Looky looky what the little boys got this weekend!

Those are two handmade quilts comprised of sixteen cross stitched squares each, all carefully crafted with love by volunteers for Cole’s Quilts. Organized by Linda Sietsma-Zuroff, Cole’s Quilts donates beautiful quilts to children with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Linda contacted me more than a year ago about making quilts for the boys and I’d totally forgotten about it until she emailed and asked to deliver them this weekend.

The boys, having completely failed to understand what the heck a quilt was, were a bit shy at first but immediately lit up once they saw the quilts covered with their favorite super heroes, cars, trucks and “JURRASSIC PARK!” as Teddy called one toothless, smiling dinosaur. After about ten minutes, Fulton couldn’t stop talking about them and just in case Linda had any doubts, Fulton reassured her 384,273 times that both quilts were “AWESOME!”

Cole’s Quilts has made more than 300 quilts, since the very first made for Cole himself back in 2002. Volunteers from all over the world stitch each square and Linda pieces them together before delivering or shipping them to families.

It may seem like such a small thing; after all, a quilt is not going to cure SMA, however I can assure you the benefits to these handmade items goes beyond their display value. When Fulton was hospitalized in the past, we’ve always taken one or two handmade blankets with us to make him feel more comfortable away from home. This quilt especially will mark a very special time in his childhood when he loved cars and trucks. For parents who’ve lost a child, these quilts are a tangible reminder of their child, his or her interests and perhaps memories of time spent snuggled up or playing on top of it.

So, a big thank you to Cole’s Quilts and Linda for these quilts!!!

If you are a cross stitcher and would like to donate your time to make squares, you may email Linda at colesquilts(at)hotmail(dot)com. Linda also accepts donations to help offset the cost of shipping and materials.