When Victoria, Texas quilt shop owner Connie Kortz watched devastation unfold in nearby Kerr County after deadly July floods, she asked herself a simple but profound question: what can I do to help people feel loved and hugged during their darkest hour? Her answer sparked something extraordinary—a nationwide movement of quilters creating “poppy” quilts, featuring seven rows of flowers that symbolize remembrance and peaceful sleep, to wrap flood survivors in comfort. What began as one woman sewing alone quickly snowballed into a cross-country outpouring of love, with quilters from Louisiana to Washington sending thousands of fabric blocks to her small shop.
The response has been so overwhelming that the postal worker now arrives with a dolly instead of carrying packages by hand, delivering boxes weighing up to 70 pounds filled with handmade blocks from strangers who simply want to help. More than 3,000 poppy blocks have already arrived, with volunteers working around the clock to transform them into finished quilts that will be delivered to Hill Country families in September. Each quilt requires 560 individual pieces stitched together with patience and purpose, but as one volunteer beautifully put it: “quilters are going to quilt, it’s what they do, and it’s how they heal both themselves and others”. The project proves that in times of crisis, the most powerful response isn’t always the most complicated one; sometimes it’s as simple as wrapping someone in a handmade hug.