HEATH — Local quilters helping North Carolina hurricane victims have already surpassed their goal and finished 14 quilts, and they have no intention of slowing down.

“We’re just gonna keep going till the fabric runs out,” said organizer Eileen Lively.

The project began in November, when members of the Heath Union Church held a fundraising dinner to cover the costs of temporary housing for survivors of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina.

Lively said the church’s pastor, Neil Stetson, had just returned from a trip to North Carolina where he worked with Hope Force International to clean houses. When Stetson told the congregation about the devastation faced by people there, Lively felt inspired to use her quilting skills.

“While I was sitting here and looking around, I was thinking to myself, ‘That persons sews, that person sews, that person sews’ … I can’t go and muck out houses, but I can organize a quilting project,” Lively recounted.

“[Stetson] was able to go, and not everyone is able to go, but [you can] think about what you can do with the talents and skills you have,” quilter Hilma Sumner said. “You don’t say something like that in front of Eileen without expecting positive results.”

The original goal was to make one quilt a week for a total of 12 quilts over 12 weeks, but the group surpassed that goal and mailed out 14 quilts by Christmas Eve, just seven weeks after they started, according to Lively.

The quilts were mailed to the Calvary Road Baptist Church in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, and the United Methodist Church in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, to be distributed to those who could benefit from a quilt. In addition, there are nine more quilts in production and nearly ready to be sent out.

Lively said all the materials, including fabric, batting and thread, have been donated, with most of it being scraps and leftover materials from the quilters’ personal projects. She looks through the fabrics and finds colors and patterns that would work well together, then creates “quilt kits” that allow anyone who shows up to one of their sewing sessions to pick one, arrange the squares into patterns and make a quilt.

The church, Lively said, has been incredibly supportive of the project and let her take over its basement on Friday afternoons so she and a group of volunteers can “have fabric everywhere” and get to sewing.

“I have a lot of great support and wonderful friends,” Lively said.

The group’s weekly sewing parties have welcomed 13 people from across the region. While the quilters are mostly Heath residents, Sumner said the group also has attendees from Colrain, Rowe and Florida.

The group includes experienced sewers and avid quiltmakers, as well as those who are new to the craft. Lively said the project is not about following traditional quilt patterns and having perfect seams — rather, it is about a community coming together to make something fun and colorful that could bring joy to someone’s life.

“It’s not about making a traditional quilt,” Lively said. “It’s about love and prayers.”

Lively said the group plans to continue making quilts for hurricane victims, but is also thinking about local causes.

She plans to keep making “quilts for a cause” until supplies run out. Lively said she will happily accept donations of supplies and welcomes volunteers to join the quilting group.

“We’re going to continue to send down quilts to North Carolina,” Lively said, “but then our thought is that we’re going to work toward local needs.”

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.