Cambridge Kids Learn to Make Quilts to Donate to Those in Need
Many of us know families that choose to home school their children. I met a family in Indian Valley recently that does. There are four children in this family, Katie 12, Lydia 10, Peter 8 and Betty Lin almost 6. I met these kids because their home school teacher, 19 year old Erin decided to teach them each how to sew in their spare time after their schoolwork and chores for the day were completed. She does their lessons with them twice a week.
The unique thing about this story is the family owns just one sewing machine and their Mom Kim doesn’t even sew at all. The family also owns a pretty good size farm and there are lots of chores they have to do each day taking up much of their spare time. All four took turns sewing on their one machine after school and on weekends and went down to the nearby “Batman Project,” a nonprofit organization that makes and distributes quilts to abandoned and abused children, created by Charlie Hendrix in memory of her sister V.L. Batman.
Charlie was having a “Panel Challenge” from November through the end of January for the ladies who come on Tuesdays and Fridays to sew quilts for the organization. That means you take a preprinted panel design and build a quilt around it. Erin is one of those who recently joined the group and she asked the kids if they would like to get involved. The kids jumped at the chance and picked out their panels and fabric to get started. Erin let them select their own designs and was there to offer instruction along the way.
The results are nothing short of amazing. These four kids did what many adults aren’t able to do. Katie made a total of three quilts, Lydia made 2 and Peter and Betty Lin each created a drawstring bag and quilt squares with Erin’s guidance. Erin finished three quilts of her own during this time. The kids were so proud of their accomplishments and the fact that they were doing their part for kids in need. It warmed my heart to see these young kids tackling a project like this, considering it a challenge, and following it through to completion.
The children are very excited to start Charlie’s next challenge for the month of February, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” where everyone makes quilts for babies in need. I can’t wait to see what these four incredible children create.
