Calling all quilters! Margaret’s Hope Chest, a Grand Rapids-based quilt charity, needs your help to make 400 quilts to give homeless children living in shelters over the Christmas holiday.

Today my art & craft column is about Carin Vogelzang, and her mother, Carol Peters, the women who turned a family tragedy into an inspiring cause. Carin, of Toronto, and her mother, Carol, of Grand Rapids, co-founded the quilt charity Margaret’s Hope Chest in honor of Peters’ mom, Margaret Herrema, who died after she was critically injured during a purse-snatching in 2005. They have given away 102 quilts since founding the charity in Margaret’s name in 2007. Read the story of how Carin and Carol are giving people hope one quilt at a time.

Get involved: Make a quilt using any square block design of your choice measuring about 44 by 60 inches and send it to Margaret’s Hope Chest, 630 Griswold St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49507. by Oct. 31. For more information: Call 616- 855-2862 or write margaretshopechest@yahoo.com. And be sure to check out Carin’s blog, too.

If you’re local, come out to the Community Quilt Bees I’m hosting from noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 10 and 24 at the David D. Hunting YMCA in Grand Rapids and help make quilts for Margaret’s Hope Chest. E-mail me to reserve your spot. It’s time to help Carin and Carol make some quilts for kids in need of a little hope.

Below you’ll find my most recent “Take Five” craft segment, which introduces a basic method of quilting.