'Sewing' the seeds of awareness

Talking, laughter and the soft whir of sewing machines could be heard coming from a conference room at the Agricultural Service Center on Friday. Volunteers with ties to Hancock County's 4-H program spent part of the day working on quilted burp cloths that will be given to babies born at Blanchard Valley Hospital during Ohio 4-H Week in March. The first baby born that week will receive a handmade quilt along with a burp rag "made with love and donated by 4-H," said Joyce Schroeder, master clothing educator. Schroeder isn't sure how long this particular tradition has been going on, but she said it started as a way to help out with the special week and bring awareness to the organization in Hancock County. "We started it to give the advisors a way to help out 4-H Week, make it more known," she said. "We make them and donate them." The McComb woman learned to sew in 4-H with help from her mother and grandmothers. "It's turned into a lifetime addiction," she said. Now she's carrying on the tradition with today's 4-H members. "We buy our kids all these fidget toys because kids fidget, and we buy them fidget spinners and fidget poppers. OK, let's go back to old-time fidgeting," she said. "Let's teach them to hand sew. Let's teach them to crochet. Let's teach them to knit. Let's teach them to do latch hook. Let's teach them something other than popping a bead back and forth and a little toy that accomplishes nothing." Part of her job as master clothing educator involves holding sewing clinics for novices of the art. For the first one in January, she taught four girls how to make fleece scarves and hats. "This is before their 4-H season starts, and they have the children try a sewing project and maybe spark an interest," she explained. "I took pictures of them and sent them to the extension office so they could see what we did. The girls were all smiles." The flannel burp cloths have an ocean theme with fish and turtles in colors of blue, aqua and white. Each contains 26 different pieces that are sewn together to resemble a quilt block. Schroeder plans to have 30 finished for 4-H week. "And what we don't get done today, we have lovely volunteers that take them home and finish them," she said. Linda James was one of the volunteers who helped Friday. Besides the cloths she completed, James also planned to take a couple of the kits to her mother, Evelyn Graham. Mother and daughter are advisors for the Lakeland Leaders 4-H Club. And while they usually come together to help with this project, Graham couldn't make it this year. "She's an advisor. This is her 55th year being an advisor," said James. "She's 87 years old and still loves to be with the kids." James said she learned the to sew from her mom and through 4-H. "She (Graham) was never in 4-H. She was a city kid. She didn't know anything about 4-H until I was 9 and could start," said James. Amy Schroeder, who is distantly related to Joyce Schroeder, helped, too. They are both advisors for the Northwest Stars 4-H Club. Although she wasn't in 4-H when she was younger, Amy was a Girl Scout. "I don't remember a time when I can remember learning to sew," she said. "I just remember sewing." Joyce Schroeder said the extension office occasionally receives a card or note from a new mom, thanking 4-H for the quilt and/or burp cloth. "And that always means a lot that someone took the time to say thank you. But we do it because we like it, not because we're expecting thank-yous," she said. Lauren Burner-Kitzler, extension educator in 4-H youth development, said the idea of gifting these items to babies has become a tradition. "I think it's great, making burp cloths and baby blankets for new bundles of joy for our county, and in spirit of 4-H week," she said. This year, there are 39 active 4-H clubs in Hancock County along with 181 volunteers and advisors. Over 436 families are involved in the program, she said. Cloverbuds is open to children when they are at least 5 and enrolled in kindergarten. Youth can enroll in project 4-H when they reach age 8 and are in the third grade. Members can remain in the organization until they reach age 18. Burner-Kitzler said 4-H has a variety of projects available ranging from sewing and quilting to woodworking and cake decorating. A new one this year is "Ready, Set, ... Mow!" It teaches youth the general and overall maintenance of a lawn mower, from a push mower to a riding mower to a zero-turn mower, she said. Another new project, "Your Feelings Matter," deals with mental health. She said the project book was written by Amanda Raines and Jami Dellifield, who work for Hardin County Extension. "People tend to think fair and livestock when you talk about 4-H. It's so much more than that," she said. "Part of the motto is 'making the best better,' but it's also helping our youth develop into individuals and to be successful. And that's one of my goals here in Hancock County is to help share that and spread that."