A Stitch of Comfort : An Encino group has been creating quilts for others since 1987. Members are stepping up efforts after the quake.

Soon after the Northridge earthquake, some of the families left homeless received a colorful handcrafted quilt. “It may not be much, but a quilt has a lot of meaning behind it,” said Hannah Meottel of Encino, one of the founders of Quilters for Others. “People can recognize the work and effort it takes to make a good quilt. They see the love that goes into it.”

The group’s 25 to 30 regular members meet monthly to assemble the colorful designs of the quilt tops, fill them with batting and put them together, using sewing machines. They began their work in 1987, when a few San Fernando Valley women met monthly to sew quilts together.

In the planning stage of a quilt, a “block,” or a sample of the pattern, is sewn together to see how the quilt will look when complete. If the quilter decides against the pattern or color, a new block is started. Shortly after the group began, members used some leftover blocks to make nine quilts and gave them to Haven Hills, a Valley shelter for battered women.

Soon, more women began showing up for the meetings and more charities began asking for quilts. Last year, more than 400 quilts of various sizes and designs were sewn and given away.

The groups that have received quilts range from the Mary Magdalene Project, which assists former prostitutes, to the Sherman Oaks Burn Center, which gives the quilts to its patients.

“The apartment complex where our crisis shelter is located is very Spartan,” said Betty Fisher, director of Haven Hills. “The quilts we receive really brighten up the place. The women who get them are amazed that a stranger would go through all that work to make a quilt just for them. It makes a difference.”

A Quilters for Others meeting resembles an assembly line. At various tables, some cut fabric while others plan where the multicolored swatches will go. The rest of the members attach the batting and sew the quilts together.

To keep up with the demand, kits have been put together with the needed materials for those who want to work on quilts at home. “We’ve had several invalids contact us who have wanted to help out, so we’ve given them the kits and they’ve been able to pitch in,” said Meottel, who has been making quilts for 40 years.

Although the group hasn’t had any male members and most of the women are retired, anyone is welcome, even those without quilting experience. “All they have to do is show up with two hands,” Meottel said. “We’ll put them to work.”

The group’s fabrics and sewing machines are mostly donated or bought with money earned from the raffling off of some quilts. Many of the members also kick in some fabrics and thread from their own quilting projects.

Before it’s given away, each quilt must meet the group’s high standards. Stitches are checked to make sure they don’t show, and corners and patterns are examined for consistency. After the quilt is approved, the Quilters for Others label is sewn on and it’s ready to be given away.

Some members in the North Valley who wanted to stay close to home began meeting at Joelle Colville’s Granada Hills house to work on quilts, and that splinter branch has evolved into what Colville calls “the soup group.”

“I make a couple of pots of soup for everyone, and we have a good time.”

The earthquake has put a crimp in the quilters’ efforts. Just when the group was working feverishly to supply quilts to victims of the Malibu fires, it had to shut down. Its meeting place in the community room at Fallbrook Mall in West Hills was closed, and Colville’s home where the soup group met suffered some damage.

“My sewing room was a disaster area,” said Colville. “The people who meet at my house all live where the earthquake hit the hardest.”

But a few days after the quake, some volunteers picked up 11 finished quilts at Colville’s house and distributed them. “There’s always a need, and now that we’ll be making them for neighbors, the need is even greater,” Meottel said.

Where and When What: Quilters for Others. Hours: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the last Wednesday of every month. Call: Hannah Meottel, (818) 784-4612, for location.