For the past seven months, Intermountain Health Heber Valley Hospital pharmacy technician Sharon Johnson has enlisted her crafty coworkers into her army of quilters.
Operating room nurse Jess Rasmussen, for example, was drafted as soon as Johnson spotted her wearing a scrub cap adorned with quilt squares. Rasmussen’s been quilting for about three years, and Johnson wants to keep the rookie going.
Johnson is the vice president of the Heber Valley Quilt Guild, which with the help of the quilt guilds in Midway and Kamas has been tackling a daunting service project for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. They have sewn a patriotic quilt for every baby born at the Intermountain Health Heber Valley and Park City hospitals in 2026.
That’s 700 blankets for the 700 babies estimated to be born at the two hospitals this year. The only requirement is that the fabric include red, white and blue and/or stars and stripes. Johnson’s army has already knocked out about 600 since starting in December.
The project began with Amy Tuddenham, Heber Valley Hospital’s marketing and communications manager, spitballing a few ideas about how to commemorate the milestone. As soon as Johnson heard Tuddenham’s “harebrained idea,” she began working out how to make it a reality.
“There’s no way in hell I could’ve done this by myself,” Johnson said during a quilting session at the hospital.
Fellow guild member Jane Leaphart disputed that from behind a sewing machine.
“Yes, you could. I know you better than that,” she joked.
Still, the assistance and companionship have gone a long way in making the project a reality.
The members of the Heber Valley Quilt Guild meet at Johnson’s house about once every three weeks to quilt their hearts out for four to five hours. They’ll chat, watch a movie or hold a race to see who can make the most.
“Speed queen” Natasha Endito is the undisputed champion. She’s made over 30 blankets since the project’s inception. Each quilt takes about 45 minutes to complete, though that depends on the quilter’s skill.
Veteran Leaphart, for example, has been sewing since junior high.
“I hated it then. Now I love it. It’s my therapy. I get in my own little world and create,” she said. “One thing that happens a lot in this world is that people don’t have face-to-face time. I think that’s what we get when we’re doing this. … We’ve really gotten very close because we have a common goal.”
Guild member Lara Wilson said the project reflects what it means to be an American: to give up time in the service of others and to work together toward a cause.
Leaphart said more Americans, citizens and politicians alike, should adopt those qualities.
“We haven’t figured out how to work together. And that’s what works here. I’m not good at the corners. I get them backwards every time. So, somebody else is going to do all the corners. It’s a team effort,” she said.
The quilters’ project has not gone unnoticed. Johnson in May received volunteer service recognition from the Utah Office of the Lieutenant Governor for organizing the project. She’s still shocked.
But it’s the smaller interactions that have been more impactful. Rasmussen has been present after two births, when the parents were gifted with the blankets.
“They thought it was such a personal touch. It’s nice to live in a small community and have a little bit more love,” she said.
Wilson hopes to one day spot the blankets in baby pictures posted online, being picnicked on, dragged through the mud and loved to death.
Maybe some day, they’ll be heirlooms, like Johnson’s baby blanket, which was hand-embroidered by a family friend. It depicts the state birds of all 48 states that were part of the union at the time.
“I remember in 1976 when everybody’s school portraits had the flag, because we were celebrating our country’s birthday again,” Johnson recalled. “I hope that as they grow, they learn the importance of being American, and that they were a part of this special little group.”