It was through 80s television that Sonya Smithart learned quilting - cutting techniques, pattern reading and sewing intricacies - to help those in need, though she herself is legally blind.

Born and raised in Florence County, South Carolina, Sonya comes from a long line of sharecroppers. She is the oldest of five siblings and the longest-living relative on both sides of her family. Growing up, her family lived without electricity or running water until she was in the second grade.

“We never went hungry and we never went without necessities in life. I had good, loving parents that was good and honest and just did the right things,” she said.

As she grew older, Sonya started her own family, three children and today, she is a grandmother. Throughout her life, quilting became a meaningful way to express love and blessings to others. Her late husband, often referred to as “Buddy,” helped her quilt. He would thread her needles and stick them on the couch. Once she was done, he would rethread them.

Buddy died in 1996 and shortly after, Sonya retired and turned her full attention to quilting, even dedicating an entire room in her home to this craft. With every quilt, she began to learn different patterns and used different types of fabric. She soon realized her quilts became a calling to help others.

Sonya remembers the moment she felt God was urging her to use her talents to bless others. One day, she prayed asking the Lord for guidance. She knew God gave her this talent and provided this fabric but she wanted to know exactly what to do.

Three weeks after saying this prayer, Sonya went to church, where a missionary from India spoke about 25 young boys who were sleeping on bed frames with nothing else. At that moment, she knew she had to help. She immediately went to work, making 25 quilts for these children in India.

Sonya was able to get those quilts to India with the help of a friend who was traveling there. The boys who received the quilts later wrote her a letter expressing gratitude, a letter she still has to this day and keeps in a photo album alongside photos of the quilts she has made over the years.

But the journey didn’t end there. Since that time, Sonya has continued to create quilts for various organizations, including hospitals and orphanages, and she of course makes lots for friends, family and those in need. Each quilt she makes is more than just a blanket–it’s a gift filled with prayer. Before gifting them, she prays over each quilt, asking that it be a blessing to whoever receives it.

“The Lord has blessed me all my life and always provides,” she said, having leaned on God since just about the start.  

She was baptized at 13 at a nearby creek where the children would go and swim in the summer.

“I will never forget that day,” she said. “They was singing ‘Shall We Gather at the River’ and the voice of my teacher who was singing echoed through the woods.”

Sonya gives God all the glory for all He has done and for providing everything she needs. With every quilt she gives, she said her favorite part is seeing the individual's reaction, knowing how much it means to them.

“I’m not giving myself credit. This is how the Lord is using me."