Josh and Leland Meckley don’t know any other kids their age who sew, and that doesn’t bother them. It’s OK to be different, they said.
Besides, they are using their burgeoning skills in the service of others.
Leland Meckley, left, and his older brother, Josh.
The Masury boys – Josh is 10 and Leland is 9 – were introduced to sewing through an activity night at Corner House Christian Church in Hubbard and their interest took off from there.
At a garage sale, the boys ran across a Martha Nelson Thomas doll – it looks similar to a Cabbage Patch Kid – that had a head and fabric for the skin, but needed sewn up. They thought it would be a nice present for their sister, Kathryn, 2.
But, the woman selling the doll had a bunch of others – 21 complete sets and 15 bodies – and offered to sell them all for $5.
“We had to make the bodies,” Josh said. “We thought it would be a fun little project to do at home.”
With fabric they found at a separate garage sale, the boys set about hand stitching the dolls together. Kathryn got her doll and didn’t really need the rest, so the idea came up to donate the dolls to Akron Children’s Hospital, which they did June 28. The dolls will be distributed to children admitted to the hospital, said mom Kim Meckley.
Kim Meckley added that Kathryn approved every doll – by hugging them.
The boys said they would like to get good enough at sewing to make clothes.
In the meantime they have made beanbags, wrist bands for a girl who has cancer, Josh made a bag to carry his rocks, and they have embarked on another project for Akron Childrens’ – fleece blankets.
“The goal is 20 by Christmas, but I think they’re going to pass that – they’ve already got 10 made,” Kim Meckley said.
The boys, who are members, of Cub Scout Pack 100, Hubbard, and also enjoy soccer and basketball, and reading, seem to have a proclivity for crafty things.
“I like to make things out of duct tape, too,” said Josh, who is entering fifth grade at Brookfield Elementary School.
“Duct tape wallets – that’s another thing we’re doing,” added Leland, who is entering fourth-grade.
“I’m proud of them,” dad James Meckley said. “I’m proud that they’re doing what their hearts tell them they should be doing. “I’m proud that they’re thinking of people other than themselves.”
