Knitters donate blankets for quads

The La-Tea-Da Knitting Club of Carson City has donated four hand-knitted baby blankets and four hand-knitted baby beanies to Carson Valley's yet unborn but already famous quadruplets.

"It's meant to be. It's God's blessing," said 59-year-old knitter Carol Bevers.

For two years, the knitting club has been meeting weekly in the back room of the La-Tea-Da Tea Shoppe in Carson City. They've knitted and donated hundreds of blankets for people in need, and their heartstrings were pulled once again by news of the quadruplets.

"I don't have kids, and I couldn't imagine having four at a time," said 51-year-old Joan Wong, "but it's meant to be a challenge, and challenges are good."

On Wednesday, Bevers and Wong dropped off their yarn work at The Record-Courier building.

"The blankets and hats are made out of worsted-weight yarn and are machine washable," Wong said.

She said each blanket took one to two weeks to make.

"There is a blue one, a pink one, a speckled mint green, and a white multicolor," she said.

Both women expressed their best wishes for the young family.

"I would tell them to take it one day at time," said Bevers, who has two daughters and seven grandchildren. "Be patient and things will work out."

Quad mother Darah Shatswell, 24, recently passed the 30-week mark of her pregnancy. She is staying at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno until the babies are born.

Husband Joe Shatswell, a 22-year-old Army specialist, recently returned from Afghanistan to be with his wife. His deployment doesn't end until July 2009, and he'll return to the war-torn country after the births.

The couple moved to Carson Valley from Fort Hood, Texas, over the summer, so Darah and their 2-year-old daughter Zowie could live with her family in the Gardnerville Ranchos while Joe was overseas.

Joe learned about the pregnancy after he had left. His wife, not using fertility drugs, had a one in a million chance of conceiving the quadruplets.

The couple has named the identical twin girls Rory and Kaylee and fraternal twins Myleigh and Joseph Jr.

Since news of the miracle, people across Northern Nevada have been donating diapers, wipes, clothing, car seats and other items to the family.