Stitch in Time club works overtime to make Christmas gifts

The sutures needed to be done rapidly and skillfully.

Experience was on the side of the “surgeons” who were surrounded by body parts waiting to be joined to torsos. Time was of the essence.

Fortunately for the “patients” the stitches were in the expert hands of the ladies of the Stitch in Time sewing club. All the patients, in this case, dolls and stuffed bears were expected to survive.

The bears, dolls and Christmas stockings were all part of an assembly line approach employed by the sewers whose goal it is to have 100 of each toy put together and ready to go in time for Christmas distribution to needy children throughout the Plains area.

“This is the first year for making dolls and the 50th year overall that this project has been done before Christmas,” said Stitch in Time member Shirley King. “It’s a month long project to sew, stuff and get these toys ready to go”.

The toys are to be handed out in time for Christmas during an event which will be held at the log cabin building on the grounds of the old Plains School building, which is now a dental facility. Also involved in the project are the Plains Women’s Club, the VFW and the VFW Auxiliary.

The bears and dolls, along with the stockings that will be stuffed with toys and other goodies are a labor of love for the members of the sewing club who have been meeting each Monday for the past month at the “Club House” in Paradise.

Santa Claus will be at the gift site to hand out the presents and listen to requests for Christmas gifts. That event will be held next week.

The sewers use donated materials from throughout the county to help them achieve their ambitious goal each year.

“People clean out gramma's closets to help us get the materials we need,” King said, adding members of the club also donate materials in addition to their time.

For the Stitch in Time members, this type of work is nothing new. In the past year they have gathered to produce gowns and masks for local healthcare providers as well as sewing beautiful blankets for use by residents of the Clark Fork Valley Hospital long-term care facility.

They have also made cloth diapers and blankets for those in need, as well as colorful quilts for the House of Valor organization in Missoula.

“I love to sew,” said club member Judy Howley while she operated a sewing machine this past week. “It’s a nice way to hone our skills while at the same time giving to people who need help, especially at this time of year. It’s good to give people something colorful to help brighten their day”.

All the members agree that giving back to the community is a driving force in their efforts.

“I’ve always heard about giving back to the community,” said Dayna Dickerson. “This is a great way to do just that. We got this project because we are talented sewers”, she added with a smile.