A conversation over a quilt at her mother-in-law’s home planted an idea in Dawn James’ mind.
A week later, James came back with a 10-page PowerPoint presentation.
That progression — see a need, develop a plan, and figure out how to make it work — makes sense for an engineer and longtime business consultant whose career has centered on solving problems and improving processes.
Now James is applying those skills to connect Estes Valley’s community of quilters, knitters, and crocheters with newborns, children, seniors, and veterans who could use something handmade to remind them that someone cares.
James founded The Mountain Hug Project, a new 501(c)(3) nonprofit, this summer. Its mission is simple: turn fabric, yarn, time, and talent into what the organization calls “hugs.”
“The purpose of The Mountain Hug is to connect Estes Valley quilters with those who need hugs most,” according to the organization’s mission.
The idea began with James’ mother-in-law, Suzanne, a lifelong quilter who moved to Estes Park from Maryland about six years ago.
James visited her earlier this year and found her mother-in-law hand-quilting a king-size quilt despite arthritis and macular degeneration. She also had a much smaller Halloween project underway, a break from the demands of the larger quilt.
During their conversation, Suzanne recalled how members of her quilting guild in Maryland made baby quilts and donated them to local doctors’ offices, where they could be given to new mothers.
James suggested doing something similar in Estes Park. When her mother-in-law wasn’t inclined to organize it herself, James decided she would take it on.
“I said, ‘Well, I’m going to do something about this,’” James recalled.
By the next week’s family pizza night, James had put together the PowerPoint laying out a concept that went well beyond baby quilts.
There could be quilts for children experiencing upheaval, lap quilts for isolated seniors, people using wheelchairs or those going through difficult periods, and practical items such as walker bags to aid in mobility and independence.
James also came prepared with possible names and a logo concept. Her mother-in-law wasn’t interested in running the organization, James said, but she was willing to do what she loves.
“I will make quilts and donate them,” James recalled her saying. That was enough to get James moving.
She recruited two friends to help establish a board, wrote the mission and bylaws, filed the paperwork, and worked through several versions of a logo with her niece, a graphic artist. Then came a website, brochures, business cards, and outreach to local quilters.
The Mountain Hug began taking shape.
An engineer who likes to fix things
James is not, she readily admits, the quilter in the family. Her own attempt at knitting didn’t go particularly well. But organizing people, resources, and processes is familiar territory.
James spent much of her professional career in corporate engineering and business with Honeywell before leaving the company about 10 years ago. She describes the environment she left as a high-paced, high-stress global corporate role where the rhythm was constantly “go, go, go.”
Retirement did not mean sitting around drinking coffee until noon, she said. Instead, she started her own company, Process Interventions LLC.
James is a dual Six Sigma Black Belt and works with businesses to identify inefficiencies, reduce waste, and improve operations. A manufacturer might call because it has excessive scrap or quality problems; a restaurant or retailer might need help improving workflow. James assesses the operation and recommends changes.
“I’m wired just, you know, to kind of fix things,” she said.
She has worked with manufacturers as well as restaurants, coffee shops, and retailers, including businesses in Colorado’s Front Range. Now marking the 10th year of her consulting business, James said she has deliberately scaled back, in part because she doesn’t want to travel as much.
“I just want to help people,” she said.
That desire has also been evident in her work with the Estes Valley Watershed Coalition. James served eight years on the coalition’s board — four two-year terms — before terming out. She helped establish the organization’s QuickBooks system and continues to volunteer as its bookkeeper, dedicating about one day each week to the work.
Starting The Mountain Hug presents a different problem to solve: Estes Park has people who love making things and other people who could benefit from what they make. James wants to build the bridge between them.
Four kinds of hugs
The Mountain Hug organizes its handmade gifts into four categories.
Little Hugs are approximately 30-by-40-inch quilts or blankets for babies. Made with gentle fabrics and child-safe materials, they are intended to become more than something that keeps a newborn warm. The organization describes them as a baby’s first belonging—something a child can be wrapped in, held, and welcomed with.
Big Hugs are approximately 40-by-50-inch quilts for children. They are intended particularly for children facing transition, fear, or instability. The quilt becomes something personal that belongs to the child and can be kept and carried from one place to another.
James said conversations with people who have fostered children reinforced the importance of giving a child something that is truly their own. Children entering foster care may arrive with little more than what they are wearing and a few belongings, she said.
Warm Hugs are 36-by-50-inch lap quilts made for seniors, elders and veterans who may be isolated, recovering or experiencing a vulnerable time in their lives. The organization describes them as gestures of dignity, honor, gratitude, and human connection.
James has a personal connection to that part of the mission. Her father served in the military during the Korean War era and received a Quilt of Valor. Her father-in-law was also a veteran.
James doesn’t want The Mountain Hug to duplicate the work of Quilts of Valor, which has its own requirements and mission. Instead, she sees an opportunity to reach veterans in the Estes Valley who may be isolated or lack the social network that could connect them with other programs.
Helping Hugs are approximately 16-by-18-inch quilted walker bags with pockets that let people using walkers carry essential items. The bags are intended to support mobility and independence while adding a personal expression of care.
The program’s scope has also expanded beyond quilting.
James initially envisioned tapping into what she believes is a substantial community of local and seasonal quilters. She soon realized knitters and crocheters should be part of the effort as well and revised the mission accordingly.
Connecting the people who make — with the people who could use a hug
The Mountain Hug is designed to serve as the middle connection rather than accumulate handmade items.
James has begun talking with organizations that already know where needs exist in the Estes Valley, including EVICS Family Resource Center, Crossroads Assistance Ministry of Estes Park, Estes Valley Crisis Advocates, and Quota Club, which serve people who need durable medical equipment.
Different organizations have different needs. Some work primarily with babies and children. The crisis center, James said, identified a need for items for children, while Crossroads may encounter people across a broader age range.
James is also interested in reaching isolated seniors. Her own family experiences have shaped how she thinks about the comfort an object can provide.
Her grandmother, who had dementia, would hold tightly to a teddy bear, rabbit, or doll, James recalled. A great-niece, now in her 20s, still has the blanket she received as a newborn and even took it to college.
James said there is a sense of security attached to something familiar and personal.
That is at the heart of the Mountain Hug idea.
A quilt is useful, but its value isn’t limited to keeping someone warm. Someone selected the fabric. Someone cut the pieces. Someone stitched them together. Someone spent hours making an object specifically so another person could have it.
“Together, we strengthen the fabric of care throughout the Estes Valley,” the organization says on its website.
The first quilts have already arrived
James made her first presentation to a group of local quilters July 14 and has been using social media and word of mouth to find other makers. She estimates there could be hundreds of quilters, knitters, and crocheters who live in the Estes Valley full-time or spend summers here.
The response has already produced results.
After James posted about The Mountain Hug on one social media platform, a member of the recently disbanded Estes Valley Prayer Quilters contacted her. The group had five quilts remaining and needed somewhere for them to go.
Picking them up also showed James that the project may create connections beyond simply transferring a quilt from one person to another.
She expected a quick visit. Instead, she spent about 45 minutes talking with the quilter and her husband, looking at quilts and hearing about how they were made.
Although James isn’t a quilter herself, three decades with a quilting mother-in-law — along with a sister who quilts — means she has spent plenty of time in quilt shops, museums, and shows. The visit became another community connection.
“These people are wonderful,” James said.
Small pieces can make something bigger
The Mountain Hug is starting small. As a new nonprofit, James said much of its initial financial support has come from her and her husband, along with a few other donors. Those contributions have paid startup expenses including the website and printed materials.
She estimates the organization could operate for a few thousand dollars annually if it primarily connects donated handmade items with recipients. Costs could increase a bit if the nonprofit begins purchasing and maintaining an inventory of fabric, yarn and other materials for volunteers to use.
For now, James is encouraging quilters to put even their leftover fabric to work.
“A scrap quilt is amazing too,” she said.
That idea returns The Mountain Hug to the conversation that started it all: James’ mother-in-law talking about turning pieces of fabric that might otherwise be discarded into something beautiful and useful.
For James, there is another reason she hopes the organization lasts.
Her mother-in-law continues to quilt despite arthritis and declining eyesight. James hopes that even when making a full quilt becomes difficult, there will still be a way for her to participate in the project she helped inspire.
“I hope that this is still around,” James said, so her mother-in-law can continue to be part of it “in her way.”
The Mountain Hug’s premise is that small pieces don’t have to remain small or disconnected. Stitched together with intention, they can become something useful. Connected with the right person, they can become a hug.
To connect with The Mountain Hug Project, email MountainHug@MountainHug.org.
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