The quilt, that puffy blanket made of bits of random fabric sewn together to make a pattern, has always been representative of something special, warm and personal. In a word, home.

What better way, then, to make people who are without homes feel a sense of belonging than with a quilt.

For the past six years, the Quiet Quilters of Houlton have been doing just that. Since its formation in 1988, the group has made and given out about 50 quilts to people who have lost their homes to fire. Recently, they gave an additional 21 smaller quilts to the Battered Women’s Shelter in Houlton for children at the shelter.

“The whole thing started because we had some (clothes) left over from our church bazaar,” explains Peggy Coolong of the Houlton United Methodist Church, who is the unofficial head of the group. “Someone suggested we keep them for people who were burned out.”

She said that shortly after that, a family at the church lost its home to a fire. There was enough clothing for the family, Coolong said, but there was a shortage of bedding. That was how the idea of the quilts was born.

Through her involvement with the Aroostook Child Abuse Council, Coolong later learned that there was also a tremendous need for quilts for children and babies at the Battered Womens’ Shelter in Houlton. In fact, she says, about 100 quilts are needed each year to meet the needs of the children who stay at the shelter with their mothers.

The Quiet Quilters decided to add the shelter to its list of those in need, but they realized they needed help. “That’s when we decided to ask other churches,” said Coolong. Today there are about 20 women who work on the quilts. In addition to the Methodist Church, St. Mary Roman Catholic Church, the Unitarian Church and the Salvation Army are involved.

The women who sew the quilts for children are known as the Cuddly Quilts division. Children at the shelter may choose a quilt, and when they leave, the quilt is theirs to keep.

None of the quilts are made in one sitting, but instead are made in stages. Many of the tops, the colorful patterned part of the quilt, are sewn during the winter.

After enough tops are completed, other women get together to put in the filling and sew or “tack” the top and filling to the back section.

“If we run out of tops, we bring our sewing machines in and make them,” says Coolong.”Different people will cut, and stitch and iron. There can be as many as 10 people at a time. We can tack two in a day, but to make the tops, it takes about a week or so.”

“The longest time takes us getting it on the (quilting) frame,” adds Francis Esty, who has been making quilts for about 20 years. “You should see us. It takes about an hour.”

“It has to be perfectly square, or it will come off (the frame) with wrinkles and it won’t look right then.” says Coolong.

Some fabric for the quilts is purchased, but most of it comes from donations, sometimes from some unlikely sources.

A quilt the group made for flood victims in Missouri, for example, was made from pants that belonged to one quilter’s husband.

According to Coolong, the group decided to make a quilt out of double-knit material. She said quilter Ann Brown’s husband donated a dozen pairs of pants for the project.

“He didn’t donate them, I stole them right out of the closet,” laughs Brown, with embarrassment. “They’d been hanging around for years. I asked his permission, but he didn’t really have too much to do with it. Every time he saw me cutting, he got nervous. He thought I was going after the good ones.”

In addition to helping their community, Coolong says making the quilts also provides a good opportunity for the women to socialize.

“We talk about old times and grandchildren,” she says. “We bring lunches and share them, especially when the gardens come in.”

“But we don’t talk about people,” interjects Brown, afraid that people might get the wrong idea. “We don’t gossip.”

“We keep it light,” adds Jean Brown.

“And we have fun,” says Esty.