Retired Ridgefield resident makes quilts for sight-impaired youth to learn shapes, textures

A retired Ridgefield school teacher is using her decades of experience sewing and quilting to help sight-impaired youth learn shapes and textures with quilts.
As a Ridgefield Lions member, Phyllis Hyatt was asked to join the board for the Washington State School for the Blind. In her pre-retirement life, Hyatt was a sewing instructor and home economics teacher and has worn many hats throughout her life.

As the 80-year-old became involved with the School for the Blind, Hyatt developed the idea of incorporating textures and shapes in her quilts to teach sight-impaired children what certain shapes and materials, such as leather, feel like.

“I really think a lot about parents. We had a child born with a cleft palate, which is totally different, but at the same time, there’s fear,” Hyatt said. “I’m not exactly sure how or when, but we started experimenting with these smaller things and tried to get other people excited about it. So, we started experimenting with them, and the case workers were just, ‘Wow, this is great.’ ”

After determining the size of the blankets, her quilt journey began in 2016. Hyatt has made roughly 40 quilts a year ever since establishing the concept. She draws upon her years of teaching sewing in fabric stores and at the high school and a love for the dying art when making the quilts. She also relies on the stockpile of fabrics she used for her sewing projects through the years to make the quilts.

“Suddenly nobody’s sewing. Nobody needs anything,” Hyatt said. “I’ve got a whole room full of fabric. What do I do with it? And so when we began to play with this, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is just great.’ It’s been a real blessing for me. My husband passed away about four years ago, and I’m alone all the time, so I’m just happy as a clam down in my sewing room, and knowing that and getting really positive feedback from the case workers helps.”

Hyatt’s quilts aren’t just made for sight-impaired babies and youth. She said she thinks about the parent with each quilt sewed.

“I not only think about differences in fabrics and experiences for the baby, but I always want to make them cute for the moms and dads because I just want to give them hope, and there’s ways their kids can learn,” Hyatt said. “I don’t know if I could have been there, done that with my own situation, though. It wasn’t blindness. It wasn’t nearly as bad, but you just wonder what’s going to happen with these kids ... What is it going to be like for their lives? And so I really want to give those parents hope that there’s ways of teaching.”

Her quilts are made with regular material, but she sews on additional fabric in each square that has a different feeling and shape, such as a heart, circle and more. She makes ones themed for moms and one for dads, based on materials.

Hyatt always appreciates fabric and material donations, especially those with different textures and feels, she said. She can be reached by emailing phyatt@comcast.net for donation inquiries and further questions.