Lucile and 4,155 Quilts

I went to see Lucile & Noble at their home on Monday. Lucile is still sewing nearly a quilt a day; even though her sewing machines wear out and need service, Lucile simply takes the broken one to the shop and turns to a substitute machine. She works those machines so hard that I think she might need a commercial-grade model!

I asked her how many quilts she has made for charity, and beyond the 1272 she has made for Katie's Comforters Guild, the grand total is 4,155! Let me put that another way: Lucile has made a total of four thousand, one hundred and fifty-five quilts for charity! She keeps careful records in a ledger-book, and she showed it to me; I was flabbergasted.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the manufacturer of her favorite sewing machine (Bernina) would donate their heartiest, most durable quilting machine to Lucile? I think she deserves a sewing machine that works as hard as she does! It would be a great advertisement for Bernina, as well.

Lucile donates a great deal of her own time and resources to making these quilts; while we do our best to provide her with supplies, we aren't able to furnish everything. This means that she and Noble are giving much more than just time and effort; they are also using their own funds to pay for materials. If you multiply 4,155 times the cost of fabric, batting, binding and thread for each quilt, you'll come up with a very large number indeed.

When we talk about her quilting, Lucile often says, "I have to keep busy!" Remember, she is in her 90s - and she started sewing as a very young girl. What a wonderful, inspiring lady she is - and Noble is her greatest supporter and #1 fan.

Here are photos of Lucile and Noble at home with her latest holiday creations.

I took these directly to nurse Tracie's house, so that they could be delivered to Seattle Children's Hospital in time for Christmas and New Year's Day.  
Thank you, Lucile, Noble and Tracie!