Quilting Comfort
SLATE LICK, Armstrong County — After retiring from her job in 2001, June Mechling has found her calling in life.
The Slate Lick resident has spent her days not only enjoying her life, but helping others to enjoy the rest of theirs. A year ago, Mechling started quilting lap throws and donating them to the Visiting Nurses Association of Western Pennsylvania Hospice.
She has made 69 so far, and the number grows every day.
She began this mission in 2001 while watching the "700 Club," a Christian talk show on TV. On the show that day, Laura Slessinger was seeking people to sew blankets for a program called My Stuff Bags for children in abusive homes.
Without thinking twice, Mechling agreed to help. She had been sewing her entire life, and sewed on a daily basis anyway. She couldn't think of a better way to spend her time than to help children in need, she said.
When the expense of shipping got to be a burden, Mechling continued to donate her time and children's blankets to a mission in West Virginia.
Then, one day last September, she was flipping through the newspaper and found an advertisement for hospice volunteers. She had plenty of material that wouldn't be appropriate for children's blankets, so she decided to take on another project.
Larry Mechling, June's husband, said she has been sewing since he can remember. He said she even used to sew clothes for the children, and he can't think of a better way for his wife to spend her time than helping those in need.
"I think what she's doing is great,"Larry Mechling said. "It keeps her busy and it's something she likes to do."
Mechling said she doesn't stress over how many are made and how fast she makes them. She works on them in her spare time throughout the day, making about 50 blankets a year.
She buys a lot of her material from yard sales and thrift stores. Her daughter-in-law just sent her 24 pounds of fabric, for which she paid $8. Mechling said her fabric doesn't necessarily match, so she has to work with what she has.
"Ihave dolphins here and piano keys here, and since I had nothing else to match the dolphins, Ihad to use the piano keys,"Mechling said. "That's what I had, so that's what Isewed."
Suzanne Grove, volunteer coordinator for the VNA, said Mechling is a dedicated and valued volunteer. She said volunteers don't ever have to see the patients to make a positive impact on patient's lives.
"She's making something that's very beautiful,"Grove said. "In doing that, she's showing that she really cares. The families like them, then patients like them, and they use them for a variety of things."
Grove said the patients use them to cover their laps while in a wheelchair, to cover their shoulders, and to help position their bodies for overall comfort. She added that in many cases, they get patients who are dying, and there isn't enough time to help the patient or family deal spiritually and emotionally with the bereavement process.
Grove said Mechling's activity falls under a program called Special Touches, which does things for hospice patients and their families. She said every little bit helps, and she wishes she could get more volunteers — young, old, and everyone in between — to help make the patient's life more enjoyable.
"My vision is to have a large volunteer group from all walks of life and generations so we can do some really great things,"Grove said.
Volunteering her time and effort truly gives Mechling a sense of joy and satisfaction, she said. She loves giving whatever she can to people who need it, and would do anything to make someone's life better.
"Give, the Bible says to give,"Mechling said. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it ... What else can I do?"
She recently was touched by a thank-you note from a girl whose father received a throw Mechling made.
"It's something that's needed,"Mechling said. "They're not necessarily made out of fabric that matches, and Idon't spend hundreds of hours on each one. It can be used, which is what it's meant for."
