The Miracle of The Gatehouse Quilts

Some say a bed without a quilt is like the sky without stars. Quilter extraordinaire Kayleen Allen might have penned that herself, if she wasn’t so busy pinning quilt tops and organizing fellow quilters for The Gatehouse, a recently opened supportive living center in Grapevine, Texas, for women and children in crisis.

When Allen read about the upcoming opening of The Gatehouse in the local newspaper, she saw the perfect opportunity to join her love of quilting with her devotion to community service.

“I had this inner feeling—that I needed to be involved. I wasn’t sure how, but I knew I wanted to contribute,” said Allen, a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

When Allen met with The Gatehouse Executive Director Debra Lyons and offered her services in making quilts for The Gatehouse, Lyons was both grateful and skeptical about the practicality of the plan.

“She said that would be wonderful but did I realize what I was saying? The Gatehouse would require, initially, 96 full size quilts and 165 twin size quilts. That was a tall order. I’m sure she thought I was crazy. I know my husband sure thought I was!”

Allen said when she decided to do it, she could see the end, but was not at all sure how she would get there.

“I knew I had to have help— a lot of help! I wanted to make quality quilts, not tied, but rather done on a long arm. It would be a huge effort,” said Allen, a mother of five and grandmother of 19.

“The first thing I did was get the word out. I distributed The Gatehouse brochures to quilt shops, quilting guilds, and churches. It mushroomed from there.”

Quilters are known for their generous natures, but even so, Allen was gratified by the community response.

“It has been a huge community effort. I can’t honestly say how people have worked on those quilts, many anonymously. It has certainly been over a hundred. Many churches have quilting ministries, where all they do is make quilts for those in need. Three different quilting guilds offered their services.

“Two dozen women have been the backbone of the project. For over a year, week after week, these women did cutting, piecing, binding, and long arm quilting. A lot of love and thought go into each quilt. An inspirational Bible scripture is embroidered as a special message to each woman or child who receives one. When they leave The Gatehouse, the quilt goes with them.”

Allen says this work could not have succeeded without miracles for which she is grateful.

“Once I got going on this project, I realized there is a huge expense in the batting [the layer of insulation between the top layer of the quilt and its backing]. After exhausting my own resources and that of many of my quilter friends, I didn’t know what I was going to do. Then I thought of Nanc Christopherson who had recently opened Longarm Quilting Academy in Southlake. She was quick to offer free longarm quilting classes and the use of her equipment for the project. It was through her that I learned about Gary Varner of FiberCo in Fort Worth.

“Mr. Varner said he was just getting ready to send dozens of rolls of batting back to a manufacturer. He said if I could get a truck, he would give me all the batting I need,” said Allen.

Mr. Varner, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of FiberCo, a Fort Worth based manufacturer and distributor of batting, said, “We’re just a little ol’ batting company, soon to celebrate our 50th year in business. It is our pleasure to help worthy causes how we can. People help us, and we sure love to help them, and that’s how we do business.”

Varner’s humility and generosity of spirit is common to all who contributed to what is fast becoming known as the Miracle of The Gatehouse Quilts.

“It’s been like this all along,” said Allen, who recently delivered 102 twin size, 100 full size, 50 crib size and 20 lap quilts to The Gatehouse. “I’ve heard so many people bear testimony that this project could not have happened without faith. I didn’t think of the way all this would work and how it would happen; I just saw the end. It’s a blessing to me—to all of us— that it has come together.

“Now that we’ve met their initial needs, we’ll slow down and it will be about replenishing. We will meet as a Gatehouse bee just once a month. We all just do our part now and hope to keep it going forever.”

To learn more about The Gatehouse, go to http://www.gatehousegrapevine.com