VICTORIA, Texas – In a small quilt shop in south Texas, comfort arrives by mail — one carefully stitched square at a time.
The squares, called “poppy blocks” by quilters, are destined to become part of an extraordinary relief effort for victims of the devastating Fourth of July flood that swept through the Texas Hill Country.
From places as far away as Australia and Ecuador, they make their way to Connie Kortz’s My Fabric Friends quilt shop, where they’re being transformed into what could become one of Texas’s largest quilt drives ever.
“We call our thing ‘Hugs from Texas,’” Kortz said. “This is going to give them some comfort... it’s everybody’s arms from the whole country, the whole world basically telling them that.”
The initiative has sparked a worldwide response, drawing contributions from Canada, Guam, Ecuador, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
Quilters from these countries are sending in “poppy blocks” — individual quilt components that will be assembled into complete quilts at the Victoria shop.
Each quilt requires 35 poppy blocks, and the project has already received over 12,000 blocks from around the world.
The global response has been so overwhelming that the initiative has already collected 700 quilts, with 350 ready for immediate distribution.
The impact of these quilts extends beyond mere physical comfort.
One recipient told Kortz, “This is the first thing that is mine... because everything else I’m wearing, Salvation Army clothing, donated shoes.”
For Kortz, who launched the project immediately after seeing the flood’s devastation, each quilt represents more than just fabric and thread.
“What a hug means to me is... I know that my mama is up in heaven. Her arms are reaching through that person and hugging me,” she explained. “This is going to give them some comfort and it’s everybody that made the blocks, arms around them. It’s God’s arms around them, it’s everybody’s arms from the whole country, the whole world basically is telling them that.”
The project builds on Kortz’s previous success with HUGS from Texas — “Helping U Get Stronger” — which delivered 476 quilts to North Carolina families affected by Hurricane Helene in late 2024.
The first major delivery of quilts to the flood-affected areas of San Saba, Cedar Creek, Ingram, and Comfort, Texas, is scheduled for September 20. Kortz and her team took off from their Victoria headquarters on Friday afternoon.
Those interested in supporting the initiative can contribute through donations of quilting materials or financial support through the project’s GoFundMe page or website at myfabricfriends.com .