On a recent Monday evening, women were carrying sewing machines and other accessories into Fabrics Plus and started setting up on tables in an area that was surrounded by quilts and other fabrics.

About 20 people are taking a beginning quilting class through Marshall Community Services at Fabrics Plus on Mondays and Tuesdays. The class is for eight weeks.

During those weeks, said Tracy Veglahn of Fabrics Plus, who is teaching the class, the students will learn about putting blocks together to make a quilt center, measuring and adding borders so everything fits, talking about different batting and effects and “quilt the quilt.” Students have a choice of three projects to do during the class: a baby quilt, a lap quilt or a twin-sized quilt.

On Monday night, Veglahn handed out quilting booklets to the students in the class, as the women got their sewing machines ready and fabric out. First off, Veglahn showed the students how to lay out a nine-patch block.

“I’m going to find that a quilt designer overestimates the amount of fabric you need for a project,” she said. The previous week, Veglahn and the class talked about materials, tools and picking out rotary cutters.

“It’s always good to learn your tools,” Veglahn said. She said the goal of the night was to cut three strips of fabric.

Veglahn showed how to press the fabric strips, moving along the seam. She said that strip-piecing for quilts was faster, more accurate and not as frustrating for beginners.

If a fabric strip or block is not perfect, do not panic, Veglahn told the students, and they should expect blocks to change in size. She said to concentrate on the essentials, cutting, seaming and pressing accurately.

Kris Boedigheimer and her daughter, Savannah, were taking the class together. Savannah Boedigheimer had made a T-shirt quilt, but it was a first time for Kris Boedigheimer.

“So we decided we’ll do it official now,” Kris Boedigheimer said.

Kris Boedigheimer said her daughter had taken all the community education sewing classes at Fabrics Plus.

“She’s fearless about it,” Kris Boedigheimer said.

Both mother and daughter were making lap quilts, and Savannah picked out some material with a flip-flop design on it.

“It’s going to be fun,” Kris Boedigheimer said.

Before they cut into the fabric they bought for their projects, the students practiced on leftover fabric.

Another mother-daughter team taking the class were Cassy and Brooke Struthers of Russell. Brooke, who is nearly 9 years old, learned how to sew almost a year ago. Brooke was using her mother’s old sewing machine for the class. Cassy Struthers said she’s not a teacher, more of a doer.

“I just thought this would be a good way for her to learn,” Cassy Struthers said of her daughter. Cassy Struthers said they have a hobby room at home where they do a lot of different stuff. Brooke’s project is a twin-sized quilt for her bed. She picked out fabric in purple, black and zebra-striped on a purple background.

“Ready to get started?” Cassy Struthers asked her daughter. Brooke Struthers nodded.

Jackie Doom said she was influenced by her grandmother, who mainly did block quilts she made from different kinds of wool. Doom had previously made a quilt top by hand.

Teresa Noyes laid out brightly-colored fabric in pink and paisley to cut. She said her project will be a quilt for her granddaughter.

Sherry Kern of Canby selected fabrics that included the breast cancer pink ribbon and had words of encouragement, like “precious,” “sister,” “strength,” “friends,” “heal” and “comfort.” She is making a quilt for her sister, Donna Rockstad, who recently finished radiation for breast cancer. Kern and her mother also battled breast cancer, she said.

“I can’t wait to give it to her,” Kern said.

Kern, along with Karen Miller and Karen Fairchild, also of the Canby area, had taken a rag quilting class through Canby’s Community Education program. The class was just about four weeks and went fast, the women said.

“We didn’t know how we were going to get it done,” Kern said.

Amber Walling said she was looking for something relaxing to do.

“And I like to do crafty things, so I thought it would be a good fit,” she said of learning how to quilt.

Throughout the evening, Veglahn checked on the students, answering questions, taking care of sewing machine issues and helping them with cutting fabric.

Denise Nelsen told Veglahn she was getting ready to cut her “real” fabric.

“And we’re moving right along,” Joyce Risacher said.

Veglahn said it’s the 13th “beginning quilting” class she’s done, and she’s had people who come back a second year, where they didn’t get quite finished or remembered a step they needed to do or just to practice.

Veglahn said she’ll talk about free-motion quilting, using long-arm quilting machines. She said she teaches the students the foundation, tools and techniques of quilting.

“There’s a lot of different options to quilters,” she said.

Brooke Struthers finished one of her fabric strips as Veglahn explained quilt blocks.

“We have to make 27 of these?” Brooke Struthers asked her mother.

“Yep,” Cassy Struthers said.

“Oh boy,” Brooke Struthers said.

Nelsen aimed for a particular goal by the end of the evening.

“I’m going to do it, I’m going to get a block done,” Nelsen said as she continued sewing.