Pay it Forward: Gifted Hands spreads joy through quilts

Every Tuesday, the basement of a Redmond home turns into a quilting assembly line.

“This is our favorite day of the week because we get together and we are like a family,” said quilter Elsie Hammer.

From cutting squares of fabric to sewing, and tying knots, the group of about a dozen calls themselves, fittingly, The Gifted Hands.

Since they started in 1994, the group has made more than 3,000 quilts.

But it’s not all about the making, it’s about the giving.

“Some of the stories we hear about people getting the quilts, and you just sit there and think, ‘Oh, I am so glad I did that,'” Hammer said.

Each and every quilt is handmade and donated to different groups or people in need, on the High Desert and around the world.

“They are just so loving, and the people appreciate them so much,” said member Betty Browning.

Browning’s been with the group for a little over a year. She’s seen the detail, devotion and love put into every quilt, and wants to see it continue.

Browning surprised the crew during their afternoon work time with $500 to pay it forward.

“I was just floored, because Betty told us that she nominated us, and I just thought, ‘Oh, there are so many other people worthy of this.’ So I was just floored,” Hammer said.

Most of the materials are donated to the Gifted Hands, but the main material — the batting used inside the quilts — costs about $83 a roll, so the money is much needed, and appreciated.

“I can’t think of anyone that would deserve this money more,” Browning said.

Quilting for a cause … and sewing with seams of love.

“We just like to pray over our quilts as we make them, because we know somebody is going to get them that needs them,” Hammer said.

If you would like to nominate someone or a group for our Pay it Forward award, click on the Contests tab on our homepage.