For nearly four decades, the Colorado Springs Quilt Guild has brought quilters together to create beauty, make friends and support local charities.

For former guild president Lea Schweitzer, 55, quilting began with a promise to her mother-in-law.

“My mother-in-law was an avid quilter who had brain cancer,” Schweitzer said. “Before she passed, she told everyone her final wishes. Her wish for me was to become a quilter. She told me, ‘Just try it. I promise you’ll like it.’”

Schweitzer took her words to heart. She learned to quilt and soon joined the guild, where she found both a creative outlet and a supportive community.

“We all just leave our lives at the door,” she said. “At the guild, we breathe in and breathe out quilting.”

  Current co-president Dana Zimmerman, 70, started quilting in 1984 while raising young children.

“I already knew how to sew, and I had a lot of friends who were quilters,” Zimmerman said. “I was a mom of small kids, and we would gather weekly so the kids could play while we quilted.”

One of her favorite creations is based on a pattern called Mary’s Triangles, arranged in a double-helix design. She made it using scraps left over from earlier quilts.

That creative spirit carries into the guild’s annual quilting challenge, which gives members a theme or set of parameters to work within each year. This year’s challenge is “red, white and blue” in honor of the nation’s 250th birthday. 

Last year, members’ challenge was called “Complete a UFO,” where members worked with donated unfinished quilt pieces, pushing them to improvise and collaborate. 

The guild’s annual auction, held in October, helps support these creative efforts. In addition to quilts, members sell fabric, quilt-related items, homemade candies, jams and themed baskets. 

While quilting is often associated with older women, the guild includes members in their mid-20s and two men.

“We accept anyone who has a passion for quilting, no matter their age or skill level,” Schweitzer said.

The guild is known as much for its service work as its artistry. In 2025 alone, members donated about 450 quilts to Quilts for Kids. Over six years, they also donated more than 1,000 quilts to Children’s Hospital.

One of the organizations the guild supports is Safe Passage Quilts, a nonprofit that helps children in abusive situations. Children removed from unsafe homes often leave with few or no belongings, so guild members make soft fleece quilts to give them comfort.

The guild also donates to Special Kids Special Families and other causes. Some members are so committed to the charitable side of quilting that they focus almost entirely on donation quilts rather than personal projects.