Sewing up a little comfort

Jeff Benson

Scissors snip and sewing machines surge around the clock. Every

night, the inside of Nancy Ervin’s Newport Beach home looks and

sounds more like a textile factory.

But it’s not an army of seamstresses haphazardly dropping loads of

scraps on the floor and creating a ruckus, carrying on until

midnight. There’s simply work to be done for Ervin’s daughter,

Nicole, and her daughter’s friend, Megan Toman.

In July, the 15-year-old incoming Newport Harbor High School

sophomores discovered how much fun sewing could be. Now, the two

self-employed volunteers are only six blankets short of their goal of

20, which they will personally deliver to a children’s organization,

Nicole said. Possibilities include Children’s Hospital of Orange

County and Orangewood Children’s Home in Orange, she said.

“There’s a poor little kid out there without anything to keep him

warm at night,” Nicole said. “There are people all over out there who

are less fortunate.”

The two are on a roll, whipping out a blanket in roughly six

hours, and they don’t see themselves closing shop at 20 blankets, or

at a single drop-off. As the charitable co-founders of “By Kids 4

Kids,” Nicole and Megan said they plan to piece together hundreds of

themed and colorful children’s blankets for at least another three

years -- until they graduate from high school.

“We pick out the fabrics we like, and we’ll cut 11 6-inch strips of two different fabrics for each one,” Megan said. “But the fun is

in choosing the fabric.”

Without jobs of their own, the teens found yard sales effective in

raising money to buy the necessary fabric. They’ve solicited hundreds

of dollars in donations from neighborhood residents; they’ve sent

thank-you letters to those who contributed; and they’ve recruited

their mothers to help them on their “assembly line.”

“They’re learning how they can be the most efficient,” Nancy Ervin

said. “We help out, too, because we enjoy it. They’re making a system

for how to assemble [the blankets], and now they can get three or

four people going at once -- sewing, pressing, folding and pinning.”

Megan’s mother, Janice Toman, said she’s pleased the girls are

giving time to support a worthy cause without expecting anything in

return.

“I’m thrilled,” Janice Toman said. “It’s just good experience, and

the girls work very well together. It’ll be rewarding when they turn

the blankets over.”