ARVADA, Colo. — Some skills have a way of stitching right into the heart and growing stronger over decades. Surrounded by fabrics in every shade and the steady hum of her sewing machine, Lauren Kingsland is in her happy place.
Quilting was a skill Kingsland shared with her grandmother, recalling the early days she would help thread the needle. When she started college, she began making quilts on her own and has been doing it ever since.
🪡 WATCH: Denver7's Maggy Wolanske catches up with the people helping to stitch together two Colorado historical milestones through a community challenge
"When I was in my 20s, figuring out the direction of my life, I thought, 'I'm going to do this.' That wasn't a real profession and people who had watched me go to college, I was academically very successful. I have a master's degree in computer science, and they say, 'Why do you want to do quilts?'" Kingsland said. "Because I love it."
She knows quilts hold memories and meaning that go far beyond the fabric. Not only does she create quilts for commission, but she also teaches the skill to beginners in the community. Dani Berg, a student in her class, has memories of her own that prompted her pick up this new skill.
"My grandmother is a quilter and I've grown up watching her sew and just always wanted to learn how to sew," Berg said. "I think now that I'm older, I can understand the craft and really appreciate it, and it just is so inspiring to me when I see her quilts."
This summer marks a new stitch in Kingsland's quilting passion, as she is directs the Threads of Arvada community quilt challenge. The special project serves as a way of connecting the community to both Colorado's 150th year of statehood and the Arvada Flour Mill's 100th year.
"A 150th birthday is a big deal, it is a big deal," Kingsland said. "The United States 250 birthday is a big deal. How fortunate we are that they they coincide, so we can celebrate both things, and quilts are very much part of Colorado's history."
Karen Miller, Arvada Flour Mill manager, said the mill — opened in April of 1926 — holds significance for those who call the area home.
"It's very special and I think it's appropriate for Arvada because Arvadans are very proud," Miller said. "They do have a long history. This town grew up alongside Denver, not as a suburb of Denver, but as kind of separate cities, and so a lot of folks here go back generations and generations."
To stitch these two milestones together, the Threads of Arvada project has quilters use the logos of the flour mill in their design. Kingsland said they photographed the flour sacks, and the images were turned into a digital file that was reproduced onto modern fabric. This special touch helps honor the past while also encouraging creativity among the community.
"One of the things that we forget is 100 years ago, we didn't have all these stores everywhere and things made for us. The moms did all the cooking," Miller said "They made a lot of the clothing. They did it all at home, so today for us to still have these flour sacks is amazing and then for the city to embrace it for the quilt project is it just makes my Arva-pride come out."
It is not too late to get involved in this crafty celebration. Kingsland said kits will be available until they run out of fabric or around Aug. 1. The finished pieces will be on display in the fall for all to enjoy.
"We're not judging these. There's not going to be a ribbon. There's not going to be a prize because everybody's creativity deserves to be celebrated," Kingsland said.
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