Friday, April 03, 2026
48.0°F

Memories, artistry at Monroe House quilt show

CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 years, 4 months AGO
by CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | November 7, 2016 2:00 AM

photo

Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald Vintage quilts are among those on display at the Monroe House quilt show.

MOSES LAKE — The quilt hanging outside Imogene Greif’s apartment at Monroe House was made by her mother about 1940, from scraps of worn dresses and aprons. “Looking at the quilt brings back many memories,” she wrote on the label accompanying the display.

The quilt show at Monroe House, 1405 S. Monroe St., includes quilts from residents and their families along with Monroe House staff. Monroe House resident Clyde Owen pointed out the king-size quilt at the end of the hall, a star design made up of hundreds of individual rectangles. (It was purchased at a Menno Mennonite Country Auction, according to the label.) “Fantastic,” Owen said.

Quilts show evidence of meticulous planning, like the modern star quilt and the Rose Garden quilt dating from 1927. An unnamed relative of Margery Mullen carefully cut hexagons from worn clothes to get the effect she wanted.

Roylene Scoggin used trapunto on an elaborate quilt she called Midnight Dream. (Trapunto requires sewing a design, slicing it open from the back, adding extra stuffing, and sewing it closed.) “Designed one night when I couldn’t sleep,” she wrote.

Pam Lybbert entered two pieces of a massive project – a family member made individual quilts for six brothers and sisters, and when they’re all lined up together they “flow as one,” she wrote. “It is an amazing quilt.”

Quilts are old – the oldest one dates from 1905 – and new, one with a completion date on the label of Sept. 16, 2016.

“We never bought a blanket, always made,” Imogene wrote of a quilt dating from about 1945. She donated the 1905 quilt for display, wool and cotton flannel, pieced by her grandmother from discarded shirts, trousers and coats worn by her grandfather and uncles.

Betty Schwisow displayed the 1945 quilt made as a wedding gift for her parents by her grandmother, a design called Wedding Ring, also constructed from hundreds of rectangles. Her bright yellow quilt was a memento from childhood. “My maternal grandmother made this for me from scraps of dresses, et cetera, sewn by my mom,” she wrote. Members of the family of Al Dinsmore made a quilt for another family member, all flannel, mostly different shades of purple flannel, featuring coffee cups. The woman loved coffee, flannel and the color purple, the label said.

The show will on display through Nov. 18. Quilts can be viewed between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. People who want more information can contact Monroe House at 509-765-2200.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].

ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER

Road closures, roundabout, mean construction season underway
April 3, 2026 3 a.m.

Road closures, roundabout, mean construction season underway

EPHRATA — The grass is starting to turn green, the trees are starting to leaf out, construction crews are starting to build roundabouts – hey, it’s spring. At least one roundabout project is in its final phase, held over from fall 2025. The intersection of State Route 282 and Nat Washington Way will be closed the week of April 6 to allow crews to install permanent lights. “This really is the final (closure),” wrote Grant County Administrator Tom Gaines in a media release. “The roundabout will close at 6 a.m. Monday, and we plan to reopen by Friday, possibly sooner if the work finishes early.”

Ybarra announces run for Washington Senate
April 2, 2026 1:48 p.m.

Ybarra announces run for Washington Senate

QUINCY — State Representative Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, has announced his candidacy for the Washington Senate. If he’s elected, he would replace Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, who announced her retirement in March.

Othello Community Museum to open April 25
April 1, 2026 3:45 a.m.

Othello Community Museum to open April 25

OTHELLO — With a couple of new exhibits, a new heating-cooling system, rearranged displays and a thorough cleaning, the Othello Community Museum will open for the summer April 25. The goal, said Molly Popchock, museum board secretary, is to operate for a full season.