Article Contributed on: 6/17/2009 11:41:27 PM
It was game day. The big one- SuperBowl XXXVII. A woman's insistence that it was time to go was met with a few "just a minute" promisesfrom a father-to-be engrossed in Tampa Bay and Oakland's trading of tackles and touchdowns. Then it was too late.
The fire department was called and they home-delivered two things that day in 2003- a baby and the first Firehouse Quilt.
"It's a lot of fun, we know (the quilts) are going for a good thing," said Dusty Darrah, founder of the nonprofit Firehouse Quilts of Colorado, Inc.
Firehouse Quilts makes child-sized snuggle quilts, and distributes them to participating fire stations.
"We generally give 10 quilts per emergency vehicle that they have," Darrah said. "They give them to children they see on their emergency runs."
The group tries to work with mainly rural areas and attaches a fabric label to each quilt that says "Made with love, especially for you by volunteers of Firehouse Quilts."
"I think the quilts will really calm (kids) down when they're in these situations," Darrah said.
Firehouse Quilts also has started making twin-sized quilts for a local battered women's shelter.
In 2000, when Darrah retired from working at U.S. West, she struggled to find consistent volunteer work.
"I really wanted to put a lot of time into something that would give back to the community," Darrah said.
Despite the fact that she had never quilted before, when Darrah heard about other sewing groups she decided take up the thread. Then her plans for a single fire station operation began to unravel.
"It's exactly what I wanted, but I never thought it'd get this big," Darrah said. "Last year we gave more than 800 quilts to different emergency organizations, mostly in Colorado."
Darrah's sewers, who range in age from 30 to 80-something, meet twice a month to quilt at the Recreation Center at Northridge, 8801 S. Broadway.
Volunteers can try out their own patterns or work on pre-made kits, which include a pattern, instructions and pre-cut fabric. Kits also are available to work on at home. Both experienced quilters and beginners are welcome at Firehouse Quilts.
"All we need them to sew is a halfway straight line," Darrah said.
Help is easy to come by during quilting sessions and many volunteers have grown tight knit.
"The coolest part is when I hear my girls talk like it's us and not just me," Darrah said. "It's not just one person doing it, it's the group."
Volunteers are required to bring their own sewing machines, but Firehouse Quilts provides the rest. The organization's biggest expense is batting for the center of the quilts, but most of the fabric is donated.
When the quilts are ready, it the group's turn to donate.
Darrah used to go to the fire stations by herself, but now brings volunteers with her to deliver the quilts and maybe even "ooh and aah" at some of the firefighters.
"Why should I have all the fun?" Darrah said with a laugh.
To learn more about Firehouse Quilts, go to
www.firehousequilts.org.
UP NEXTWhat: Firehouse Quilts' 4th annual Quilt Show
When: Noon-6 p.m. July 17 and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. July 18
Where: Cherry Hills Community Church, 3900 E. Grace Blvd., Highlands Ranch
Cost: Admission is $7 and quilt entries for the show cost $15 and are due by June 20. All proceeds benefit Firehouse Quilts.