Volunteer Twila Shue displays a fidget quilt.
Julie Hernandez: 'The quilts bring joy'
What do googly eyes, fuzzy yarns, zippers without openings and little stuffed animals poking out of pockets have in common? They are just a few of the items one would find garnishing fidget quilts designed by ladies in sewing rooms at Christian campgrounds.
Like many fidget toys that have become popular over recent years, a fidget quilt gives someone a tangible tool to occupy his or her hands and mind. The quilts, however, are designed with specific people in mind: nursing home residents and children with special needs.
Each month the volunteers, known as the “ladies of Camp Builders,” accompany their husbands to projects organized by Texans on Mission Camp Builders.
In the sewing room, the ladies tackle various projects, from curtains for the camp dorms to baby blankets and hats for pregnancy centers. One of the more unique and creative items they work on regularly is fidget quilts.
Heights Baptist Church in Alvin has received numerous fidget quilts donated by the ladies of Camp Builders to go in its specially fabricated sensory room and in its sanctuary “buddy bags.”
“The quilts bring joy to the boys and girls. It helps them feel included. It helps them feel special,” said Julie Hernandez, Heights’ disability ministry director. “It helps meet their needs and meet them where they are, whether it’s in the sanctuary or in the sensory room.”
Every quilt is different and unique, said Beverly Quinn, coordinator for the ladies of Camp Builders, making it a fun project for people with great imaginations. While some quilts are colorful with buttons and small stuffed animals, others boast a more nostalgic pattern.
“Of all the projects we do, the fidget quilts are the most fun to make because you get to be creative,” Quinn said.
In nursing homes, fidget quilts give residents in memory care an avenue to exercise their minds and their fingers.
“At one nursing home, a lady who rarely ever sits down sat and played with the fidget quilt,” Quinn said.
After retirement, volunteer Nancy Morgan and her husband Gary joined the Camp Builders team in 2017. She especially enjoys using her creativity to make fidget quilts, dresses, skirts and shorts.
“We get to be creative, and we know that they’re going to bless little children,” she said.
Sewing experience is not required to join the ladies of Camp Builders, Morgan said, acknowledging she had little time for sewing in her 42 years as a nurse. Anyone who has a willing heart can help, whether it’s with simple sewing tasks or supportive tasks such as cutting and measuring.
“It’s just fun to be together with a group of women and have fellowship together,” she explained. “And the goal is to further the kingdom of God.”
Texans on Mission Builders ministries – including Church, Camp and Cabinet Builders – empower churches, camps and other ministries to accomplish their God-given visions of expanding the kingdom of God. Click here to learn more about opportunities to volunteer with Texans on Mission Builders.
Volunteers (left to right) Beverly Quinn, Ruth Kitts and Candy Nance display some of the handiwork produced by the “Ladies of Camp Builders.”