WAUKON, IOWA ~ Somewhere, a person may soon pull a handmade quilt across their lap without ever knowing the women whose hands helped make it.
They may be a veteran receiving care in Iowa City.
A patient at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon.
Someone experiencing homelessness in Des Moines.
Or perhaps an older neighbor settling into a chair at one of Northeast Iowa’s care centers.
They may never meet the women of the Mission Sewing Group at First Presbyterian Church in Waukon.
But they will feel their work.
And perhaps, in some small way, they will feel the care stitched into it.
Recently, 63 quilts and blankets made by the Mission Sewing Group were displayed at First Presbyterian Church before beginning their journeys to people who could use a little extra warmth and comfort.
The quilts and blankets are going to the Allamakee County Relief Office, Northeast Iowa Community Action, Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon, the Veterans Administration hospital in Iowa City, Joppa homeless ministry in Des Moines, Good Samaritan and Northgate care centers in Waukon, Helping Services of Northeast Iowa, and Thornton Manor in Lansing.
That’s a lot of places.
A lot of quilts.
And a whole lot of hands behind them.
🪡 If You Can Tie a Knot, You Can Help
For approximately 15 years, the Mission Sewing Group has gathered about once a month at First Presbyterian Church.
Usually seven to twelve women come together for a time of work, fellowship and service.
And you don’t have to be an accomplished seamstress to take part.
According to information provided by the group, if you can tie a knot, you can help.
Some use floss or yarn to tie the outside edges of fleece blankets. Others sew squares together, snip threads or help with other finishing work.
And not all of the sewing happens during the monthly gathering.
Someone may have a little time at home and sew together a few quilt squares. Another person may have fabric tucked away that can be put to good use. Someone else might fill the hooks and cupboards with needed supplies.
Little contributions begin adding up.
And eventually, another quilt is finished.
❤️ More Than Fabric and Batting
The group makes use of what is available.
Fabric may come from someone’s stash at home or be donated. Batting is purchased as needed, and monetary donations help the group continue its work.
But somewhere between the pieces of fabric and the final stitch, those supplies become something more.
They become warmth.
For someone going through a difficult time, a quilt isn’t necessarily just a quilt.
It might be something familiar in an unfamiliar hospital room.
Something soft across the lap of a care-center resident.
Something warm for a person who has been cold.
Or simply a reminder that somewhere, someone cared enough to make something for a person they may never meet.
Somebody thought about you.
The women may never know exactly whose hands will receive the quilts they make.
Maybe they don’t need to.
They simply keep sewing.
🧵 And This Time, There Were 63
Sixty-three quilts and blankets.
Sixty-three combinations of fabric, thread, batting, knots, donated supplies and willing hands.
And eventually, 63 people, or perhaps families ~ receiving something made for no other reason than to provide a little comfort and warmth.
There is something wonderfully simple about that.
No recipient has to know who cut the squares.
Nobody needs to know who threaded the needle.
Nobody has to know who donated the fabric, bought the batting, tied the knots or sat at home one evening sewing pieces together.
The finished quilt carries the message for them.
The Mission Sewing Group says that as long as there is fabric, willing seamstresses and others willing to help with the finishing touches, they plan to continue making quilts and warming hands and laps along the way.
And somewhere down the road, another batch will leave that church.
Another quilt will find another lap.
Another blanket will provide warmth.
And another person may wrap themselves in something made by people whose names they will probably never know.
Sometimes making a difference doesn’t require knowing the name of the person you’re helping.
Sometimes it starts with a piece of fabric, a needle, a knot and a willing pair of hands.
And in Waukon, those hands are still sewing. ❤️🧵
Deliverance Hope
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