11-Year-Old Girl Sews Quilt for Orlando Families

Story originally published on The Pantagraph 

The Orlando Modern Quilt Guild received hundreds of responses when they put out a call for action in June after the Pulse nightclub shooting happened in Orlando. Their mission was to make rainbow heart quilts to give to the families of the victims, and they were searching for as many hands as possible to help sew whole quilts. Little did the group know that this call would reach all the way to Illinois and in the home of an 11-year-old girl ready to help.

Sixth-grader Sydney Young wanted to create something that would hopefully put a smile on grieving families' faces, so her mother Patty (pattern and fabric designer of ModKid Boutique), taught her how to sew a heart-shaped pattern and Sydney took off from there. "I just wanted to do something to make everyone feel better," Sydney told The Pantagraph.

Sydney spent weeks developing the perfect quilt top before she sent it to Melissa Kirk, who had volunteered to finish the quilt. Before she sent the quilt to the Orlando Modern Quilt Guild, Sydney attached a tag that read, "Sewn with love, Sydney Young, age 11."

"I hope when the recipient sees that it was made by a child, they will feel the love," said Patty. "We can't take away the pain of what happened, but we can show comfort and support and love for the community."