The world is stitched together, especially in times of great need. Whether it be the aftereffects of earthquakes in Syria, Turkey, or Indonesia; those made vulnerable by the war in Ukraine; Cyclone Gabrielle hitting New Zealand; or any number of other incidents large or small, near or far, one of the common denominators is the need for a warm blanket.
The Island Gospel Fellowship just tied up a shipment of 47 quilts made with the loving hands of charity, destined for the cold-spots of the world. A small regiment of quilt-builders have been getting together throughout the winter to work on these bundles of hope.
The effort was led by Marian Martens, said key helpers Doris Wall and Dawn Stronstad, and no sooner were they finished this batch but Martens was off on a road trip to acquire more material.
“There’re about 12 ladies who come on a regular basis,” said Wall. “We get together on Mondays, and put things together. We make the tops, then we layer them, then we have people tying them the old-fashioned way.”
The quilts are bundled off to the Mennonite Central Committee warehouse in Abbotsford and from there they are sent off around the world where they’re needed.
But wait, there’s more.
“We also make bags where you can put school supplies or hygiene supplies - they are a certain measurement. We’ve been doing that as well and I think we sent down 500 with the quilts, and I’ll bet we’ll have another 500 by the time we send them again,” said Wall. “We’ve got quite a few ladies who are in that group. Some people cut the bags, some people sew them, some people put the strings in them, it is like a little factory, for sure, and we are sure enjoying ourselves. It’s a good winter project for us.”
People donate fabric to the quilting cause. It comes from past sewing enthusiasts who are downsizing, people who come into an unwanted cache of textiles, people who are done with a project of their own, or have the wrong kind of fabric for their intentions.
Other people donate their time to help make the quilts and bags.
“We look forward to it,” Wall said. “I wasn’t expecting that. We have quite a few new friendships, we have fellowship, we eat together, it’s quite heart-warming, actually. I’m getting way more out of it than I’m giving, I think.”
The stack of quilts in this shipment will likely not be going to a wintery location. Wall explained that the filling for these ones was lightweight batting, but cold nights are the reality in many of the world’s places of need, so all will be wrapped around people who need it.
Island Gospel Fellowshiup is picking up the quilting campaign from the First Mennonite Church that used to do a similar thing but no longer does. Now that they have accumulated so many quilts and bags, they know just how effective their efforts can be, so future efforts are everyone’s hope from the group involved.
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