Quilts on auction block at LADS Valentine's Dance fundraiser

This king-size quilt has been donated to the Le Mars Area Dialysis Services fundraiser by Geri Dreckman. The quilt will be auctioned off Saturday evening. [Click to enlarge]

Two Le Mars women have stitched their way to donations of quilts for the Le Mars Area Dialysis Services Valentine's Dance fundraiser set for this Saturday at the Le Mars Convention Center.

The two quilts will be sold to the highest bidder during the live auction Saturday evening. The dance runs from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m.

A king-size quilt in a green and gold design on an off-white background has been donated by Geri Dreckman.

A colorful quilt, for either a twin or full-size bed, has been donated to the Le Mars Area Dialysis Services fundraiser by Virginia Freyermuth. The quilt will be auctioned off Saturday evening. [Click to enlarge]

Dreckman bought the partially assembled quilt on a auction.

"I finished it and then had the ladies at St. John (Lutheran Church) in Le Mars hand quilt it," Dreckman said.

Why donate the quilt to the LADS fundraiser?

She explained that her father had suffered a heart attack and also has diabetes.

"At some point, if he would ever need to be on dialysis, it would be nice that it would be local," Dreckman said.

"There are are lot of other people who are ill, too," she said. As she talked with other people in the community, she said, "there's a lot more people who need the dialysis than you realize."

She finished the quilt with the intention to donate it to something.

"When this came up I thought 'That is a good cause,'" she added.

Dreckman enjoys quilting, and finds time to do some stitches each day.

"It's just something different for me," she said. "It's different from something that has tires, oil and gas, and it doesn't have a darn service engine soon light," she laughed, referred to her work with Lance Kramer at Budget Auto in Le Mars.

Virginia Freyermuth took inspiration from her neighbors, Charlotte Meyer and the late Edwin Meyer, in making her donation of a whimsical, colorful quilt with "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" winding his way around various blocks.

"Charlotte is an inspiration," Freyermuth said. "Knowing their story, and all the years of driving Edwin to Sioux City for dialysis, I felt this was a really worthy cause to donate to."

She said the quilt can fit either a twin or full-size bed, and would be nice for kids, moms and grandmas. The quilt material is a very popular new fabric line which came out this fall.

"I love to quilt, that's how I relax," Freyermuth said.

"Yes, I give a lot away," she said of her quilting projects. "You can have only so many on the beds and as wall hangings."

Freyermuth said she will attend Saturday's fundraiser.

"It's kind of nice when you donate something to see who gets it," she added.

The dance features the Magnificent Board of Directors, members of the Iowa Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame and will showcases the hit songs of the 1960s, '70s and '80s. This band will dance you the entire evening.

Tickets for the event are still available by calling 546-3492. With a minimum donation of $25 per person, there is also a chance to win a 42" HDTV. Drawing for the TV will take place during the dance. (Need not be present to win.) Proceeds of the dance will go toward Le Mars Area Dialysis Services.

To learn more about Le Mars Area Dialysis Service, contact a board member (Kirk Klohs - 546-9550, James George - 546-4704, Karen Dreckman - 546-4569, Randy Reardon - 546-5531, Steve Ohm - 546-5117, Mike Donlin - 546-3492 or Don Law - 546-6510), or mail donations to Le Mars Area Dialysis Services, P.O. Box 10, Le Mars, Iowa 51031.