A home is not complete without a quilt, and the family receiving the Habitat for Humanity “blitz home” will receive a “blitz quilt” as well.

Steve and Cathy Steward’s new house, which was built east of Jack Trice Stadium by volunteers from Habitat for Humanity last week, will feel a little more like a home with the addition of a quilt stitched by 22 Ames women.

Karen Comstock, administrative assistant for St. Andrews Lutheran Church, 209 Colorado Ave., got the idea to make the quilt from an article she read in a quilting magazine.

Comstock said she read about a similar event in which women in the South made quilts for “blitz builds,” like the one for Iowa State’s Homecoming last week.

Comstock said the quilt has a total of three different patterns, two of which are the courthouse steps and the sawtooth stars. These two patterns combine to make a third pattern.

The name of the quilt is “Building Hope.”

“It gives hope for the family and ties into Habitat for Humanity,” Comstock said. “It looks like a stepping stone to a star.”

The quilt measures between full and queen bedsizes, and the color scheme is a blend of blues, greens and whites. It is made of two main blocks each containing 35 smaller blocks.

Comstock said she put up a sign in both Quilting Connection, 326 5th St., and Jo Ann Fabrics, 632 Lincoln Way, asking for volunteers. After posting the signs, Comstock said she ended up with more volunteers than she needed.

Comstock gave the patterns out on Sept. 30, and the finished blocks were returned to her by the next Wednesday.

“All of the patterns were in by 1 p.m., and it was amazing we didn’t have to call anybody,” Comstock said.

Jeanne Allen, owner of Quilting Connection, made three blocks for the quilt.

“It was a worthwhile project,” Allen said. “I was interested in quilting, and a lot of us who worked on it would be happy to do it again.”

Comstock said the fabric was donated by Quilting Connection and Jo Ann Fabrics. The quilt is not finished yet, but all the blocks are sewn together. A friend of Comstock’s is going to machine quilt it after the batting and backing are added.

The quilt was put on display Saturday at the Habitat for Humanity project site for the house’s open house. Comstock said the finished quilt will be presented to the Steward family when the house is dedicated to them in November.

Cathy Steward said she saw the quilt at the open house and thought it was gorgeous.

She said she was “surprised about the quilt and very touched that they would think of us.”

“I’m a quilter myself, and I appreciate all of the hard work that they’ve done,” Steward said. “It’s amazing. The quilt is another example of people working together.”

Comstock said she would probably do another “blitz quilt” if there were more “blitz builds,” because of the good response she received from the experience.

“This has been a great cooperative effort, and we all wish the family a lot of luck in their new house,” Comstock said.