Welcome to Women Volunteers, a GFWC-NC podcast where we talk with women across North Carolina, who volunteer their time in support of community improvement. We'll find out how they got started, how they manage these projects, and the impact of their volunteer actions.
Thank you for joining us here today. I have two guests who are going to share with us information on a project that they did around sensory quilts. Joining me are Marie Bokor and Jan Collins. Marie has been a member of the Greensboro Woman's Club for four years and is a member of the health and wellness committee. She works with the Greensboro Convention and Visitor's Bureau and has three children and four grandchildren. Welcome, Marie.
Thank you, Kelly.
And Jan has been a member of the Greensburg Women's Club for more than 19 years and is retired from the US Attorney's Office, is married, and is the proud cat parent of Gus. Welcome, Jan.
Thank you.
Glad to have you ladies here. So tell me about this project that you have for Sensory Quilts. What are they?
They're kind of like a small, almost little bigger than a placemat quilt with a lots of little objects on it to help stimulate sensory for people with dementia, Alzheimer's, even anybody sitting in a nursing home that can use it to help it helps with fidgeting, it keeps their mind active. So it has things on it that they can manipulate and do so that it helps stimulate their mind. And that keeps them from being so bored.
So what kind of things are on the quilts,
Zippers, beads,
There were things to tie.
Hairbands, buckles,
There were things that had feeling like rough textured fabrics,
Okay.
Sometimes they just like to feel things to rub on them. So everybody's was a little different. But the there was many little things to manipulate or play with even little toys that were on a key ring.
Oh, interesting. Okay, so how did you guys get the idea for this?
It came in a in our book when we were both brand new as chairs. And the book they gave us had a section in the back of different things other clubs had done.
Okay, so this was the administration books.
Yeah, right. Correct. And I didn't know what it was. We looked it up. And when I told the group, everybody loved the idea.
Yeah.
And but it was we didn't have a clue what it was until we did some research.
Sowhy did you think it was a good idea?
I? Well, personally, I just thought it was art and something to help people combined. Plus, everybody in the club seemed to be touched by Alzheimer's. And they it meant a lot to everybody to do this to help with those types of patients.
Okay. So so you've got this idea for these quilts. So how many of the sensory quilts did your club make?
About 34?
Oh, wow, that's a lot. So did did everyone who worked on them know how to sew?
No, no.
So how did you do with it?
Well, that was our challenge. Channel, I had to figure out how to make it first, okay, because there was no one pattern and they were all the same. I look I had to Google and keep looking for ideas. And most of them were people putting their own ideas of how to create one online. So the challenge was finding one that would be easy to assemble so that even people who don't sew could participate.
Okay, so how did you do that?
We got the fabrics and we had a donation club donation, so we got tons of supplies. And then we had a roomful of people that volunteered and the each person got to pick their fabric so they could design the colors. And then they went around the room and picked all the stuff they want to put in they just sat and designed it and then they brought it to the people who know how to sew.
Okay
And we stitched everything on.
Okay, so your members created a plan for each sensory quilt they wanted and they took it to someone who sewed that was another member and then what people who sewed put them together did they do some teaching for those who didn't sew?
No I had a sample that I made to try to get the whole idea of but easiest way to make it for that number of people and for people who can't sew and then I had some pictures too on the table so I went around and kind of helped in Jan help. And from there everybody I think that's what made it so much fun is each person got to create it completely how they wanted it.
Yeah, so did they sew them by machine.
Yes.
Okay, so no hands sewing when it was made.
With the items, the Fidget items were sewn on by hand.
A fewer. Mm hmm.
Okay, yeah.
But most of them have to be very secure. In order to make sure that they don't pull them off and put anything in their mouth. You have to treat it almost like you're doing it for kids.
Oh, interesting. I didn't realize that. Okay, so, yeah, that's a little different level than having to really attach or make sure things are large size.
Right? Mm hmm. Okay. Yeah.
So you said how their lap size?
Yeah they were what 18 by something it was, what we found was the perfect solution to cutting and getting a whole lot of fabric was buying a pre cut quilt square, it was just the right size.
Okay.
Didn't have to do anything but so two pieces together with some padding in between. And then from there, everybody could create
Is it like a fat quarter or ummm...
I'm not sure the name it. I just know that when I went to Joanne Fabrics, I found it and I went, that's the right size. That's an 18 by 20. Something I don't remember exactly.
So a little larger than a placemat?
Yes. But they could put it on their lap or ....
On the table and play with it. Okay. There's so many pre cut sizes of fabric. It's
They only had the one over there. And it was just right. And I believe it was something roughly around 18 by 26 is what's in my head. Somewhere in there.
All right, yeah.
But that that was the easiest, but we had so much fabric donated, we were able to cut some fabric to the same size and go from there.
So you had fabric, you needed to buy the items you were putting on their pick fabric with textures. So you might have a furry fabric, or rough fabric, any other items. So you had to select and get all of that. Batting. I assume if you're making a quilt...
Yes.
Now, did you bind them or just sew them inside out and turn them?
Sewed them inside out
And that way you didn't have to spend as much time doing the...
Correct. I didn't want to worry about ironing and fusing everything I felt that would just add more confusion.
Yeah, you know, I'm a quilter and um quilting as ironing the same piece of fabric 700 times yes. So, how long did it take you from the idea to being ready to make them? And then how long would you just you can ballpark it for making them to having you know, ready product?
I would say one from the time we announced it maybe three weeks?
Yeah, we just I know we set the date for the collection. We gave a list of ideas of what we wanted. And then we had a date set for the actual sewing. So the night that we sewed. It was all done on that night.
So one night you did something for 30 something?
Yes.
How? What? Couple hours?
Say at least three, three hours. Yeah, it wasn't much longer than that.
Okay. That's a pretty quick.
Yeah,
Project.
I tried to make it as easy assembly as I could. And when you have that many volunteers coming in, because gosh, we had maybe 20?
Oh, yeah.
So each person and sometimes they bring it and put we'd sew on a couple of items, they take it back and add some more to it all fit on.
Okay. But it really I mean, you did this, this was pre pandemic when you did it. So in a pandemic world, you know, we still have some clubs that aren't meeting,
Right
At least in person, right? Or they're limiting. This could easily translate to almost a chain.
Yeah.
Right. If you know people doing one thing, and they drop it off at another member's house, and they do something with it, and they drop it off at another members.
Yes. Right. Absolutely.
Because tha could be I know, my club we did. Every year we do stuffed bears for Victory Junction, and I'm the only one who really sews and my club we are not a big club. They're like 6 of us. So everyone else does stuffing. Okay, so they come to my house and pickup stuffing and bear skins. They bring them back stuffed, but it's a way for us to do it. And then someone else drove them down, donated them. So you could do a very similar thing, I think with this. So who did you who did you give them to?
Our current president Maggie Gillis, she works in a nursing home. So she said her they needed them because theirs were all worn out.
Okay
So it took quite a few months because a pandemic hit and she wasn't allowed to accept them until things up and
WelI didn't know if it was airborne....
Exactly. So I stored them until she was ready, take them and then she took them and when they were allowed to come in, she brought them to her place.
So that was just for one facility.
Yes.
There are probably a need for more right other facility?
Our committee that we have in place now is actually planning on doing another one.
So do you have a facility in mind for the one you're going to do?
I think they do. They didn't I don't remember if they've said who it was, but I know they called me asking for ideas. And I happened to type up the directions so that if anybody else chose to do this down the road, the directions were at least in writing.
Oh, yeah. We've all gotten that. It's all in my head. Exactly. Right. So I'm actually... nursing homes and other you know, assisted living facilities generally have a designated person to work with volunteers or external providers for donating. So it'd be easy for a club to reach out to any facility near them if they wanted to do a project like this.
It's also good for children, especially special needs children, because the fidgeting helps keep them their mind busy to help. It helps with aggression and keeping them calm. So that you could actually do this for a school or younger kids that may be in a special ed program.
Oh, interesting I hadn't hought about that.
Yeah, yeah. And I only reason it came up is I have a special needs child. And when I was looking at it, I was seeing stuff for kids. And they have the same thing and even have him on wooden boards. Which mean, we could make that. But it was kind of me, I thought, I never even thought about it for them. But sometimes, especially if they're agitated, they can go and sit quietly and play with something and it'll calm them down.
I have a friend whose son's favorite thing is the rattle. Loves like, you know, listening to like, yeah, you know, anything that rattles or makes that noise, yes. And then once she got this giant television, you know, the light changing that he could finally see the light changing? Just kind of it's neat to see.
Yeah, yeah.
When someone has something that reaches them.
Right, exactly.
Interesting. Very good. So was there anything you discovered along the way doing this project surprised you?
How much they loved it?
How creative every Yes. It's amazing. Everybody did their own quilt and such a variety.
But I still to this day, they talk about it. And it's been for almost four years.
Yeah, they really enjoyed it.
I've had people come through I loved that project, I think to it was something different. A lot of times, we get stuck in repetitive projects, because they worked and it's easy. And I'm the type of person I get kind of bored. I like to change things up. So I think this was something different. And they felt like they were not only having fun creating it, but it was going to go to a great cause. They liked the idea of both of those things.
Yeah, that's a good point. And you didn't have any fundraising as part of this. Right. I know, sometimes we get tired of fundraising.
No, we did with donations, donations. And they gave us so much. We ended up serving two purposes. We made the quilts and then donated to a re reconsider goods is. Yeah, and we've done things for them. So I took several boxes and supplies to them when we were all done.
Oh,that's awesome. Yeah, really cool. So this would be pretty easy for someone else to do.
Yes.
and put together. So certainly. From an it, we often talk about what our role is, within the Women's Club, in addition to doing good volunteer projects is to organize volunteers. How did you organize your volunteers? I know you said that you put out a call was that like in a newsletter?
At our club, we announced it, and it was well received. Because as Marie said, There's everybody's been affected with dementia and Alzheimer's. And people just were thrilled to do that. And we had a sign up sheet and got our volunteers.
So it's pretty simple.
Yeah, we, you know, we recruited as many sewers with the machine as we could I think we had six of us that were actually sewing, which is a good turn.
That's a good amount. Yeah.
So that's why we were able to get those quilts made so quickly.
Okay. So, um, did you hear from the facility about how the residents felt about receiving the new
she hadn't really said? I don't think so. You know,
All this happened during Covid. Yeah, maybe the next week that everything was shut down, right.
Yeah.
So everything stopped.
Because when do we do it? Was it a february?
It was early might March the fifth?
Okay.
I can remember the date.
And it felt like a year before we get to where it maynot have been.
But it has been a long 18.
Yes.
Let me tell you. I don't know.
Well, that's a really neat project. I appreciate you taking the time to chat with me today so that our listeners can hear about a project that y'all did that your members really liked. That was helpful to people in your community and touched those that touch your membership. And it sounds like it's something pretty simple that people could turn around whether they want to do it themselves, or whether they want to make it into a group project right could turn around and make happen.
Yes.
Thank you both. I really appreciate it.
Thank you.
Women Volunteers is a podcast by Kelly Paul for GFWC-NC. If you're interested in learning more about the General Federation of Women's Clubs of North Carolina, and how you can join these amazing women in improving our communities, please visit us on the web at gfwcnc.org
