It's about love

On Tuesday mornings in downtown Bloomington, the basement of First Christian Church comes alive. Around tables covered in fabric, thread and yarn, women gather not just to create, but to give. They are Fibers of Love, and for years their stitches have wrapped the community, especially Cunningham Children’s Home, in care.

Over the years, Fibers of Love has donated hundreds of quilts to Cunningham’s Festival of Quilts. Their quilts have become a cornerstone of the festival, helping raise critical funds while showcasing the beauty and generosity stitched into every square.

Trisha Horner started Fibers of Love in the early 2000s as a ministry affiliated with Calvary United Methodist Church. Because the church had carpet throughout and couldn’t accommodate a sewing group, the women first gathered in Trisha’s home, then later at AKN Fabrics, proving from the start that where there’s a will to serve, there’s always a way.
“Quilting is my passion and donating to Cunningham has pretty much been from the beginning,” Trisha said. “It brings me joy. When I am quilting, I am relaxed and in my happy place.”

Over time, the ministry grew into what it is today—meeting weekly and welcoming anyone who wants to participate. On average, about 30 women come each week, though 30 to 50 are involved overall, with some sewing from home.
“It’s an open-ended thing. We don’t take attendance ever—you just come and enjoy,” Trisha said. “It’s a neat little hug toward our community.”

The group sews everything from hospital gowns to blankets, quilts, walker pockets for retirement homes, and tiny crocheted baby hats and sweaters for nurseries. In addition to Cunningham, they work with the Midwest Distribution Center, The Baby Fold, Crisis Nursery—nearly 50 agencies in total, creating roughly 75 different items that are distributed around the world. Each year, they produce items in the thousands.

“You kind of start knowing which agency needs which kind or what size,” Trisha explained. “Like The Baby Fold—they need smaller sizes. And the vets need lap quilts to twin or full size, and they prefer something more in the red, white and blue genre.”

Yet for Trisha, the heart of Fibers of Love is about more than output.

“My main thing is fellowship,” she said. “A lot of these ladies have lost spouses, and it’s giving meaning back into their lives and giving to the world.”

Quilting, for Trisha, is both art and calling. She doesn’t plan her designs in advance.

“No, I don’t decide; the Lord decides,” she said. “Because I don’t know where it’s going to go. I don’t know who it’s going to go to. It just comes to me.”

While wintering in Texas, Trisha found herself turning over ideas in her mind for a beautiful collection of newer fat quarters that had been gifted to her.

“It hit me like overnight; It slapped me across the head,” she said with a laugh. “I did a split rail with a hole in the corner. You have to create something beautiful and a place for your eyes to rest in a quilt. You don’t just put a bunch of fabrics together. You have to create the 60-30-10 percent—60% color, 30% accent, and 10% truly, truly beautiful. I sat down on a Monday and five days later, I am almost done with it.”

Fibers of Love operates without a formal budget. “We fly by the seat of our pants,” Trisha said. “If we need something, we put it on our Facebook page, and it just happens. It’s just a beautiful thing. It takes care of itself.”

The women are dedicated. When Trisha left at Thanksgiving to spend the winter down south, another group member stepped up to lead what they affectionately call, “Winter Fibers.” Donations of fabric and yarn continue to arrive, and each piece is thoughtfully considered for what it might become. If inspiration doesn’t strike right away, First Christian Church has graciously provided a downstairs room where materials can be stored until the perfect purpose reveals itself.

In the end, Fibers of Love is exactly what its name suggests.

“It all has to do with the fibers—the material, the cloth, the yarn—of love,” Trisha said.