Shari Friedel | Johnson Publications
Zion members participating in the Little Dresses project include (front row, l-r): Diane Hagan, Marcia Frerichs, Lou Tietjen. Back row: Marcia Swan, Elisa Francisco, Nancy Burge.
Zion women help sew hope
by Shari Friedel
Grant Tribune-SentineL
A pillowcase or a yard or so of fabric, some binding, elastic and about an hour is all it takes to make a big difference in the life of a little girl.
The “Little Dresses for Africa” project, founded in 2008, enlists the aid of volunteers who craft simple dresses that are given to young girls in foreign countries, mainly Africa.
Some of those volunteers include the Zion Lutheran Ladies Aid in Grant. Members meet in a special sewing room in the basement of Zion Lutheran Church one morning a month to fellowship and sew. Traditionally, they have made items such as quilts to be given away to people in need.
With a growing stash of donated fabric, the women decided to try something different, and looked into the “Little Dresses” project on the Internet.
“So many people have been so generous, there’s lots of nice fabric to work with,” said Nancy Burge, who has sewn with Ladies Aid since the 1970s. “For me, it’s a good recycling project.” Burge has also made diapers for families in third world countries, and, as part of a farming family, has spent many a “blizzard day” sewing quilts from discarded blue jeans.