The first rule of quilting? There are no mistakes. You can fix anything.

At least, that’s what Judith O’Rourke, program coordinator for Hendricks Chapel Quilters, believes.

Hendricks Chapel Quilters is a volunteer group, made up of students, faculty and community members, that creates quilts to donate to organizations like the American Red Cross, Vera House and Crouse Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

For more than 25 years, the quilters have been meeting in the basement of Hendricks Chapel. While the patterns, fabrics and designs of each quilt may have changed, the goal of the group remains the same: helping those in need with handmade art.

Christine Signy, a coordinator for Project Advance and a member of Hendricks Chapel Quilters, thinks it’s the hard work that goes into making a quilt that people appreciate the most.

The group has been meeting for more than 25 years in the basement of Hendricks Chapel. They store their materials in the Noble Room’s closet space. Haley Robertson | Feature Editor

“A group of strangers have put their time and effort into something to make you feel loved and cared for,” Signy said.

Hendricks Chapel Quilters isn’t just for expert sewers. In fact, many of the members joined the group as beginners. Sheila Milden, a facilities manager for SU’s Campus Planning, Design and Construction, joined the group because they aren’t serious quilters.

“I took a long time to join because I didn’t think I was that good of a quilter,” Milden said. “They will teach you what you need to know. And if it doesn’t come out right, the person receiving it doesn’t know what it’s supposed to look like.”

For Milden, quilting has become a personal experience. After her mother died, she gathered all the fabric she left behind and made a quilt for her granddaughter, who had never met Milden’s mother.

“That not only meant something to me, but to see her playing on it, it’s kind of nice because you know mom’s watching,” Milden said.

Yet for many of the members, quilting is a way to de-stress from their hectic schedules.

“You concentrate on this and everything else goes away,” O’Rourke said.

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For these women, quilting is not just sewing, but a subversive form of artistic expression. O’Rourke cited times in United States’ history when quilting was an integral part of society.

“Quilts during the Civil War very often were used in the Underground Railroad,” she said. “Different patterns meant different things. Go this way. This is a safe house. Don’t stop here.”

Quilts have also proved useful in times of tragedy. Signy sent a quilt to Pulse nightclub in Orlando after the June 2016 mass shooting there. O’Rourke used her quilting skills to comfort those affected by the Quebec City mosque shooting in January 2017. And The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt was used to celebrate the lives of those who have died from AIDS-related diseases and shed light on the epidemic.

“You couldn’t ignore something that covered the Washington Mall,” O’Rourke said. “You can’t ignore that.”

Hendricks Chapel Quilters isn’t the only group at SU crafting items and donating them.

Crochet, Knit & Conversation is another Hendricks Chapel engagement program that allows students to learn how to crochet and knit items from hats to scarves, while also having deep conversations about school, careers, relationships and their futures.

Susan Wadley gathers materials from the closet before working on her current quilt project. Haley Robertson | Feature Editor

Syeisha Byrd, director of the Office of Engagement Programs at Hendricks Chapel, started the program four years ago after noticing her students’ peaked interest in knitting. Byrd, who has an open-door policy with her students, saw this as an opportunity for them to decompress, while also giving back to the community.

“It gave me time to teach people to crochet and have deeper conversations about whatever it may be,” Byrd said. “It was just a space for faculty, staff, mainly students to come together and socialize, talk and make things.”

Their conversations extend beyond crocheting.

“A lot of it is life. Life choices,” Byrd said. “How do I make the right decisions in life? What’s next after they graduate?”

Crochet, Knit & Conversation has donated items to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Syracuse, the Hendricks Chapel Food Pantry, Syracuse Rescue Mission and Meals On Wheels. Each organization, Byrd said, is always thankful to receive a handmade item from the group.

“They’re happy to receive something that’s handmade,” Byrd said. “I always hear handmade is so much better than machine made, because people know that love was put into it.”

Published on February 13, 2019 at 9:53 pm