Quilts in Times of Disasters
April 16, 2008 by Mary Emma Allen
Filed under Home & Living
As I’ve researched my children’s book, Papa Goes to War, concerning the Civil War era, I discovered that women then, as now, made quilts during times of disaster. Quilters have responded to 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the Iraq/Afghanistan War by providing quilts for bed coverings and comfort.
During the Civil War, women made various items for the soldiers away from home. Among these were quilts for the soldiers bed rolls. Chief among the organizations collecting quilts and distributing them to soldiers on the battlefield and in hospitals was the Unites States Sanitary Commission, somewhat like today’s Red Cross.
The Commission coordinated many of the clothing and bedding collection activities. This organization was begun in New York at Cooper Union or Cooper Institute. Their Soldiers Relief Circles met throughout the Union, generally once a week. Ladies also did this sewing at home, too.
(In my book, Papa Goes to War, Mandy, her grandmother, aunt, and several other ladies got together to work on quilts for their menfolk. A scene takes place at the sewing/quilting session.)
(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen
This is heart wrenching, Mary Emma….
Thank you for stopping by, Noreen. Throughout the ages, women seem to have found handwork comforting and often turned to this for their own need as well as to provide something of value for others.
Fascinating Mary Emma.
It brought to my mind the huge quilts that were made to help and to honor AIDS sufferers and their families.
You put it so well, “Throughout the ages, women seem to have found handwork comforting and often turned to this for their own need as well as to provide something of value for others.”
… and the value lives on, doesn’t it?
Nice post. Quilting is a great way to help others.
Eileen, yes, quilting and fabric are provide comfort to the maker and the reciprients. They’re a way to share and to make memories.
I agree, Peggy, quilting certainly can help others…as well as oneself. It can be a stress reliever, too, as my daughter found while working on small projects in doctors’ offices and hospital waiting rooms when her husband had cancer.