A current story in the Yakima (WA) newspaper salutes ladies who make quilts to give to the homeless and those in transitional housing. Here is an excerpt–to read the entire article click here. Peter Touhey is pastor of the Harrah Grace Brethren Church.
Dora Gunnoe of Wapato has found that same appreciation when she delivers a quilt to a nursing home.
Because her church, the Harrah Grace Brethren, doesn’t have a formal quilting group, she decided to venture out on a quilting project on her own.
“I wanted to do something for the community, and nursing homes are the one place that people think of last,” said Gunnoe, 43.
She makes small quilts, ones that cover a person’s lap and legs.
“The idea is not to have them so heavy, but just enough to keep a patient’s legs warm,” Gunnoe said.
Using any kind of material she has, she sews squares together, binds a sheet on one side and tucks an old blanket in the middle.
So far Gunnoe has made 166 lap quilts for five different nursing homes in Yakima, Union Gap, Wapato and Toppenish.
Harrah Grace Brethren members have donated material to her, but she says she can always use more. Anyone who would like to give Gunnoe material can leave it at the Wapato Fire Station, at U.S. Highway 97 and West Wapato Road, where she serves as a volunteer firefighter.