As foster kids age out of the system each year, they face new challenges. 

    To remind them they are loved and supported, metaphorical hugs are woven into warm bed covers crafted by local quilters that are accompanying them on their journeys forward.

    First Place for Youth, an organization committed to helping young adults through this critical life change, are the primary recipients of the quilts created by the Foster Kids’ Quilt Group. Many of these young vulnerable adults, age 18, must assume the responsibilities of living on their own with few support services to help them develop the skills required to live independently, said group leader Sandi Cummings.

    “It is our hope that the quilts provide some color to their surroundings and give a sense of people caring for them in their new beginnings,” she added. 

    Ten years on, the group of artisans who do their work at home continue to meet regularly on the second Thursday of each month in a space down the alley from the Cotton Patch in Lafayette. Members sift through donated fabric they need for future projects, see what others have been working on, and display those quilts that are ready to be distributed.  

    “It's a great show and tell,” said Cummings. “It’s also a chance to share ideas, help with technical problems and enjoy friendship.”
    Three years ago, the group decided to start keeping count of the quilts it was making and to the surprise of members they produced approximately 160 quilts each year during that span.

    “There is need, we just need to fill it and we do,” said Mary Carpenter of requests for quilts from various groups like Vietnam War veterans and patients undergoing cancer treatment.

    Even during COVID, the group met to continue crafting colorful gifts of love for current and former foster kids who are transitioning to a safe place to live, getting their first job, and pursuing a continuing education in the world beyond the foster care system.

    “When we are making these quilts, we can be their families,” said Sue Bass.

    What started as nine enthusiastic quilters in the Foster Kids’ Quilt Group who were attracted by Cummings’ original posting on the Cotton Patch bulletin board, has grown to 20. Anywhere from 12 to 15 participants, all shop patrons, turn out for the group’s monthly gatherings.

    The team’s individual pieces are then assembled, or what is called sandwiching.  Tina de Man and Carpenter with their specialty long arm machines handle putting together the quilt sandwich’s three layers: the quilt top, the middle batting insulating layer, and backing fabric with edging for the final appearance.

    Bass, as a teacher, expressed a special affinity for foster kids having seen them move in and out her classroom through the years.
    “To be able to make [quilts] for them and give them something from the kindness of my heart in that quilt,” said Bass, “hopefully it makes them feel special and treasured.”

    Susan Dague tried to empathize with those receiving the quilts for their beds that they can cuddle up with and get warm. “Someone cares. A stranger cares enough to do all their work and gives it to me for nothing,”

    “That warms my heart as it much as it warms theirs,” she said.

    “It is just as good for us to make them as the kids who get them,” Dague continued. “We are saying goodbye to a lot of stuff that is really gorgeous.”

    Carpenter chimed in, “The meaning of life is to find your gift, and the purpose of life is to give it away,”

    “This is our gift to give away,” Dague added.