
Ashlea McCracken crochets a blanket during an arts and crafts event at St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Davenport Jan. 9. McCracken is a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Bettendorf.
By Anne Marie Amacher
The Catholic Messenger
DAVENPORT — On a chilly Thursday night, about 20 women gathered in Denning Hall at St. Paul the Apostle Parish to create crafts and connect with fellow parishioners. Janela McCarty, director of evangelization, said the parish offers two evening events for women and two for men each year.
In the fall, women from the parish and school gather for a social night and icebreaker activities at a local downtown lounge. About two weeks later, the men gather for beer in front of a bonfire. “We want people to connect,” McCarty said.
Winter/spring events vary. A craft night for women “felt like a cozy and nice way to relax and unwind from the busy holidays,” McCarty said. Madeline Dudziak, director of faith formation, has a love for crafts and that led to the idea to host a craft night, McCarty said.
Organizers arranged tables and chairs so that women could work on crafts and chat while engaging in their creative side, McCarty said. Women from their 20s to 70s came in and out throughout the evening. “We wanted it to be a time of connecting.” Dudziak said, “Our hope is that it would offer a calm evening for ladies to gather, chat and craft together and see where the Holy Spirit takes our creativity.”
Participants who arrived without craft materials could choose items from a table to make friendship bracelets, or use Perler beads or enjoy coloring pages with inspirational sayings. Some of the women shared stories about their arts and crafts.
Parishioner Linda Kortemeyer brought paintings she created along with photos and a journal that document her other artworks. She said she was looking for something to do during the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020 and found an online painting class. The instructor talked about math. “I never thought of math and art being related,” Kortemeyer said. Throughout the class, she learned to use her math skills to section her canvas and determine proportions for objects.
Kortemeyer creates a sketch of one of her instructor’s original paintings before beginning her own painting. She includes notes on changes she plans, such as different colors with a specific meaning to her. When she completes her painting, she places one photo of it beside a photo of the instructor’s painting inside the sketchbook. “I cannot sell as she is the artist. But I can give away my paintings,” Kortemeyer said. Flipping through her photos, she showed a moose in the snow. “That canvas was pretty small,” she said. “Bigger is easier.”
Parishioner Kelly Hanghian said another parishioner invited her to attend the craft night. She and several young women created a Bingo card challenge pertaining to goals for the new year. Participants complete a mix of personal, faith, family and other goals to include in their blank Bingo cards. Two of Hanghian’s goals are to attend five events at St. Paul the Apostle Parish and to purchase an older model Kitchen Aid mixer. After filling in the squares, she and the other women took markers to brighten up the cards. Some outlined each box in different colors. Others added small graphics or designs in the square.
Ashlea McCracken, a newlywed and member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Bettendorf, learned about the craft event from her husband. “We just got married and moved to the area,” she said.
While crocheting a blanket to add to their home, she talked with Cyndi Jarvis of St. Paul the Apostle, who had taken an old cigar box to decorate with pictures clipped from magazines.
McCracken said she and her husband like handmade items in their new home and this was going to be one of many blankets she would crochet. “Each of us has our own talents. I liked this event.”