Healing Quilts
07 Feb 2009
What do you do with your free time? 80 year old Alyce Johnson of Fremont, California makes quilts while watching evening TV. The retired school teacher has made about 80 quilts in the last two years. That’s about 30 hours of quilting a week!
That’s alot of quilts! She used to sell that at church fundraiser and other charities. But three years ago, she got the idea that they should be given away for free. The quilts are given to the Kaiser Permanente Children’s Pediatric ward in Oakland, CA. The children who are critically ill cozy up in them during their medical care. Then when they go home, they take the quilt with them.
The North Dakota native learned to sew as a child. Quilting has become a way to fill her free time since retiring. They are hand sewn though she could do them on a sewing machine.
Johnson doesn’t get any of the credit either. She donates the quilts to the hospital. Then the hospital staff hands them out. While others may get the thank yous, the pleasure is all hers.
Here’s a look at some of Alyce Johnson’s quilts:
