More than 600 sleeping bags fashioned by hand at St. Vincent de Paul in Cape

Shopping carts full of clothes-pinned 3-by-7-foot recycled fabric pieces were becoming sleeping bags for those in need Saturday at St. Vincent de Paul Parish’s De Paul Center in Cape Girardeau.

On the outskirts of multiple tables of volunteers piecing together the material, five stations of seamstresses sat laser-focused with their sewing machines; their responsibility was to add the finishing touches on the makeshift bedding.

The goal was to make 600 bedrolls for those who are homeless in Missouri.

Since 1996, volunteers have gathered annually for Ugly Quilt Weekend, an initiative started by Flo Wheatley of Pennsylvania, Cape Girardeau native Vic Pierce said. Wheatley witnessed firsthand the struggles of a homeless person, he explained.

Pierce said after his wife, Therese, came across a magazine article about Wheatley nearly 23 years ago, she decided to sew the first bedroll in their living room. And that’s where it all began.

Ugly Quilt Ministry volunteer chairwoman Kathy Berkbigler said the event was birthed out of what St. Vincent did for the poor.

“We’re literally following what St. Vincent taught us,” she said. “After a few years, a priest that was here moved to St. Vincent de Paul St. Louis; they service the poor daily with a meal. Our first bedrolls went up there.”

Marty Walsh and Caretha Thomas — both 10-year veterans of the charity — traveled from St. Louis with “a full vehicle” of fabric pieces earmarked for bedrolls.

“We’re in a group called Charity Sharity, and we collect fabric, crochet thread and supplies,” she said.

Berkbigler said 100 bedrolls were delivered to Project Homeless Connect Cape Girardeau earlier this month, “and 175 or more” will go to St. Vincent de Paul St. Louis. The Salvation Army in Cape Girardeau also will receive 100 bedrolls, she said.

Seated behind her sewing machine, volunteer seamstress Dianne Rellergert said she’s been part of the charity “for several” years. Friday, she sewed 14 bedrolls; by early Saturday afternoon, Rellergert said she had sewed “a bunch,” all in 15-minute intervals.

“I hope it does a whole lot of good, because it’s a lot of work involved, and as bad as the winters are, the homeless are going to need something to keep warm,” she said.

Aside from Saturday’s charity work, Rellergert said she sews dresses and shorts to benefit ATAI Orphanage — an organization assisting orphaned children in Africa. She also sews sanitary pads called “sani-pantis” to benefit young girls in Africa.

Ugly Quilt Weekend benefits roughly 10 programs — including veterans — from St. Louis to the Bootheel, Berkbigler said.

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