Q is for quilt

Stacked on a table in front of three classes of Woodrow Wilson Elementary School kindergartners were 70 neatly folded quilts. Standing close by was the gracious woman who spent months creating each blanket, smiling from ear to ear as the kids slowly began to realize those quilts were for them.

A self-described “crazy quilt lady,” Eileen Holub, of Oskaloosa, is the great-grandmother of Natalie Williams, a student in Holly Clayton’s kindergarten class. To help make her great-granddaughter’s first year in the Newton Community School District her favorite year, Holub told students Tuesday she made quilts for all to take home, including their teachers, associate educators and some faculty members.

Lining up as they might do for lunches and breakfasts at school, the Woodrow Wilson kindergartners eagerly awaited their turn to be gifted one of the colorful homemade quilts. They couldn’t wait to unfurl the quilts onto the gymnasium floor and see what kinds of crazy designed fabrics were patched onto their comfy 64-by-75-inch blankets.

Smiles and cheers of gratitude were abundantly contagious. And Holub could not have been happier seeing the overwhelmingly positive response from students. As a quilter of 40-plus years, the 68-year-old Holub said she has made more than 1,000 quilts in her lifetime

Holub began quilting the 70 or so pieces for her great-granddaughter and her peers in March. She said the last quilt was finished the night before she unveiled the collection to the Woodrow Wilson kindergartners. A procrastinator? Bah! Holub just works better under pressure.

“It’s just so much fun,” Holub said. “I sit there and I’m working on it and I’m laughing and I’m giggling knowing that we’re going to get the excitement.”

Even Woodrow Wilson Principal Todd Schuster received a quilt of his own to enjoy. He, too, was elated to be given such a gift. Unfolding the piece almost immediately, Schuster admired the different fabrics and patchwork Holub put into the quilt.

“Thank you very much! That is so very, very thoughtful,” Schuster said to Holub with his quilt folded and tucked underneath his arm. “This is something that the kids will remember. This is probably something they’ll have on their graduation table. I love it.”

Quilting for her grandkids’ and great-grandkids’ schools has become a tradition for Holub, who had previously quilted 20 pieces for her grandson’s class and then another 84 for her second grandson’s class. For the Woodrow Wilson students, Holub said she used more than 5,000 quilt blocks to construct those 70 blankets.

What began as a response to an Oskaloosa school's "Q-day" a few years ago — one of the many activities planned for every letter of the alphabet — soon turned into a customary gesture. Holub is pleased to do it, too. Why? Apart from the good feeling she gets when she sees how much the kids like the quilts, Holub admitted she has "so much fabric."

Judging by the feedback, she’s certainly putting it to good use.

“I will go home and I will live off this high as I’m working on the next set,” Holub said with a laugh.

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com