It took them 14,400 knots tied over 174 hours of loving labor.
That's how the men and women of Hill House Senior Living near Park Row Drive and Fielder Road produced 100 "blankees" for the clients of the Ronald McDonald House in Fort Worth. Blankees are comfy, colorful children's blankets in a variety of patterns.
Marketing director Teri Price said the residents, ages 59 to 98, chose a project that will help kids.
"I tried to get them to do something that would benefit their own, but they said, 'No way,'" she said with a laugh. "They said nothing is more precious than doing something for the children."
The fact that two residents had children who developed and then recovered from serious diseases was a big factor, she said.
So beginning a few months ago, the "charter blankee knotters" went to work.
The process "was like an assembly line," said resident Jim McClurg, 60. Tasks included measuring, cutting, tying the knots and then packaging the finished product.
Besides keeping their hands busy and helping with arthritis, the project had other benefits.
"It was really an enjoyable thing for all of us," McClurg said. "I think we all got to know one another better."
Tricia Harden, house operations director for the Forth Worth Ronald McDonald House, appreciates their efforts.
"I know they have worked hard on these blankets, and when a child is sick and in need of comfort, what better than a blanket made with love?" she said. "I think this is the beginning of a wonderful partnership."
In the future, groups other than the Ronald McDonald House might receive blankees. One candidate is the Hughes Memorial Foundation, named for a tobacco tycoon who left his estate to build an orphanage in Virginia where resident Myrtle Redfern, 94, spent six years as a child.
Resident Faye Lawson, 69, said that each group member has his or her own limitations but that the project offered something for everybody.
"We all found our own niche, so to speak," she said.
The residents credited Price with finding ways to brighten their lives.
"She's our inspiration," Lawson said. "She keeps us going."
