“I think I ripped it apart four or five times,” Joyce Richardson admits. The 2026 New Hamburg Mennonite Relief Sale feature quilt, “Fifth Time’s The Charm,” almost didn’t make it into existence.
Joyce’s quilting journey began quietly. As a child, she finished a few quilt tops belonging to her grandmother, but it wasn’t until 15 years ago that quilting truly captured her imagination. That spark came through Connie Mader, a friend at Wanner Mennonite Church.
“Connie invited me into her quilting group,” Joyce recalls. “We had a lot of fun together.” Joyce and Connie donated several quilts to previous relief sales. One day in 2022, Joyce was scrolling through Pinterest and came across a meticulous postage-stamp pattern. It’s so named because each piece is one inch square. “I said to Connie, ‘Let’s do this one,’ and she said, ‘Yeah, you’re crazy!’” recalls Joyce with a laugh. “So, it was just a challenge to see if I could do it.”
Connie tragically passed away in 2022 before they could collaborate on this quilt together, but Joyce inherited much of her fabric. These pieces now carry forward Connie’s memory with each new quilt Joyce makes, including “Fifth Time’s The Charm.”
In true postage-stamp fashion, many blocks measure just one inch, with appliquéd and quilted hexagons even smaller. “I’m not a fast quilter; I don’t like to rush,” says Joyce. “A quilt will often take me years to make.”
Joyce pieced together the 83” by 84” quilt top by hand and machine, each tiny square placed with intention. Once the top was complete, Joyce entrusted it to Claudia at Quilting by Design in New Hamburg, who machine-quilted the top, batting, and back together. Joyce finished the edges herself, combining hand- and machine-piecing.
For Joyce, supporting MCC through the relief sale feels right: a combination of creativity, art, and support for MCC's relief, development, and peace work. “I love that so many people put so much effort into such beautiful works of art,” she says. “It’s a great opportunity to keep doing what you enjoy and pass it on to someone else.”
Joyce gathers with friends every year for a special quilting weekend in memory of Connie. This year’s New Hamburg Mennonite Relief Sale quilt auction will be another special time to honor her legacy.