Spring Charity Quilt-a-thon

Two Holliston residents, Susan Mogren and Catherine Healy, participated in The Power of the Quilt Project’s Spring Quilt-a-thon held early last month at the Unitarian Universalist Area Church, First Parish in Sherborn.
About a dozen altogether, volunteers from five surrounding towns enjoyed a full day of creating comfort quilt tops, sandwiching those tops with batting and flannel backing, hand-sewing labels on completed quilts and sorting, measuring and cutting colorful fabric squares, borders and binding strips into take-home quilt-top kits.
Mogren and Healy were consumed with making the quilt kits to the delight of many of the volunteers who took home three or four each to work on in advance of the next quilt-a-thon event this fall.
The Power of the Quilt Project, founded in 2003, is one of many service and justice ministries of the UUAC. Since its inception, volunteers have provided more than 2,200 quilts to individuals undergoing chemotherapy treatments at a Boston-based medical center. Smaller quilts are donated to Project Linus for young children staying in hospital or at shelters.
Folks at the quilt-a-thon have varying reasons as to why they give back.
“I enjoy this opportunity to combine a passion for helping others with my sense of color and design,” Mogren said of her second PQP quilt-a-thon. “It gives me great joy to think that each quilt-top kit I make will be turned into a beautiful lap robe that will bring comfort to a person facing difficult times.”
At day’s end, 16 comfort quilts were completed, four received the finishing touch of a project label and nearly 40 quilt-top kits were created. Additionally, five sandwiched quilts were readied for Longarm quilting by Creative Longarm Partners (CLP) of Marlborough, a husband-wife team who have generously offered to machine quilt these lap robes at no fee.
“These quilts are beautiful,” CLP co-owner Kate Wellen said. “My husband, Tom, and I are happy to add to this project’s efforts for those facing unfortunate challenges.”
People in the quilting community are truly generous individuals, learning and sharing together.
Volunteers of all ages and abilities are welcome at each of the three quilt-a-thons hosted by the UUAC during the year. The next day-long event will be Saturday, October 28. Food and refreshments are available, and folks are welcome to join in for a few hours or all day. For more information, contact Coordinator Cris Crawford at cris@theworld.com or visit powerofthequilt.blogspot.com.