Blanketing Our Community in Love
For LMR Senior Accountant Abby Lamothe, visiting Maple Suites in Dover, New Hampshire is like returning home. She began working for them when she was 16. While there she asked some of the residents to teach her to knit.
“At the time, I saw yarn and I saw needles,” said Abby. “Since I knew how to do the knit stitch, I assumed I knew how to knit. I was sadly mistaken.”
Putting her yarn aside, she continued to follow her professional dreams. She attended the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting (2014) and her Masters of Science in Accounting (2015). Upon graduation, she launched her career in accounting, focusing on audits as well as tax planning and preparation.
In December 2017, Abby re-opened her knitting bag and rekindled her passion. She reached out to Maple Suites to see if they had a knitting circle, and upon learning that no such group existed, she decided to create one. Sweet Stitches is a fiber arts collective comprised of folks who knit, crochet, sew, latch hook, and cross-stitch.
The Sweet Stitches group meets each week at Maple Suites and most recently finished a group project for the Pease Greeters. Members in the group worked for months to knit squares, crochet granny squares, sew pieces together, and to stitch lettering onto the blanket/banner.
The Pease Greeters organization welcome men and women in our Armed Forces who pass through Portsmouth International Airport at Pease – some coming home, some just leaving. With over 1,600 flights passing through the airport, the troops from every plane are met with a ceremony and receive a plethora of gifts, refreshments and most importantly smiles and gratitude. Since 2005, the greeters have stood ready to ensure each service man and woman is honored, respected and loved. The Sweet Stitches blanket/banner was presented to Pease Greeter representative Robert Stewart with the hope that all who see the piece of art will feel the love and respect from the community.
“We are thankful to have had the opportunity to present our project to the Pease Greeters,” said Abby. “With this gift, our residents will be able to greet the troops as they depart, and as they arrive home, regardless of their ability to drive to the airport. ‘Thank you, heroes, love Maple Suites” ‘is stitched onto our gift, a message that is near and dear to our hearts, as a community filled with veterans and their families.”
“We are proud of Abby for sharing her gifts and talents with others,” said LMR Marketing Director Sarah Scheffer. “Her passion and generous heart as a volunteer with the Sweet Stitches group is so evident, and for her to then encourage the group to further give back to the community and share their beautiful homemade gift to the Pease Greeters demonstrates the truly special person Abby is.”
Abby is a licensed CPA in the State of New Hampshire. She is a member of both the New Hampshire Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
