Quilts of Hope

"The old lady's crack shack." That's what Laura Robert's kids call her quilt shop because there is so much traffic surely something nefarious is going on. Quite the contrary. I can't believe how much goodness is happening at Country Pines Quilt Shop. Over 475 quilts have been made and donated to Paradise fire victims so far, they come to Laura from all over. Some quilts are completed some just the tops. Once quilt tops are made they need to be put together and all that beautiful stitching added. A very gracious donation of the machine that is capable of doing this was made to the quilt shop. That would cost about $18,000 to purchase.  Finished quilts are then distributed by a woman who is a survivor herself and now lives in our community. She takes them to people, some living in tents and the warmth this provides is so evident in the photos. Stacks and stacks of photos. Much more than just a blanket, Laura says they are like magic to those that have lost everything. 

Want to do some good but maybe feel like a quilt is too big an undertaking? How about a pillowcase? Ryan's Case for Smiles donates hand made cases to children in hospitals battling life threatening illness and injury but they too made an all out show of support for the fire victims. When the folks distributing quilts run out that day they hand out cases too. Each year at the Lassen County Fair quilters, their families and friends join in for a marathon week of sewing, last year they made 324 pillowcases! 

So what brought this story to mind for a girl that can barely sew a functional button? My dear friend of a couple of decades Marilyn (Suzi) Chapman makes the most fantastically beautiful quilts I have admired for years. One day I got a text with a photo of a colorful farmhouse quilt with roosters (I love roosters) Suzi had made like 20 years ago, she asked if it would go with my decor... I will cherish it forever. So many things are replaceable, the effort made to do good is not. 

Thank you to our local quilters, to so many, you have become Hometown Heroes.