Stake's float quilted and tied

Amid the sheen of glitter and the elaborate sets for this year's Days of '47 Parade, the Salt Lake Mount Olympus Stake's float created quite a stir.It did not stand out for an extravagant design or expensive materials but rather for its composition — it was made of quilts."There was a number of people that didn't want to buy things that they would just throw in the Dumpster afterward," said Roger Dibb, the Salt Lake Mount Olympus Stake first counselor. "Every piece of the float is going to be donated to a charitable cause."The stake members made a sturdy wood frame in the shape of a boat, which they covered with quilts and socks. The frame will go to a children's park in Tremonton, in Box Elder County, Utah; the socks are being washed and prepped for Deseret Industries; the nearly three dozen quilts are destined for the Latter-day Saint Humanitarian Center."Quilting Captain" Kaye Johnson, from the Mount Olympus 9th Ward, said, "It feels good that every part of our float will be recycled again. The float was a stepping-stone in a greater scheme to serve."Johnson noted several important benefits of employing reusable materials in their design."Our float was even more exciting for us, because now we get to give these bright, colorful quilts to someone in need," Johnson said. "When you are having a hard time, it is so nice to get a comforting, cozy little quilt."Another benefit of the quilting nature of the float was the opportunity it provided for the stake and the community to draw together."All these different people would sit together, talking and sharing tales as they tied the quilts," Johnson said. "It was a patchwork of personalities like a patchwork of quilts. It was fun to see how people all got together."Each Relief Society group jumped at the chance to include its members in different ways. In the Mount Olympus 1st Ward, the sisters pitched canopies and began quilting in a public park."People would go by and look down and wonder 'what are these women doing?'" Johnson said. "They had the opportunity to share with people of other faiths and less active people in the church. It became a community effort more than a church assignment."The additional effort of making the quilts created more chances for the people in the stake to participate and be involved."I received phone calls from various people who told me, with such excitement in their voices, 'I saw the quilt I worked on' or 'some of those quilts were mine,'" Johnson said. "There were thrilled to see that they had a part in it."