KENT, Conn.—A small group of local quilters are spreading love through special handcrafted gifts for bereaved youth.
The Kent Quilters donated four large quilts to The Cove Center for Grieving Children which will present them to children who attend its weekend-long overnight bereavement camp, Camp Compassion, at Club Getaway in Kent May 16-18.
The camp is open to Connecticut children ages 6 to 17 who have experienced the death of a significant loved one. This is the second year it will be held at the Kent location.
“Kids definitely feel the love” when they receive a quilt, according to volunteer Joyce Boyd, who has collected quilts from donors in the region for the past two years.
Campers “wrap the quilts around themselves” when they get them, Boyd said Sunday, April 6, at the Kent Quilters’ meeting held at Kent Town Hall.
Boyd attended the meeting for a show and tell with quilters and their quilts before she collected them for the upcoming Camp Compassion.
Quilts will be placed on the beds in cabins and campers will select the bed and quilt they want upon arrival.
The meeting was Boyd’s first show and tell experience while picking up donated quilts from various groups in the region. She said she appreciated hearing the stories behind the quilts.
Andrea Schoeny, current chair of the Kent Quilters, teamed up with new Kent resident Jo Perkins to make a graphic novel themed quilt that is hand tied.
They used fabric Schoeny received three years ago from another Kent resident who no longer needed it. Most of the fabric was pre-cut into rectangles—but close enough to looking like a square most won’t notice—and had been cut for making Covid masks.
“I’ve been blessed by the generosity of others’ scraps,” Schoeny said.
The quilt backing is a patterned blue flannel.
“It’s much more simple than the other ones” made for this project, Schoeny said. “We happened to use what we already had.”
Schoeny was finishing up the last bit of hand tying, with help from others, when the quilters met with Boyd.
Veralyn Davee worked with new quilter Julie Chang and other newer quilters Clara Hobbie, Misty Jordan, and Linda Garber to make a large disappearing nine patch quilt featuring bold colors.
“We took a nine patch and cut it up into 4 pieces and then reassembled it,” said Davee, who led her fellow quilters in the project.
Davee said she was “impressed to see their skills improve while working on a meaningful project… It had a purpose, and they were all pleased.”
“It was brilliant to the see process of it come together,” said Chang. “To see the final piece was just thrilling. I feel full of happiness.”
Salome Henderson and Jeanne McMurray each worked solo on their quilts. Henderson produced a large blue quilt with a rocket theme. She utilizes the quilt-as-you-go method. McMurray created a large quilt of greens and browns, using a modified log cabin block.
Kent Quilters members Verlayn Davee, left, and Salome Henderson proudly display the rocket themed quilt Henderson made to donate to the Cove Center for Grieving Children’s upcoming weekend grief camp for children and teens. Photo by Deborah Rose 
Kent Quilters member Jeanne McMurray discusses the quilt she made, using a variation on the log cabin block, for the Cove Center for Grieving Children’s upcoming weekend grief camp for children and teens. Photo by Deborah Rose
Including the Kent Quilters’ donations, Boyd has collected about 20 quilts. Donations will be collected through mid-April.
There are about 60 campers, each of whom will receive a quilt. A handful of quilts that were not given last year may be used this year, Boyd said.
Small quilts—those not used for campers—will be used as part of an auction to raise funds for Camp Compassion.
“The energy is just amazing,” Boyd said of the camp. “If you get connected with the camp, you can see it in the body language of the kids and parents… something in them changes” after participating in the camp.
The camp includes traditional camp activities such as ziplining, tug of war and more.
In addition, activities such as decorating glass jars to honor loved ones and setting them on a barge in the water, making decorative display boards honoring loved ones, and creating dream catchers may be offered.
Boyd, who volunteers with the camp’s director, said the camp is beneficial to attendees. This is evident by the number of campers who return after they age out to become camp counselors.
The Kent Quilters, which currently has 18 active members, makes quilts for several projects. In the past, quilts have been donated to the Town of Kent Social Services department for new babies, organizations that support women’s services, and to troops abroad.
In addition, the quilt group puts on the Quilt Trail Sale every fall to raise money for local nonprofits. Quilts, quilted art pieces, and other functional handmade items will be on display at local stores and restaurants around town.
Past beneficiaries of the Kent Quilters’ fundraising include the Kent Volunteer Fire Department, Kent Center School Scholarship Fund, Kent Affordable Housing, Kent Memorial Library, Kent Historical Society and others. This year, they are raising money for The Kent Dispatch.
The Kent Quilters was formed over a decade ago as a service-oriented group. They welcome residents, of any age, who are interested in sewing and quilting to join their meetings. The next meeting is Sunday, May 4, from 1-4 p.m. at Kent Town Hall.
