I’m sure you’ve heard of the ‘Quilts of Valor’ movement, an organization that began in 2003 from a dream. Catherine Roberts, whose son was deployed in Iraq, dreamt she saw her son in his bed, in utter despair, his war demons dragging him down. In the next scene of her dream, Catherine, an avid quilter, saw her son wrapped in a quilt. She says she saw “his whole demeanor changed from one of despair to one of hope and wellbeing.” To her the meaning of this dream was: QUILTS = HEALING.
The Holy Hands group (part of the United Methodist Women (UMW)), has adopted a similar philosophy: QUILTS = COMFORT. We go through, and we will teach anyone else, the many steps of making a quilt: acquire fabric, measure, cut, sew, sandwich the layers, quilt the layers together and the final step to bind the edges. We do all of this with the thought of making these for someone out there in our sphere of influence that needs some comfort.
Right now, our main focus is on making quilts that one of our members, who volunteers every week at the VA Hospital, is giving to veterans who are patients there. She gave one to Dawn, a 23-year Air Force veteran, and another to Leroy, who served 5 years in Germany. One veteran chose one that he thought his wife might like “because she’s going to take it anyway!” And another who chose one with a children’s theme because he had a little girl on the way. Imagine, we’re offering him a quilt, but he’s thinking of his baby-girl-to-be! We’re glad we could be of that kind of help.
But maybe you know of a child who is going through a hard time right now and could use some comfort. Perhaps someone you know is in the hospital or sick at home, and could use some comfort. Or you visit a friend who is home-bound, or in a nursing home and could use some comfort. These quilts represent the home-made aspect of thoughtfulness. Before we send them to their new owner, we pray over them, in the belief that God will wrap his arms around this person when they wrap quilt around themselves, and give them strength and comfort. Holy Hands wants to help you do that.
Here are some ways you can be involved:
1) For the next 3 weeks, Holy Hands will have a table in the Great Hall so you can see some of the quilts we have made, and you can choose to take one for someone you know who needs comfort.
2) To be a part of our group, no previous experience required! You DO know how to use scissors, don’t you?! We have jobs for sewers and non-sewers alike. AND we can teach you to be a sewer. These are not difficult quilts to make. They are also not large quilts, but what are called lap quilts.
3) If you’d like to actually be a part of making a quilt that you’d like to give to someone, we can take you through the entire process. We have the machines and the supplies. You just have to show up!
4) We need help getting the supplies. If you’re currently cleaning your house according to the Marie Kondo method, we’ll take that cotton quilting fabric you need to get rid of and put it to good use.
5) We could use your financial help so we can buy other necessary supplies to continue making these Quilts of Comfort. About $40 is what you might spend for just the fabric to make a quilt.
Come visit us in the Great Hall and see what we do. Any questions? Contact Susan Waite, 405-824-8421 or ksmc.waite@prodigy.net.