Photo by Erin Sanchez Since 1999, Carolyn Hemmen of Berkley has been making quilts for Tiny Miracles, an Auburn Hills-based group that donates quilts to premature babies in the neo-natal care units of local hospitals.

Berkley woman, group makes quilts for premature babies

By Jeremy Selweski
C & G Staff Writer

BERKLEY — Carolyn Hemmen loves bright colors: rainbow-like patterns that pop out in an array of three-dimensional shapes and kaleidoscopic swirls of pinks and blues and purples and yellows. It’s a perpetual, child-like fascination with brilliant splashes of color that are like comfort food for eyes jaded by a world covered in far too much boring black and white.

“I don’t like dull colors,” she said matter-of-factly, showing off one of her multihued handmade quilts. “You’re not going to get bored with this.”

With such an intense affinity for colorful imagery, it’s no wonder the 62-year-old Berkley resident has been a dedicated quilt maker for more than 20 years. And though she keeps some quilts for herself and puts others up for sale, since 1999 her main quilting outlet has been for a metro Detroit group called Tiny Miracles.

Founded in 1995 by Ellen Bidigare of Auburn Hills, Tiny Miracles is a nonprofit group that makes and donates over 1,300 quilts every year to premature babies in the neonatal intensive care units of local hospitals. Currently, the organization consists of more than 20 members who distribute their quilts to 14 Michigan hospitals, including 13 in the metro Detroit area and one in Marquette.

Hemmen first found out about Tiny Miracles in 1999 after reading a newspaper article about the group and immediately knew that she wanted to get involved.

“It just really grabbed me,” said Hemmen, who for nearly 22 years has worked as a bookkeeper for the Sommers Schwartz law firm in Southfield. “I like the idea that you can make something small like this and maybe cheer up a family that doesn’t have anything bright to look at.”

“She’s pretty much my right-hand gal,” Bidigare said from her Auburn Hills home, which also serves as the headquarters for Tiny Miracles. “She helps keep me organized and focused, and she has tremendous dedication. We wouldn’t be nearly as successful without her — she’s an integral part of this.”

A machine quilter by trade, Bidigare said she puts an additional 25 hours of work per week into Tiny Miracles, which she calls “a labor of love.”

It’s always been Bidigare’s goal for her quilts to bring an element of comfort to an otherwise sad and unpleasant environment. “An NICU is a very scary place,” she said. “It’s really traumatizing to see these babies in there with all these wires and IVs hooked up to them. … This is a way of giving back to the hospital. It’s something to make parents feel at ease and to let them know their baby is going to be OK.”

Tiny Miracles produces square quilts that come in three general sizes, depending on the needs of the parent and child: small, 18 to 20 inches per side; medium, 24 to 36 inches; and large, 36 to 46.

And because Tiny Miracles is a charitable organization, it relies heavily on material donations to produce its quilts. Hemmen pointed out that a large portion of the group’s quilts is made using the scraps and leftovers sent to them by fellow quilt makers.

Some donors have been strikingly generous, too. “One woman from Virginia sent us seven boxes full of material,” Hemmen said. “I can’t even imagine how much it all would have cost. … We were probably able to make 350 Christmas quilts that year just out of the donations from her boxes.”

For Hemmen, quilt making has always come quite naturally, but that might be because the skill is practically a part of her genetic code: Her grandmother was a quilter for many years before passing away at the age of 90, and her mother, who lived to be 94, made lap robes — smaller versions of bed-size quilts — for nursing homes and veterinary homes practically until the day she died.

In fact, Hemmen estimated that her mother made “thousands” of quilts during her lifetime, which included a span of 25 years in which she made 10 to 15 quilts every month.

And Hemmen appears to have continued where her mom left off. It’s not unusual for her to work on her quilts for a few hours a night after work, and she even spends time on them during her lunch breaks at the office. It’s safe to say that quilting is more than just a hobby for Hemmen.

Bidigare said that Hemmen is one of Tiny Miracles’ biggest contributors, and she relishes all the ideas Hemmen brings to the organization. “She’s very creative — her imagination is endless,” she said. “When you find something you love, you go into it full speed.”

“Carolyn’s got such a huge heart when it comes to charities,” Nichols said. “When she hears about families in need, she really steps up to the plate.”

Now, with summer on its way, Hemmen is looking forward to her retirement from Sommers Schwartz on July 4. She’s glad to be able to step away from the regular working world and devote more of her time to traveling, volunteer work and, of course, making vibrant, colorful quilts for Tiny Miracles.

“I love the satisfaction that you’re doing something for babies and parents who are going through a really bad time,” she said. “In most cases, these infants are very tiny, and you’re giving them something nice to look at and to wrap them and cover them in.”

And undoubtedly, as those babies lie there taking in the scary new world around them for the first time, they can’t help but marvel at all those bright, beautiful colors, too.

You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Selweski at jselweski@candgnews.com or at (586) 218-5004.