The Story
On the Friday following the attacks on the World
Trade Center, Mary Anne and her
husband Tom attended a candlelight vigil at the
gazebo in the town park of Pelham, New York. While there, they felt
moved to do something to reach out to those
affected in their community. Even though they
didn’t know any of the families personally, they
decided that they would make a quilt for each of
the families in Pelham who had lost a loved
one. This was the beginning of the Pelham, New
York Comfort Quilt Project.
Mary Anne went home and posted a request on a
few different internet quilting sites asking for
volunteers to make quilt blocks. The blocks
would be mailed to her and she would put them
together into quilts. She was overwhelmed by
the response. As the blocks began to arrive, it was a
humbling experience to feel the love and care
that had been put into making each one. Driven
to share as much of this experience with all who
were participating, she established an internet
e-mail group to enable all to share
information. Pictures of the quilt tops were
displayed and updates of the progress of the
project were posted. The website allowed each
person, whether a participant or an admirer, to
share their feelings or thoughts. From a small
beginning, this project just blossomed:
Idaho (where Mary Anne grew up), a church
teenager’s group tied a quilt, while younger girls made
a baby quilt. Some of Mary Anne’s high school friends
tied three quilts as a result of just one of them
wanting to be a part of the experience.
Their daughter Emily Weinheimer was
attending Iowa State University; she and her friends
made enough blocks for an entire quilt top.
A group in Canada started collecting
blocks. By the beginning of November, they sent three
completed tops and an additional 17 blocks.
Some of Mary Anne’s sewing students made
their own blocks and requested they be
included in a quilt going to a family they
knew personally.
In
addition to all this, a few companies generously donated
fabric and quilt batting. Some even set aside time to
do machine quilting. Other people who did not quilt
donated their time in different ways. Over 130
individuals made a contribution in some way. This
tremendous outpouring of generosity allowed quilts to be
given to many more families outside of the Pelham
community.
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