Stitching Hope: Why Janet and Carolyn Sew for Rayola

When you ask Janet Lachon and Carolyn Riedel how many quilts and bags they’ve made for children in foster care, they both laugh a little, then offer numbers that sound almost impossible. Janet guesses she’s sewn “200, maybe more… 250 plus, maybe 300, honestly” quilt tops over the years. Carolyn estimates she’s created hundreds of zippered pouches, 400–500 Halloween bags, nearly 200 Valentine’s bags, and now dozens of reversible purses—with more on the way.  

Taken together, their output is astonishing. But the true impact of their work for Rayola, and for the children who receive those quilts and bags, goes far beyond the numbers.

From High School Sewing to Lifelong Service

Both sisters’ quilting experience began in familiar places: home, 4-H, and high school. Janet recalls learning to sew from her mother and getting more serious through 4-H and a quilting class with a neighbor. Carolyn’s path is similar: home economics, mending, and a steady thread of sewing woven through her life.  

“I’ve just always sewn or mended,” Carolyn explains, “and then I later took some quilting classes … and kind of ran with that.”

For a while, sewing faded into the background of Janet’s life, as it does for many people in busy seasons. She eventually realized how much she missed it. The turning point came when she saw a notice in the West Branch paper: Rayola was looking for people to sew quilts.

“I saw in the West Branch paper that Rayola was looking for people to sew quilts, and I called [Keri],” Janet recalls. “She had some patterns already cut out [for me, and] it just kind of evolved from there.”

That simple phone call, an offer to help, has become years of sustained effort, hundreds of quilt tops, and an incalculable impact on children entering foster care.

A Quiet Production Line of Love

Janet and Carolyn are, by their own description, producers.

“My mother worked in a factory,” Janet explains. “She was like one of the top producers, … and she has two daughters that are the same way. Because we are—we’re producers. We’re not content people. We don’t watch TV; … we have to be busy.”

Their “production line” for Rayola is both practical and deeply personal. Carolyn does much of the cutting and preparation; she says her enduring passion for supporting foster care comes from seeing her daughter go through the process of adopting a child from foster care. Janet assembles and sews; her late husband was in the foster care system. She says. “I’m sure he would have appreciated all this stuff when he was growing up.”

They’ve refined a system that fits their lives and brings massive impact to the community and children they serve. 

One Quilt and Bag at a Time

Rayola’s numbers tell part of the story. Since the organization began, Rayola has delivered 6,795 holiday care packages and 1,831 entry quilt and care packages to children in foster care. Carolyn and Janet are not just contributors—they are structural pillars of the program.

Both sisters are clear-eyed about the amount of time and effort each item represents. And yet, that’s precisely what makes their impact so meaningful.

“You know that you’re spending your time and it’s going to something worthwhile. It’s not like you’re sewing something and it’s going to go sit in a drawer,” Janet says. “You can only hope that maybe one of the quilts, some kid really appreciates and will have it for a long time.” 

They don’t meet the children who receive their work. They don’t watch the reactions. But they keep sewing anyway.

A Vanishing Skill, A Persistent Calling

Both women are acutely aware that sewing is becoming rare in their community.

“We’re finding, at least in this area, there are a lot of people who just really don’t sew anymore,” Carolyn says. “They don’t teach it in the schools anymore. If your parent doesn’t do it, or you don’t have any place to learn, it’s not one of those things that people tend to pick up.”

Yet in northern communities like West Branch, they see something different—busy quilt shops, fabric sales with people driving 50 miles to attend, and a local culture that still understands and values handmade work.

While Janet and Carolyn don’t see the final recipients of their creations, they understand the generational potential of their work to encourage new quilters to learn the trade:

“Who knows. Maybe some of those kids will maybe someday sew for Rayola,” Janet hopes. “They could possibly go, ‘Well, when I was in the foster care system, this organization, … I got a care package, and I really appreciated it.’ So maybe in turn, somewhere down the road, in years to come, they’ll start making quilt tops and bags.”

In their view, a quilt is both comfort now and a seed for future kindness.

More Than a Hobby

Ask them about their hobbies, and you’ll hear about gardening, grandchildren, and lake houses. But sewing for Rayola is different—it’s not just recreation. It is, as Janet puts it, “good therapy” and a way to ensure their time matters.

They don’t belong to quilt guilds. They’re not looking for recognition or group activities. They value the flexibility of volunteering for Rayola: work when you can, step away when you must, and always know you can come back to the machine, flip the switch, and continue where you left off.

“The good part about it is, you know that you’re spending your time and it’s going to something worthwhile,” Janet says.

That, more than anything, defines the impact Janet and Carolyn have had on Rayola: thousands of stitches, hundreds of quilts and bags, all quietly offered so that children in crisis can have one tangible, beautiful thing that is just for them.

In a world where so much is disposable and rushed, their work is slow, deliberate, and deeply human. For Rayola—and for the children—that makes all the difference.