Our Hometown: Quilting for a Cause

When Patricia Williams lost her husband Willie in 2006, she took to her sewing machine.

"After he passed away and I retired I needed something to do."

So, she started making quilts to pass the time. The first was a gift to her grand daughter.

"I sat up with a pair of scissors and a tape measure and pencil and marked and cut each piece for this one."

Her "busy work" soon became a blessing to others. A year later, she took a class to improve her skills and decided to donate what she made to children with sickle cell anemia- a genetic blood disorder that predominately affects people of color.

It's a cause that's close to her heart. The disease took her husband's life.

"He needed cover," Williams recalls. "I realized that because of his sickness, he would be chilly."

Every day Mrs. Williams measures, cuts, pins, and pieces together squares in his memory- hoping to provide comfort to children.

"The kids, I just thought that they need something when they're going through their crisis that they can hold on to."

It takes Mrs. Williams about three to four weeks to complete a quilt. Each one, different in its own way. Right now, she's working on a new set that she'll present to the children in April.

Their identities are anonymous. She keeps a card with only the first name and age of each recipient in a personal scrapbook.

As for Mrs. Williams. She doesn't look for recognition or expect anything in return. A simple passage stitched in every quilt explains her purpose.

"It is a scripture based project. It's based on 1 Corinthians 13:13. And now abideth faith, hope, love. But the greatest of these is love."

To date, Mrs. Williams has crafted 25 gifts of love. Given freely to each new owner. She says she'll keep on sewing and sharing a tiny piece of herself and her husband in every quilt that she makes.

"It's something from my heart more than anything else... and I hope that they receive it in this manner."

All of Mrs. Williams quilts are donated to Memorial's Backus Children's Hospital.

For more information on Sickle Cell Anemia or to learn more about the Sickle Cell Association of Savannah, visit: http://www.sicklecellinfo.net/info_links/sc_centers.htm