Stitching Together a Life of Service

In a house filled from floor to ceiling with fabrics in every shade and pattern imaginable, 67-year-old Connie Richards is the queen of her own private quilting kingdom. A second-generation German immigrant, Richards first learned to use a needle and thread from her mother. She began by making doll clothing using a Singer treadle sewing machine before progressing to making alterations on her own clothing. In 1982, while she was living in Kansas City, Mo, Richards signed up to take a quilting class for beginners that met for two hours every Saturday. By the time she had completed her “sampler quilt,” Richards was hooked.

“If I guessed at a number [of quilts I’ve made in my life], people would not believe me,” Richards said.

Now, four decades later, she and her sister estimate Richards has created between 700-1,000 quilts since she began. Richards even owns an entire second house adjacent to her home dedicated as her sewing studio.

While her husband, Randy, who is a retired ironworker, reconstructs and repairs engines in the garage of their home, Richards spends her days next door cutting, sewing and quilting fabric. She has piles of batting and muslin in what was once the second house’s kitchenette, and she uses the different rooms—including the bathroom—to store additional materials for future projects. Sometimes she’ll be thinking about a piece she’s working on and will wake up before the sunrise to get started. Because they’ve been working diligently all day, Randy and she sometimes don’t eat dinner until after 9 p.m.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she said her two sisters made at least 65 quilts for different charities. Richards also sewed masks and sold them to friends, neighbors and people in her community for $5, just enough to cover the cost of materials. To make the most of all her supplies, Richards turns leftover fabric squares into pillow cases. Seemingly unusable pieces become stuffing for dog beds that Richards then donates to the Central Missouri Humane Society. She even makes memory quilts for people out of their deceased loved one’s clothing.

“Nothing goes to waste,” Richards said. “If it’s at least 1 inch wide, I keep it.”

Because she does so much quilting, Richards has invested substantially in the equipment she uses, spending tens of thousands of dollars on her Statler Stitcher, her Gammill Optimum Plus longarm sewing machine and her collection of rotary cutters, not to mention fabrics, storage bins, bobbins and thread. Her husband said that Richards in a fabric store is like a kid in a candy shop. Nevertheless, Richards gives away almost everything she makes, either to charitable organizations or to friends and family members.

“She pretty much lives for volunteerism,” said Sharon Marohl, who volunteers with Richards sorting clothing donations at the Sturgeon United Methodist Church’s food pantry and community closet.

As the Chairman of Service Projects for the Booneslick Trail Quilters' Guild, Richards coordinates and assists with the donation of both adult- and child-size quilts to organizations including True North, the Ronald McDonald House and the Rainbow House.

Although Richard’s second husband passed away from cancer, and she herself is now in remission from breast cancer, she said the guild didn’t begin making quilts for cancer patients until several years ago when another member underwent chemotherapy.

Now, adding to the roster of charities to which her guild donates, Richards also delivers quilts to the adult and pediatric oncology units at the University Hospital in Columbia so patients can stay warm as they undergo chemotherapy. 

The items she takes the most pride in crafting, however, are Quilts of Valor. Richards is the president of the Mid-Missouri Quilts of Valor chapter, which, like the national organization, aims to “cover ALL service members and veterans touched by war with wartime quilts,” according to the group’s website. Richards considered enlisting in the U.S. military out of high school but ultimately decided not to. Still, eight members of her own family served, including her son Andrew Charles Ferguson who is a Major in the Army. She said if she notices someone with a hat, tattoo or jacket relating to the armed forces, she will go up and talk to the veteran to see if she can help that person receive a Quilt of Valor.

Richards has a deep respect for people in the armed forces, and she becomes teary-eyed when talking about veterans who passed away before they could be awarded Quilts of Valor. She said her heart goes out to veterans, especially those who served during the Vietnam War era, who “were treated terribly when they came home.” Her husband described her as a perfectionist and said she’ll do whatever it takes to make sure a quilt, especially one for a veteran, looks nice and is blemish-free.

“Every time I quilt a quilt, I say a prayer. I ask God to bless this person that’s gonna receive this quilt, whether it’s a veteran or a chemo patient,” Richards said. “I just say a prayer that God will give them a blessing, ease their pain and suffering, [and] bless them today.” 

In addition to her fabric-focused service, Richards donates her hair to Locks of Love when it reaches a length where she “can’t stand it anymore,” and on Tuesdays she takes care of her sister-in-law, Dulane Wohlman, whose memory is declining, at Lenore Woods in Columbia. Wohlman described Richards as “a sweet person” who is “very knowledgeable about her quilting.”

Whenever veterans ask Richards who made their quilt, she replies, “Many hands have touched your quilt.”

True as her answer may be, Richard’s own hands have undeniably touched the lives and hearts of countless people through every stitch, seam and act of service she selflessly shares.