorned with wildflowers these days, and it’s a collection of blooms that will never die.

A faithful group of church members has spent the past 2 1/2 years creating a set of 12 needlepoint kneelers featuring more than 30 indigenous wildflowers.

On Sunday, July 21, the one-of-a-kind kneeling pads will be dedicated during a special ceremony at 10 a.m., with an open house planned from noon to 3 p.m. at the church (30631 Montana 209, across from the Ferndale Volunteer Fire Department).

The idea sprouted from Patty Blonda Saville, who was inspired by a set of needlepoint kneelers she saw at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Salt Lake City.

“They’d done a phenomenal job. They were so beautiful,” she recalled about the St. Mark’s kneelers.

When Saville expressed interest in the kneelers, she was put in touch with the woman who had spearheaded the Salt Lake project. Back in Ferndale, she mentioned to fellow parishioners that if they’re ever in Salt Lake City they should go and see the extraordinary collection.

That was all the divine inspiration St. Patrick’s members needed to launch their own kneeler project.

“It just took on a life of its own,” Saville said.

While 30-plus church members and friends helped with the stitching, a trio of women orchestrated the endeavor.

Saville formerly worked in the needlepoint industry and had the connections needed to get the special three-ply Persian Paternayan wool yarn.

Faye Lomax, who worked as a graphic designer for Boeing for 35 years, took the lead in designing the various wildflowers, and Winnie Greenshields, both a botanical expert and skilled needlepoint artist, helped get the proportions of the flowers just right and tackled some of the most difficult stitching.

“It was a great balance of talents, skills and willingness,” Lomax said. “The whole congregation was involved” every step of the way, choosing which wildflowers to stitch and then in some cases learning how to do needlepoint.

The youngest stitcher was 8; the oldest was 80.

Getting enough of the special yarn to complete the project was the first big challenge, Saville said, because the manufacturer had discontinued production. She called the company and managed to get enough for the off-white background.

“Some parishioners picked up a little yarn here and there,” she said, adding that her connections in the industry led her to a shop in Cape Cod, Mass., that “had a fantastic collection.”

The designs were tricky, Lomax said. She had stacks of books and pamphlets on wildflowers, but finding the right picture in the right book was a challenge.

Saville drew the vines on the side panels and divvied them up so more people could participate. A friend of hers in Delaware had the means to paint the designs on the mono canvas. Each kneeler measures 20 by 10 inches.

Greenshields took on one of the most difficult designs — beargrass — using several shades of white to get the blossoms just right. Her husband was a consultant of sorts for the beargrass design.

“They had to pass his inspection,” she said with a smile.

Once the kneelers were finished, one church member stepped up to donate new carpeting to match the needlepoint because the old, faded sculptured red carpeting just didn’t do the kneelers justice.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.