By Mary O’KEEFE

The immigration issue has divided people but one local business hopes to unite communities using a method that is as American as apple pie – an old fashioned quilting bee.

Dating back to Colonial times women within communities would gather and help each other make quilts for their families. Many used leftover material from the clothing they had made to create their blankets. The quilting bee was a social event where, in those early days, women could talk about many issues including those that were only spoken of in public by men. In the Midwest, many quilting bees became places where women found support and help.  

Quilting has become an art form and now, with the help of sewing machines, the quilt is something that can be made by a woman alone. But there are still groups of women, and men, that gather to make their quilts and discuss issues.

Lana Norton, the new owner of Quilt ’N’ Things in Montrose, gathered together quilters and knitters to help build a blanket that will become part of a national blanket project that offers cozy support for immigrants.

“The event is part of Kat Coyle’s of The Little Knittery and the Welcome Blanket project,” Norton said.

Kat Coyle is the designer for the Welcome Blanket project. Her name may sound familiar because she started the Pussyhat Project, pink knitted hats with little kitten ears on top, that were made and worn by many at the recent Women’s Marches across the country. Her shop The Little Knittery is located in Atwater Village. Coyle has coined the term “craftivism” as her way of making a statement on current issues.

Jayna Zweimal is the founder of the Welcome Blanket Project which, according to its website, wants to connect those “already living in the United States with new immigrants through stories and handmade blankets, providing both symbolic and literal comfort and warmth.”

The goal is to have enough people make enough blankets to stretch 2,000 miles, the estimated measurement of the President’s projected border wall.

The project was brought to Norton’s attention by her 19-year-old daughter Linnea.

 “I found the project on Facebook,” Linnea said. “I like the Pussyhat Project and thought this would be fun and philanthropic.”

Norton is proud of her daughter’s compassion and “craftivism” and agreed to donate yarn and plain quilting squares. She also contacted Hoffman Fabrics and it agreed to donate 10” by 10” squares called “bali crackers” that have a variety of colorful designs.

The quilting bee has turned into a knitting/quilting project depending on the medium the knitter/quilter wants to use.

“The blankets are 40” by 40” and will be [used] to welcome refugee families,” Norton said.

“What is cool about this project is that it is for our [entire] community [as a way] to get involved,” Linnea said. “And everyone has an immigrant story.”

Norton said for her this is not a political issue but a human issue. Making a blanket for those who are new to this country is a warm way to welcome someone, and can make an uncertain time a little easier.

The blanket that is being knitted at Quilt ’N’ Things, as well as any other blankets that community members are making, will be sent to Chicago where they will be displayed at the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago.

Norton, who has expanded her store to include not just quilting but other crafts including knitting, has brought in a variety of fabrics, and said her store is perfect for this project because there is such a strong community of crafters.

If anyone would like to make a blanket with their own group she is offering a 10% discount on yarn and materials.

Both she and her daughter stressed that this is not a political project as much as a community gathering.

“This could help us find common ground,” Norton said. “It is a way to start talking about difficult issues.”

The knitters who were at her shop recently working on squares for their blanket sat around a table, laughing and talking. The family feel of the knitting circle is a natural thing for Norton and her daughter.

 “There are five generations of woman behind this shop,” Norton said. Her grandma was Slovakian, her great grandmother was a refugee from the Armenian Genocide in Turkey and her father’s family is from India.

Norton and Linnea invite others to join them on July 20 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. to knit, or quilt, a couple of squares.  

The deadline to send the blankets is Sept. 5. For more information visit quiltnthings.com or email qntfiberarts@gmail.com or call the shop at (818) 957-2287.

Quilt ’N’ Things is located at 2411 Honolulu Ave.

  Mary Okeefe