Over 400,000 Monthly Readers
IN FOCUS FOR PEOPLE Over 50
  • Home
  • Health
  • Money
  • Travel
  • Arts
  • Tech
  • Cover Stories
  • Housing
  • From the Publisher
  • Silver Pages Directory
  1. Home
  2. Arts

Arts

SEARCH Arts

Women stitch love into blankets

Wilma Bowman displays the quilt she made with Shirley Wiest. For 20 years, their church has provided handmade “love blankets” to Richmond’s McGuire Veterans Hospital as well as local cancer centers and nursing homes. Photo by William S. Hogate
  • Share
PRINT
By: William Hogate
Posted on: January 12, 2021

They’re three feet wide and three feet tall. They’re colorful. Most importantly, they’re warm. They’re “love blankets,” made by the loving hands of Wilma Bowman, 87, and Shirley Wiest, 92.

The duo sews them for residents of Richmond Children’s Hospital, the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center, several cancer centers, and some nursing homes in the Richmond area.

The project began more than 20 years ago, sponsored by Women on Mission, a group based at the Grove Avenue Baptist Church (now located on North Parham Road). Bowman and Wiest are the last two church volunteers involved in the project.

The “love blankets,” or “cozy lap blankets,” are so named because they are just the right size for patients in wheelchairs, hospital beds or chemo wards.

Bowman recalls delivering finished blankets to children. The unexpected gifts often brought tears to their eyes, she said.

All told, it takes Bowman and Wiest about six hours to make each blanket. Each blanket is made of three layers: a bright, checkered front, a solid-colored back, and insulation in between.

Friends usually donate the cotton fabric for each blanket, and the pair receives occasional cash donations, which they use to purchase fabric. The church continues to supply the insulation material, also known as batting.

The two work together on each blanket. Bowman prepares the checkered front pieces from her home in Henrico County. She then delivers them to Wiest, who sews all three layers to complete the blanket. As a final touch, Bowman adds the bright tassels to the front panels.

“Others are amazed” when they see the finished product, said Wiest, who has dementia and lives in a memory care facility.

Both women report that they enjoy the process of making blankets — and seeing the happy faces of people receiving their love blankets.

Arts 2021

  • January

#Bob Levey #Bibliophile

2020
Arts Archive

Virtual 50+Expo

NOW THRU JAN. 31 2021

Our Virtual 50+Expo offers more than 50 classes, speakers and entertainers, plus dozens of exhibitors. Click here now to see!

Celebrationof the Arts

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS

The 2020 Winners & Honorable Mentions have been announced. Thank you to all that entered.

Silver PagesDirectory

FIND WHAT YOU NEED, FAST.

This comprehensive, searchable directory covers
housing, homecare, elder law and financial planning

CommunityEvents

A CALENDAR JUST FOR YOU

Find fun, interesting, informative things to do Or post your upcoming event on our website!

Silver PagesDirectory

FIND WHAT YOU NEED, FAST.

This comprehensive, searchable directory covers housing, homecare, elder law and financial planning

Submit PrintClassifieds

ALL PRINT CLASSIFIEDS ARE SUBMITTED ONLINE

Click here to submit your classifieds for one of our upcoming print editions.

CommunityEvents

A CALENDAR JUST FOR YOU

Find fun, interesting, informative things to do Or post your upcoming event on our website!

About the Beacon

Over 50 or love someone who is? Then consider the Beacon your resource for trustworthy information on health, money, technology and travel topics, as well as entertaining features, arts and events.

The Beacon’s award-winning content covers health, financial, technology, housing, travel and arts topics, as well as local events and feature stories. Readers of our four print editions pick up more than 200,000 copies each month at more than 2,400 distribution sites. We also mail copies to subscribers throughout the United States.

Contact Us

THE BEACON NEWSPAPERS

PO Box 2227  •  Silver Spring, MD 20915

WASHINGTON, DC

TEL: 301-949-9766  •  FAX: 301-949-8966

HOWARD COUNTY

TEL: 410-248-9101  •  FAX: 410-248-9102

BALTIMORE, MD

TEL: 410-248-9101  •  FAX: 410-248-9102

RICHMOND, VA

TEL: 804-673-5203  •  FAX: 804-673-5308

More on our Website

  • About
  • Resource Guide
  • Celebration of the Arts
  • Awards
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Virtual 50+Expo
  • Recipes
  • Puzzles
  • Cover Stories
  • Community Events
Contact us Classified Form Subscription Form