Roomful of Love

I’ll never forget my first visit to that cozy, busy room. Hanging in the doorway was an unfinished, elegant wedding gown. Next to it was a baby’s christening dress, delicate and lacy. Two pairs of hand-crocheted booties and a handmade doily were on a small table. A vibrant rug made of hundreds of pieces of fabric lay across the back of a chair. And a carefully folded colorful afghan sat atop a cuddly baby quilt.

This is Laura Henrie’s room, full of scraps of fabric and piles of yarn, the room where she can create beauty from what others throw away. Laura’s “projects,” as she calls them, keep her busy. She gets up early in the morning and often works well past midnight on things she never keeps. Her greatest delight in the world is to give away her treasures that take hours to complete.

Special occasions always provide motivation for 89-year-old Sister Henrie to start a project. Every newborn baby in her ward, the Windsor First Ward in the Orem Utah Windsor Stake, receives a pair of booties and sometimes a baby quilt or a christening dress if the family is in need. Weddings call for temple dresses, aprons, or hand-crocheted temple recommend holders. Afghans and rugs are made by the dozens.

This cluttered room is full of much more than rugs, slippers, blankets, and dresses. It’s a room full of love.—Maxine Wight, Idaho Falls, Idaho