Chieko Ingham remembers the first meetings of the Turlock Senior Citizens quilting class, about four years ago.

"We had a lot of experience ripping out seams," she laughed.

Like other members of the group, Ingham joined because she wanted to learn how to quilt. Class leader Liz Ford said that when the group began, it really was a learning experience for all.

"When we first started out it took us a long time to finish a quilt," Ford said.

Today, the small but dedicated group can whip up a full-sized quilt in about a month.

This month the group began a new project, a mystery quilt. Like many of their projects, the idea for this quilt came from a magazine. The idea is to do the project in segments, without knowing what the quilt will look like in the end. Ford is the only one who knows all the steps — and she's not telling!

Over the years, the group has done many different types of quilts, from samplers — a quilt in which every block pattern is different — to intricate star patterns, and everything in between.

"We've done a lot of quilts and raffled them off to raise money for the Senior Center. We also made a lot of crib quilts and gave them to the Children's Crisis Center," said Ford.

In the future, the group is considering putting together a patriotic-themed quilt to donate to a veterans' program.

Ingham said she continues to come to the weekly quilting class because, "it's more motivating if you have someone else to do it with."

The Turlock Senior Citizens quilting class meets at 1 p.m. on Wednesdays at the Senior Center, 1191 Cahill, behind the library. New members are welcome, however, members must eventually join the Turlock Senior Citizens club. Dues are $15 a year.