Keeping Babies Warm: It's A Family Affair for Shirley Mason!

   Shirley Mason and her granddaughters have made dozens of warm, cozy blankets and donated them  to hospitals, police officers, and fire departments.
   "I love fleece!" Shirley says. She keeps an eye open for bargains, mostly shops at Joann's when they have a 50-60 % off sale.  One time she saw some fabric for 99  cents a yard, so she bought all that was left.
   One time Shirley was in a store buying fabric and a lady next to her asked what she was doing with all the fleece she had.  Shirley told her about her projects and how important it is to get in on the sales. The lady then asked, "Are you interested in some free material? I have a friend 89-years-old who has a lot of material she would like to donate."  As it turned out, the lady lived in Sacramento and had a lot of fabric Shirley could use. Her brother-in-law picked it up and brought to Shirley in big plastic totes. She shared it with other Relief Society sisters who wanted to make blankets, or use for their own projects.

You can see from this picture than Shirley has quite a stash of fabric, and never fails to put materials together that "go" together.  She has an eye for what looks good.

Shirley's granddaughters are a part of the blanket project and have learned how to measure, cut, sew on a sewing machine, and tie a quilt with yarn.  In the picture above Shirley is in the upper left using her surger to finish the edge of a light blanket used for newborns.  Below her is granddaughter Breonna Felkins tying a blanket; Brittany Wait is pinning and measuring, and Briley Felkins at a very young age is sewing blankets together on a sewing machine.  What a great way to teach skills to grandchildren, as well as spend quality time with them, and at the same time, serve others in need.

Delivery time is fun too. Here are Shirley and the girls delivering blankets to the Lodi Police Department for use when needed.  L to R : Officer Bahr, Wendy Felkins (daughter,) Brittany Wait, Briley Felkins, Shirley Mason and Officer Cipponeri.  Blankets are delivered in plastic bags as required by the Police Department.

A blanket delivery to the San Joaquin General Hospital.  L to R: Wendy Felkins, Briley Felkins, Lillianna Carmono (Activity Director for the hospital,) Breonna Felkins, and Shirley Mason.