Wrap A Smile Quilts

I had a delightful adventure towards the end of August.  I was invited by Cheryl Klausman from Evergreen Quilters, based in Kennebunk, Maine, to give a short presentation on Wrap-A-Smile, to introduce myself to the quilters after the pandemic break and share what we do with their newest members! Not only did I pick up 19 quilts that will soon be on their way to Rotoplast, I presented to several quilters that have been involved in this organization from the beginning!  Terry Hodskins, a member of Evergreen Quilters and the Rotary Club of Wells, Maine started Wrap-A-Smile back in 2001. To date, more than 28,000 quilts have been distributed.  Now, that is IMPRESSIVE! After my chat with the group, Carol Bressi and Joan Emerson reminisced and shared a few stories about Terry as well as mentioned that the group has a copy of the book that was published after WAS quilters completed a hundred T-quilts in memory and honor of Terry.  Many of the T-quilts were distributed this year during Rotopla

Another longtime contributor to Wrap-A-Smile , and Rotaplast , is Tammy S in Texas.  Long before I ever knew about these organizations, Tammy was busy making her gifts of love to comfort these special patients.  Tammy is a member of the Sunshine Online Quilt Guild whose members support a variety of initiatives where comfort quilts serve as a warm hug and which let the recipients know that they are not forgotten. Her recent shipment for WAS contained this variety of fun colorful quilts. (Be sure to scroll to the bottom...there is a # that will astound you!) A scrappy quilt using colors of the Olympic flags A temperature quilt (Tammy has the code) Modeled after an afghan she admired A scrappy quilt made from a pattern in an antique scrap book Another modeled after a design in the antique scrapbook And the last two....just for fun I recently asked Tammy if she knew how many quilts she had made for WAS. She responded that over her quilting lifetime she had given away 1244 quilts (that she

Another happy box of 42 quilts for Wrap-A-Smile just arrived from upstate New York.  The sewing group run by Kim V and Linda S has been contributing quilts to us for more than 20 years!  Kim and Linda, who lead a group of sewists at Zion United Methodist Church in Macedon, New York, have also brought many others into our network over the years.  We are so thankful both for the loyalty of our longtime contributors, and for those who continue to spread the word to increase the number of quilters who help us. Since 2001, WAS has made sure that every Rotaplast patient is wrapped in a comfort quilt at the time of their life-changing surgery….30,000 quilts and counting….a remarkable achievement!! For more of the backstory, here is Kim’s post from 6 years ago, sharing how she and her group learned about WAS.  http://wrapasmilequilts.blogspot.com/2018/11/a-quilters-story.html Enjoy the latest quilt show from NY        Thank you to all who support Wrap-A-Smile's mission of sharing comfor

The historian (photojournalist) for the Rotaplast team which recently returned from Uganda has written a wonderful post about Wrap-A-Smile quilts, including a mention of the “T-quilts” made in honor of Terry Hodskins.  Terry was the inspiration behind Wrap-A-Smile, believing that patients would be more  comforted by a handmade quilt than a surgical paper drape.  To date, over 28,000 WAS quilts have been shared around the world. And over 100 quilts were sewn incorporating the letter “T” in memory of Terry. The T-quilts were distributed to a variety of mission locations so it’s always a fun sighting to see them in action! Please enjoy the post from Uganda:  https://rotaplast.org/2024/06/day-6-partnership/ Thinking about Terry and her legacy, I would also like to reshare a tribute to Terry, posted on the Rotaplast site after her passing.  https://rotaplast.org/2020/07/a-tribute-to-terry-hodskins/ The Wrap-A-Smile project  would not continue without the ongoing generous sharing of time and

With great joy, a big shipment of Wrap-A-Smile quilts is now flying off to Rotaplast in San Francisco….OK, probably by truck….ready to be included in the upcoming medical missions. Most of the quilts which Rotaplast had safely tucked away during the pandemic have now been shared with the children they treat, and they are thrilled that our generous quilters are continuing to share this legacy of love with future missions. We have so many people to thank for contributing to this shipment, including the Sunshine Online Quilt Guild which has supported WAS for many years.  Recently they had a Round Robin project where one quilter started the center, then sent it on to another for the next addition. With 4 creative minds (and 8 talented hands) at work, this beauty resulted…..as a gift for Wrap-A-Smile!  Thank you so much to Linda P, Mary T, Charlotte M and Tammy S.  Maybe we will see this one again in a Rotaplast blog someday, when it finds its new owner.  And now for the quilt show: (Please

As I think about all the quilters who have supported Wrap-A-Smile this past year I also think about how interconnected we are.  While WAS was on pause during the pandemic, we partnered with Quilts Beyond Borders to share quilts both locally and abroad.  Now that the Rotaplast medical missions have resumed and we are officially collecting quilts again, we have met many new friends through these collaborations.  Another way we make new connections is through word of mouth (or in our digital lives, through online posts with our virtual friends). Many of our dedicated WAS quilters have found us through the posts of Cathy L at  saneandcrazy.blogspot.com For many years she has been a cheerleader for both WAS and QBB. Today's eye candy is the dozen quilts recently received from Cathy for WAS. Thank you, Cathy! The Sunshine Online Quilt Guild continues to be a great resource for all of us interested in charity quilting.  Ideas are discussed, fabric scraps are shared, motivations are tur