Jan Chisman, a member of the Jolly Quilters, measures fabric for a quilt at Christ Lutheran Church. The Jolly Quilters, a group of mostly 70- and 80-something grandmas, have been quilting for the needy for three decades. Photos by Isaac Brekken/Review-Journal. Jolly Quilters, from left, Danielle Vetter, Grace Cairns and Rowene Roth prepare to stitch away at Christ Lutheran Church. The group has over the years made about 3,000 quilts to the homeless and needy. A collection of thread used by the Jolly Quilters.

Visit downtown Las Vegas' homeless corridor on a winter night, and you might see something strikingly incongruous: a destitute man or woman huddled in a colorful handmade quilt.

About 3,000 such quilts have made their way over the years into the hands of homeless and needy adults and children, thanks to the handiwork of a group of mostly 70- and 80-something grannies, some of whom have been quilting for the needy since the mid-1970s.

"They (the quilts) range from really nice to the ugliest things you've ever seen," said Janet Lindsey, who at 68 is one of the youngest members of the Jolly Quilters. "But they are warm. When you're cold, it doesn't matter what they look like."

The dozen or so mostly gray-haired quilters meet for several hours a week in their church's multipurpose room. They set up a quilting assembly line, with some cutting out squares of fabric and others sewing the squares together, tying the quilts or stitching up the edges.

They gather the finished quilts and donate them to charities that work with the homeless and needy, including Lutheran Social Services of Nevada, the Las Vegas Rescue Mission, Straight from the Streets, Child Haven and Safe Nest.

"Our whole purpose is to help those who are needy," said Bobbi Bartholomew, 77. "There are times when maybe somebody gets burned out of their house and loses everything. We help them."

The colorful donations are a bright spot in a sometimes overwhelming job, said Linda Lera-Randle El, director of the Straight from the Streets program.

"When you're dealing with gloom all the time, it's so welcome to be able to go out in the street and for no reason just hand somebody something. It shows people in the community actually care, even if they do it quietly."

Quilts donated to Straight from the Streets go directly to the homeless or are given as housewarming gifts to those transitioning from homelessness.

"It comforts people to have something handmade," Lera-Randle El said. "It comforts them to know they were made by grandmas."

The quilters, all members of Christ Lutheran Church, said they sometimes wonder where their work ends up. They are happy if their quilts go straight to people living on the streets.

"I know they need the quilts," said Doris Coatney, 72. "I know they need the warmth."

Most of the quilts donated to Lutheran Social Services end up with needy senior citizens, said the agency's director, Jaime Weller-Lafavor.

"They're all handcrafted, and there's a little extra love behind them," she said.

Weller-Lafavor said the quilts make her difficult job just a little bit easier.

"What's hard is when you don't have enough to provide for people who need help," she said. "When you have a group that independently decides to make a difference, it's a huge benefit."

The quilters earn money to buy fabric and other supplies by holding raffles and selling some of their quilts at the regular church bazaar.

Though the women have no plans of slowing down anytime soon, they share a concern: The Jolly Quilters aren't getting any younger, and younger generations seem to have no interest in quilting.

"My kids are too busy," said Eileen Olson, who gave her age as "way over 80."

"We don't have too many of our old members left," she said. "Some have moved away."

Then, cupping her hand over her mouth so the other quilters wouldn't hear, she said: "We've had several pass away."

Elizabeth Sievers, who at 49 is the newest and youngest -- by about 20 years -- member of the Jolly Quilters, promised to carry the group forward and continue its philanthropic mission.

"We'll get there," she said while ironing some fabric for the quilters. "I'm learning from the best, and I'll carry it on for the next 30 years."