Handy Yakima grandmother turns talent into treasure for foster kids

YAKIMA, Wash. -- She gives them comfort and warmth and something to hold on to, something to wrap themselves up in, like a hug, a bright and colorful hug.

She goes for oranges and hot pinks, "you know, those fun colors." She also likes patterns and putting together themes -- from Raggedy Ann and Andy and teddy bears to baseballs and cowboys.

"Sometimes," she says, "I run into a piece of fabric that is really interesting."

In the back room of her West Valley condo, where she's lived for the past 43 years, Joan Woodburn is quilting for a cause.

The 87-year-old Yakima grandmother has made more than 100 quilts this year for the Voices for Children Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of abused and neglected children throughout Yakima County.

The foundation, in turn, gets them to children in foster care. The quilts are tucked into "buddy bags," which are backpacks, totes or duffle bags filled with items children who've been removed from their homes might need. The bags are filled with items of necessity, like socks and shampoo, and items of comfort, like books and Woodburn's colorful quilts.

"They are absolutely beautiful; they are like works of art," says Anna Martinez, president of the foundation, which puts together about 300 "buddy bags" per year.

They're given by social workers to youths entering the foster care system -- often in emergency situations -- or moving from one foster home to the next.

"Kids get moved into foster care all the time in the middle of the night, and they have nothing," Martinez says. "They're going into a strange place with strange people. A lot of times what's in that buddy bag is what gets them through while they're sitting in the car or in that office."

So, Martinez says, "The value of those blankets is pretty high."

About 700 children -- infants through teens -- are currently in the foster care system in Yakima County, according to Martinez.

And, "When you tell them somebody made something for them, they get really excited about it," she says. "They can throw that blanket on their bed and it helps make them feel like it's theirs."

Woodburn downplays her contribution.

"They just get impressed that as old as I am I make as many as I do," she says.

While other quilters donate their wares to Voices for Children Foundation, Woodburn produces the most, Martinez says.

By Woodburn's own count, she finished 105 quilts in 2009 and is working on 120 for 2010.

"It keeps me busy, and I feel like I am doing something for the community," says Woodburn, who works in groups of 10 quilts at a time and starts by cutting 51/2-inch squares, then piecing them together on her flannel board to see how they'll look.

Then she sews the squares into strips on her Pfaff Creative 7570 -- "I've had it for many years; it's such a great machine" -- and eventually adds a double border, batting and backing.

But don't call her a quilter.

"I would not say I'm a quilter. I've never taken a lesson," she says. "But I've been sewing all my life. I've been in sewing clubs, but not a quilt club."

Still, she admits, "I'm pretty handy."

Sharon Adams thinks so. The office specialist at Yakima County Juvenile Court has never met Woodburn, but she's seen her handiwork at the courthouse, where some of her creations are stored, and "I fell in love with her quilts.

"There was one that was so beautiful that I wanted to buy it just because I was so impressed," Adams says. "I just admire what she's doing. She's done all this work silently, never asking for anything. To me, she's someone with such a giving heart, taking the time to do this for children in need."

Woodburn was born and raised in Yakima and has lived here most of her life. After graduating from Yakima High School in 1941, she moved away for not quite 20 years -- to Seattle, San Francisco, Stockton, Calif., and Reno, Nev. -- before returning with her son, who's now an architect in Seattle.

"He was raised in the back end of a flower shop," says Woodburn, who was a florist and at one time owned two different flower shops in Yakima. She retired in 1978.

These days, after coffee and the crossword puzzle in the morning paper, she works in her sewing room, covered with photographs of her two grandchildren, spools of thread and piles of cloth, sorted by color.

She favors 100 percent cotton.

And she pays for most of the materials out of her own pocket, finding much of the fabric at yard sales.

A senior on a fixed income, she only buys batting when it's half off. And, sometimes, friends or friends of friends donate to her cause. So has Fiddlesticks.

While she's made quilts for other charities and organizations in the past, she's focusing all of her cutting and threading, piecing and sewing on foster kids these days.

She's never seen any of them receive her quilts but says she'd like to -- "at least one time."

* Adriana Janovich can be reached at 509-577-7653 or ajanovich@yakimaherald.com.

Fabric needed

Joan Woodburn is always in need of more fabric. She prefers to work with brightly colored 100 percent cotton, especially if it’s covered with patterns children might enjoy. To donate cloth, or other items for the "buddy bags," contact Anna Martinez at Voices for Children Foundation at 509-225-0335.

How you can help

Not a quilter? 

Not a big deal. Community members can donate other goods to the Voices for Children Foundation’s Buddy Bags program. The bags are given to youths in foster care. All items must be new. Among the things needed are:

• Tote bags, duffle bags and backpacks

• Diapers

• Baby wash

• Bottles

• Pacifiers

• Soap

• Hair clips and barrettes

• Shampoo

• Other toiletries

• Books and journals

• Socks and underwear

• T-shirts

• School supplies

• Nightlights and flashlights

• Alarm clocks

• Small stuffed animals

• Baby toys