Building a Quilt for Kids in Ukraine

by Betsy Teutsch, for the Shuttle

January 30, 2026

Our beloved friend Margaret Guthrie has had many careers and passions in her long life. A retired journalist and cookbook author, she grew up in Chestnut Hill and learned to sew at Miss Zara’s School, before it merged with Springside. Thus began her lifelong love of quilting.

At our August 2016 Together Women Rise dinner, Margaret celebrated her 79th birthday by issuing an invitation. Who wanted to join her in creating a quilt that would be auctioned off to raise funds for Rise, in honor of her 80th birthday? She headed up a similar project decades earlier when she lived in Wisconsin and edited a small-town newspaper. That quilt raised a lot of money for the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

Several of us jumped at the chance. Our first meeting took place at  the Mercantile just after the 2016 Presidential election. The group instantly coalesced into a Stitch and Bitch, and over the next few years we created quilts to raise funds for Rise, the Women’s Law Project and Food Moxie. 

Margaret does the conceptualizing and designing of the quilts and creates ziplock kits for her band of quilters to complete independently. She does the vast majority of the work, including stitching the center design, sewing together our contributed blocks, adding the batting and backing, and quilting the layers together. It’s all hand stitching — no machine work allowed. Brigid Blake, also an accomplished quilter, puts in many additional hours quilting with Margaret. The rest of the group —  Margot Bradley, Bonnie Hay, Moya Kinnealy, Mary Madeira, Helen Seitz and myself — meets a few times a year to work on each project together. 

When Russia brutally invaded Ukraine in 2022, Margaret felt called to create a quilt to present to a Ukrainian child who was suffering much trauma during the months [now years] of attack. The challenge was to find an organization that could be a direct liaison.

When the first quilt — a yellow/blue masterpiece that included a prominent trident, the symbol of Ukraine — was completed, we assumed it would be auctioned off. Instead, it was displayed at Ukraine relief events and attendees threw lots of cash into a bucket below, because they were so moved by its beauty and the love and support it expressed. Thousands of dollars have been raised this way!

Eventually, Margaret connected with a venerable local nonprofit, the United Ukrainian American Relief Committee. They were founded in 1944 and have provided humanitarian assistance to Ukrainian refugees, soldiers and their families and children ever since. 

UUARC’s nonstop activities these past four years have included providing food, clothing, necessities and medical supplies for the thousands of soldiers injured by Russian troops. Christina Tershakovec, a retired lawyer and now indefatigable board member and volunteer , will oversee matching the quilt to a child who will be nurtured by it.

I was curious why Margaret is so drawn to creating warmth for the children of Ukraine, and asked her why this conflict affects her so deeply.  She reflected that Ukraine’s youngest children have never known a time without war, as it continues into its fourth year. Margaret herself grew up during World War II. Her father worked for the Navy, and all her uncles fought abroad. She carefully monitored her ration book and was well aware of the devastation of Europe.

When Russia attacked Ukraine, all those memories from 80-plus years ago flooded back. What can one do? Margaret is a believer that picking a lane and sticking to it is one way to persist. 

When she is quilting, she is transported to a more tranquil world. Handwork is a known way to calm our nervous system, and is an antidote to listening to the news. Working on one quilt for one child in the Ukraine is a way to contribute to a better world. She’s now working hard on the fifth child’s quilt, each one more colorful and charming than the next. We help, but Margaret leads the charge.

Weavers Way General Manager Jon Roesser came up with a wonderful way for us all to contribute. The latest quilt, pictured here, will be on display at one of the Co-op locations in March, and one Giving Tuesday will be dedicated to the UUARC. The QR code will remain on the quilt after that week (and it’s also in this Shuttle edition), making it easy for anyone who wants to contribute directly. Our funds will go toward prosthetics and equipment for wounded Ukraine soldiers and other direct humanitarian services.