Somewhere in a war-torn country, there will be a person wrapping themselves in a blanket made from the familiar blue shirts worn by student workers at the Jerry Falwell Library through the combined efforts of Beverly Detwiler and Abigail Sattler.
Detwiler’s love of quilting and color has led her to craft quilts that have been sent oversees to ministries that support refugees.
“They would love to just have a blanket, but they had to run for their lives with only the shirts on their backs,” Detwiler said.
The cushions in the prayer chapel and the draperies in the LU Shepherd office were made by Detwiler. She also provided upholstery for Thomas Road Baptist Church, where she attends small group with Sattler, archivist at the Jerry Falwell Library.
When Sattler received word that a giant bag of old library workers’ shirts were going to be thrown out, she knew exactly where they would go to a good cause.
“Seems a shame to let all that fabric go to waste,” Sattler said. “I know someone who could do something charitable with that.”
Detwiler lives in Lynchburg with her husband, who is a biology professor at Liberty. Her involvement in this ministry began with her parents in Pennsylvania, who have supported ministries that send supplies oversees in hostile areas. Clothing and blankets are some of the items that these ministries have provided people who are impacted by wars, often in the Middle East.
Given the demand for blankets, Detwiler began using her leftover fabric and quilting skills to help respond by sending quilts to those who are affected by the conflict.
According to Detwiler, as soon as she began to get involved in this ministry, the list of opportunities unraveled. As she began to quilt, other people in her life began giving her scraps of fabric.
“Now, when people say, ‘Oh, I have fabric,’ I’ll take it.” Detwiler said.
The scraps of fabric were too small to make entire blankets, so Detwiler combined the squares to make quilts.
Detwiler adds variety to the quilts, avoiding drab colors in favor of bright ones. She focuses on durability for the quilts, not just the looks of them.
“If they do get washed, it will be in a creek … (so) it has to be able to stand up to that,” Detwiler said.
When friends ask Detwiler if she would make quilts for them, she normally refuses. For her, she wants to focus her efforts on providing items that Americans take for granted to those who could not otherwise access them.
Detwiler takes the money she makes from various projects provided by Liberty and Thomas Road and puts it toward her quilting.
“It’s just incredibly fulfilling,” Detwiler said. “I just love doing this.”
Detwiler made around 50 quilts last year and plans to exceed that number this year. Detwiler’s passion for quilting and people has ignited her drive for this ministry.
“We pray over all these quilts. They’re going to somebody who is in desperate need and needs to look to the Lord, whether they are a believer or not,” Detwiler said.