Atria resident, 90, and daughter create 110 unique lap quilts for seniors
Anyone could use a hug, and in the case of Atria Senior Living residents, that “hug” is a lap quilt made by resident Alice Olp and her daughter Cathy Johnson.
With personalized themes to tailor to each resident’s interests, each one received a quilt with a tag attached, saying: “A Handmade Hug from Alice Olp.”
Olp and Johnson began this initiative in April of last year, as Olp saw the need and opportunity to give wheelchair-bound residents a lap quilt. This idea transformed into ensuring each resident of Atria received one.
Handing out 110 quilts to the residents throughout the year, with extras ready for residents who move in the coming weeks, Olp and Johnson also took the opportunity to showcase their own unique quilts to the residents on Tuesday.
“We kind of have an assembly line. She has a shop in her house, where we get things together. All the fabrics are at her house. I have a quilting machine here, so I sew. We make the kits at her house. I bring them over here, and then I sew the tops together. They go back to her house, she puts the layers together and quilts them, and then we put name tags on every one,” Olp said.
A quilting kit often includes a pattern and fabric to construct a quilt, and the tops are the decorative elements pieced together from fabric.
Olp and Johnson have worked on quilts together for years, joining Project Linus in 2016 and donating more than 800 quilts to children in need.
“We go once a month, the first Saturday of every month, to Pasadena. There’s probably 60 to 80 women, and we all make quilts. We just have bags of them that go out every time,” Olp said. “It took us a while [to start here] in the beginning, because I’ve been here for a year and a half, and I had to catch up on every one who was here before.”
Olp believes the residents love and appreciate her quilts, and takes the initiative to ensure that the moment they receive it is a lasting memory.
“I go to each one when I give the quilt, and take a picture of them with the quilt. They love it. Nobody hesitates. We’ve made a book,” Olp said.
Johnson, who learned from Olp how to use a sewing machine at the age of 7, discussed the bond that she and her mother share while creating for others.
“I’m the only daughter — I grew up with four brothers, so we’re really close. And she’s 90. I can’t believe she’s still doing this at 90. I’m just so blessed, it’s a bond between us. She gave me my first sewing machine, and I have it displayed in my sewing room. One of her jobs was being a seamstress when she got out of high school. She has sewed on and off, but once she retired, she started quilting with me,” Johnson said.
Johnson, who has been quilting for roughly 30 years, found passion in giving away her quilts after giving many to loved ones, including her own kids and grandchildren.
“A lot of residents in wheelchairs will come with [their quilts] on Wednesdays when there’s entertainment, and they’ve got them on their laps. For me, it’s really heartwarming to see them use them. This one resident will have it on him all day, but when he goes to a dining center, he covers it up with napkins so he doesn’t drop anything on it.”
According to Johnson, another resident folds her quilt in a particular way to appreciate the design.
“There’s a heart in the middle of her quilt, and she always folds it so the heart is showing. She also has a crochet blanket that somebody else made for her, so she takes the crochet blanket whenever she goes to the dining center, because she doesn’t want to get this one dirty. She has an everyday eating one, and then this one is for special occasions,” Johnson said.
While residents appreciated their personalized gifts, in addition to Johnson’s own quilting work that she displayed, her main mantra is simply this: “I’ve never sold a quilt, [but I’m] passionate about donating them.”
