One quilt shop owner's calls on social media bring more than 1,000 quilts to Eastern Kentucky for flood victims

A bus from New York brought 32 quilts to Eastern Kentucky. (Photos by Evelyn Morgan via The Daily Yonder)

More than 1,000 quilts have piled into Evelyn Morgan's Quilt Heaven Quilt Shop in Grayson, Ky., from as far away as Colorado, in response to her social-media calls for donations to help victims of the historic July floods in Eastern Kentucky, Kim Kobersmith reports for The Daily Yonder.

“They had so much love in their hearts for people they didn’t know,” Morgan told Kobersmith. “Making a quilt takes many hours of work and a significant monetary expense. Each tiny piece is sewn in. The love and stories sewn into them make homemade quilts very special.”

Kobersmith writes, "One shop owner later brought 90 quilts made during the pandemic. They were crafted for charity and this seemed like the right project to give them a home. Another shop owner offered a friendly challenge to see which shop could gather the most quilts. When she posted it on the group Facebook page, donations exploded. Morgan was rendered speechless – a rare occurrence, according to her – when a bus from New York pulled into Quilt Heaven and gifted 32 quilts." One of the New Yorkers "said she was offering the first quilt she had ever made. She was so proud of it, but had made so many since then and wanted it to go to someone who really needs it," Kobersmith reports.

Quilts awaiting distribution at the Breathitt County Museum

The distribution was headed by Morgan's friend Paula Hensley, who was familiar with Letcher and Knott counties, two of the hardest hit. 'On a back road, Hensley came upon an older man who began to cry when she offered him a hand-made quilt. One quilt shop got a thank you note, written in a child’s hand with crayon, that melted the owner’s heart," Kobersmith writes. "So far, 923 gifts of warmth and love have been given away. Morgan has over 200 more to pass along to Hensley, with more on the way from other shops."