The Birth of American Red Cross Quilts

Pat and Doug Martin, parents of eight (I’m #5) and grandparents of twenty-four were volunteers at the Great Lakes American Red Cross. As a Naval officer, my father volunteered on weekends with the American Red Cross as an emergency weekend worker.  Upon retirement from the Navy, he accepted a full-time position with the Red Cross and continued for eight years with them until his second retirement.  My mother, not wanting to be left at home, decided to come with Dad twice a week as a volunteer. She accumulated over 3000 volunteer hours.

One case I remember in particular was the death of a young father, a Navy Ensign, killed in a motorcycle accident.  Without life insurance his wife was left with no means to pay for a funeral. The Red Cross stepped in to provide a casket and pay for other expenses for this grieving family. My father was especially touched by this case because he had been the Commanding Officer to countless Ensigns just like this young man. It was common to have one of these Ensigns at our family’s Thanksgiving table when they had no other place to go for the holidays. It’s been many years since I’ve lost my own parents but their mission of service to the community remains in my heart.

As an apron maker, I have yards and yards of linen scraps. I’ve held onto these scraps for several years and recently decided it was time to do something with all this beautiful linen. In addition to the linen, I also became the keeper of a large box of 6-inch cotton squares.  The history of these squares and my parents’ legacy of service helped me decide what needed to be done with all this surplus of fabric.

My daughter, who at the time was serving as president of the Women’s group at her church explained that the cotton squares, obviously hand cut, belonged to a group of senior sewists from her church in Pennsylvania.  These faithful grandmothers met weekly for many years, transporting sewing machines and supplies to and from the church. They created handmade items for those in the community that needed an extra touch; teddy bears for children new to foster care, walker caddies for lonely residents in nursing homes, etc.

Those who didn’t sew were designated as “cutters”. I can almost see their unsteady hands as I inspect the wavy lines of the stacks and stacks of squares now in my possession.  As the keeper of this fabric, I can feel the dedication and sisterhood of these women creating in me an almost sacred responsibility to honor their efforts. As many of these faithful women passed away and others “aged out” the sewing group disbanded.

With linen scraps and colorful cotton squares on hand the idea to create American Red Cross Quilts was born. I recently completed my first ARC quilt and listed it here on my website. For each quilt that sells a percentage of the cost will be donated to the American Red Cross. This allows us all to experience the blessing of giving to those in need, the same way my parents did for all those years.

Your friend,

Dori