Two Orcas women put their sewing talent to good use

“When Dorothy gets an idea, she says ‘Betty, we have to do this.’”

“When Dorothy gets an idea, she says ‘Betty, we have to do this.’”

For the past three years, friends Betty Marcum and Dorothy Arbuckle have collaborated on quilts for the Orcas community.

Their most recent project is a quilt for Jordan Griffin, who is currently at Seattle Children’s Hospital doing rehabilitation; he was paralyzed from the chest down after a snowboarding accident in December.

Marcum handles the sewing machine and Arbuckle, who is 90 years old, does all the hand work. Both women have been quilters and sewers for the past 40 years.

“I’m proud of what I can do,” said Arbuckle. “And I told Betty we had to do something for Jordan.”

Griffin’s quilt is soft fleece on the back with sports-themed patches on the front. Marcum says her friends donated most of the sports fabric.

The women arranged for Griffin’s classmates at Orcas Christian School to write on the front of the quilt, signing their names and writing messages. Dawn Parnell will take the hand-made quilt to him this week.

Last Thursday, Griffin received a special visit from Huskies linebacker Josh Gage, who brought along some of his teammates, including quarterback Jake Locker. They gave him a football autographed by the team, a jersey, and Tipper Johnson presented him with his gloves from the previous season.

“They ate pizza with Jordan and talked endlessly of football. They all had a great time. They ended the evening with photos and warm hugs. They were so sweet,” said his mom Rachel Griffin.