Senior sews 15 handmade quilts for Whisperwood residents after visits put on hold
Annie Boyle put her hands to work when community card parties were halted by COVID-19
Islander Annie Boyle surprised the residents of Whisperwood Villa in Charlottetown with the delivery of more than a dozen brightly coloured handmade lap quilts on Wednesday.
The crafty lady says she typically keeps busy with knitting, crocheting and quilting, so she went right to work when she found some extra time on her hands.
"I just kept cutting material and putting it together and came up with 15 quilts," Boyle said.
Jason Lee, the CEO of P.E.I. Seniors Homes, said Boyle was a frequent visitor at the privately run community care and nursing home until COVID-19 restrictions were put in place.
When Island card parties were also put on hold as a precautionary measure to protect players from the spread of COVID-19, Boyle's regular form of community recreation came to an end.
She filled some of the time over the last four months or so sewing the lap quilts, she said, instead of going out four or five times a week.
'To see the happiness on their faces'
Whisperwood Villa went through a scare when P.E.I. health officials announced a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 in early July.
A total of 129 residents and 140 staff members, as well as anyone who visited the facility on June 30, were tested twice over the course of a week. All the tests came back negative.
Boyle said she wanted to do something to brighten spirits at the home.
"It was really pleasant to see the happiness on their faces when they [saw] the quilts and the colours that [were] in them," she said, adding she made two additional baby-size quilts for her friends.
The care-home officials say the quilts will be put to good use, as its activities program expands with the easing of more restrictions in early September.
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With files from Angela Walker