What started out as a simple idea saw one local church come together with the mission of designing and giving back to the community.
As the morning hours went on Saturday, members of Valley Forge Methodist Church stayed busy inside the Fellowship Hall and created fidget quilts to be given out to local nursing homes that have residents diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
“Our goal was to create five for each nursing home,” Jeanie Johnson said. “We’ve all been touched by somebody that has Alzheimer’s. In fact, one of our church member’s husband has it. I just felt like this is something we should do.”
And as the word got out, the support came in droves.
“Everybody got on board,” Jeanie Johnson said after working on a quilt. “We put up a little sign out front and the church members started bringing in different gadgets to put on the quilts. Everyone has helped, even our pastor (Joel Cook) … I grabbed a photo of him a couple of weeks ago working the sewing machine.”
While a normal quilt visual aspect is a key component for other types of artwork, that isn’t the case for a fidget quilt. The pieces are typically created either for small children or adults that have Alzheimer’s, dementia or need assistance to keep their hands busy.
“The visual aspect isn’t as important as the feeling part,” she said. “It keeps them occupied because with Alzheimer’s, there’s a lot of fidgeting.”
Each quilt brought a visual aspect along with different stuffed animals and other pieces that could be used for feeling.
“This one was one I did,” Johnson said, motioning to a quilt that was hanging on a board inside the Hall. “I started it in one night and finished it in three hours. I just went through some of my scrap fabrics and found different designs. I started adding to it and that’s what came out.
“We don’t want them real big,” she continued. “Most of the patients are in wheelchairs so they want it in their laps.”
It’s a fairly simple concept to research, too, according to Johnson.
“The way I found out how to do this was on the computer, honestly,” she said. “I just Google’ed ‘fidget quilts’ and that’s information out there.”
While the goal is to provide five to each nursing home, Johnson added that she and the other members would be more than willing to create more.
“If we have to make more, we will,” she added.
Valley Forge Methodist stays busy throughout the year with a bevy of programs. Johnson added the church provides a meal at the end of the month between January through October that typically serves over 100 community members. To go along with the meal, the church also hosts a special event May 1 that sees all proceeds go toward purchasing coats, socks and other items to be used for children attending Valley Forge and Hampton elementary schools.
“We’re a small church, but we want to do what we can to help out in the community,” she said.
For more information on quilts or the events, contact Johnson at (423) 542-6173.