Susan Barr
Kern Valley Sun

Some ladies quilt because they love to sew, others because they like the challenge of combining fabrics and colors. Then there are those who simply enjoy the companionship of quilting with others. For a special group of valley women, who get together the third Tuesday of each month, they not only enjoy all of the above, but also have the added bonus of knowing that their quilted creations will travel far and wide to help those in need the world over.

Marilyn Hyer, a long time member of the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, has been welcoming fellow quilters into her home for the last year and half. The like-minded women, several of whom are also members of the LDS church in Mt Mesa, show up faithfully each month, to tie and complete one of the large quilts. Even Hyer’s six and half year old granddaughter, Bria, is a regular drop-in at the monthly get-togethers. She likes to do her part by baking and delivering some homemade treats to the ladies that her mom helps her to make.

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Nancy Morrison, a regular attendee at the monthly event commented, “It’s wonderful to know that the quilts we make will find there way to needy families somewhere else in the world. It’s very common for several family members to share a single bed, so you know that a quilt is going to be appreciated.” Hyer related how the group recently learned just how well received their handcrafted donations are. A young woman returned from a Mission in Madagascar and shared how people in villages there treasure the handmade quilts and blankets that they had been given.

Hyer first became interested in the quilting component of the LDS humanitarian program when she and Wally, her husband of 54 years, were on their third Mission in Arkansas in 2000-2001. She felt that it was something that she would like to do at some point in the future. A couple of years ago, and with her husband’s wholehearted support, she knew that the time was right. Now the couple routinely cuts fabric together on their dining room table several times a week. The fabric is then used to make the many newborn receiving blankets, crib quilts and full size quilts that she and the quilting team complete every month. Hyer, who herself spends most of her free time sewing, estimates that the group has completed about 575 quilts so far. All it takes is a quick look around her charming home to see the stacks and stacks of neatly folded fabric, and you know there is no need to dispute her claim. When asked what motivates her to give so freely of her time, without hesitation she states, “It’s the tremendous need out there. There are so many in our world who have so little. The thought of some mothers having nothing but newspapers to wrap their newborns in is heartbreaking.”

The greatest challenge Hyer faces is keeping herself and the other quilters in good supply of suitable fabric. The cost of material, like everything else, keeps going up. Though she and her husband are happy to purchase much of the necessary material themselves, she is always grateful for donations. Fortunately, Hyer has people that routinely donate material or money to cover the cost of the batting she uses. Not long ago she received an enquiry from someone wanting to know if the group would accept a couple of large bags of material belonging to someone who had recently passed away. Hyer readily took the donation and was delighted to find a virtual goldmine of fabric that she and the other quilters have been using up over the last few months. Though she will never know what the lady was planning to make with all of the material, she can’t help but think she would be happy knowing that so many others have benefited from it.

When the ladies of the quilting group get together, they not only know what quilt they will be working on, thanks to Hyer, but they have the added benefit of having detailed instructions provided for them by the LDS Humanitarian program. Church members interested in making items are given advice as to the best type of fabric to use, the sizes finished blankets and quilts need to be and how completed items must be packaged for shipping. Members of the Tuesday morning group also work on other projects individually and routinely donate handmade items such as cloth book bags for children, knitted slippers for injured soldiers, soft knitted hats for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and cloth wall hangings to brighten up the sterile environments of orphanages. The LDS church works alongside humanitarian groups like the Salvation Army, Red Cross and Catholic charities to bring much needed aid and to distribute the handmade items to disaster torn areas wherever they may be.

Hyer and the other ladies in the quilting group are always grateful to receive fabric of any size or color, as well as donations that would allow them to purchase additional material. Local quilters are encouraged to join the group and can contact Hyer at (760) 306-2292.