I had requested quilts and then our family went on vacation and when we returned, our living room, grandsons bedroom and our local post office were filled with quilts.
Quilts from the very simple to the very extravagant showed up and I also made several trips to Burien, Washington Town Square Fabric and Yarn Shop where my van was filled with quilts, hats, afghans from a wonderful quilt and yarn shop there, I was in awe!
Then, we got to deliver these first hand to those affected by this tragedy and what we came back with was how amazing everyone was, when they say 'OSO Strong,' they mean it!
We were in the process of planning our next step in this organization, building a quilting shed in our yard that would be open to other quilters who wanted to come sit and chat, quilt, donate fabric, just be a part of us!
As life sometimes does, it got in the way and in 2015, we moved out of our home I loved so much, sold everything we could and purchased a 5th wheel.
This is where we are today, but instead of feeling sad about it, I have come to accept that this is where God has me at this time and I am truly blessed to have a place to call home. Sadly, I have no place to quilt, but that does not mean that I cannot still be the catalyst to get quilts from your hands to those in need as I have done in the past.
This morning I was sitting crocheting hats for our local homeless shelter when a call came into my cell phone from a number I didn't recognize and being spam called so much lately, I was going to ignore it, but I am so HAPPY I took the call.
On the other end was a dispatcher from Douglas County 911 in Colorado and she was asking for quilts to cover not only their dispatch center 36 at this time, but the families of the surviving deputies who were in an ambush in December, one deputy died, one was recently released from the hospital.
What made this call all the more special was the caller was working the dispatch center during the Century 16 shooting in Aurora and told me how the quilts they received after the shootings made all the difference to the dispatchers in the world. It could not take away their pain, but it let them know that someone cared enough about them to take the time to make them a quilt and send it to them.
To this day, her son uses the quilt she received all those years ago and I hope she sends me a picture so I can share it with you, how cool if someone recognized it after all these years as the one they sent and knew how much it meant to the receiver and now her son!
You make a difference in every stitch, every cut, every binding, every card you reach out to these unseen heroes with, they know we care! These quilts mean the world to them and while I know they take lots of work, I also know most of us have a stash of quilts that we have made that we can part with a few to shower someone in warmth.
NO! I can't quilt any longer, but I pray daily for the place to open up where I can set up my shop again, where I can continue not only asking for quilts, but making quilts!
Please, contact me at compassionatequilteratrocketmail.com or Facebook messenger via the Layers of Hope Quilting 911 Facebook page and let me know you are sending Las Vegas or Douglas County a quilt!
Many Blessings to all of you!
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From head to heart to hands, I quilt! I May Only Be One Person, But Together We Can Make A Difference. Bless you for stopping by!