WHITESBURG — In 1999, Sue Byrd retired as Hamblen County’s longest-serving postmaster.

Her career began in 1961, when she joined the Russellville post office as a part-time clerk. She served as postmaster from May 11, 1974 until her retirement.

Most folks expected that Byrd would kick back, prop her feet up and take it easy.

Turns out they didn’t know Byrd all that well.

Instead, after retiring from her "real" job, Byrd took up another job which gives her the opportunity to reach out to folks in need to provide a bit of comfort.

Her first love is sewing.

It started years ago as she constantly sought to sit at her mother’s treadle sewing machine. An act Byrd said often resulted in her getting in trouble.

But that didn’t stop her.

With her free hours, Byrd brought out some of her mother’s unfinished quilts and got to work. She then branched out into creating quilts of her own.

Since 1999, she has hand-quilted more than 100 bed quilts. In recent years, since she’s developed problems with her hand, Byrd has switched to machine quilting.

But she hasn’t slowed down.

For the past few years, she has made and donated baby quilts to Children’s Hospital in Knoxville. She is also working on baby quilts to be donated to the Linus Project in Kingsport. Others will be given to the Morristown Fire Department for when they are called out to help children in need.

Byrd said she began making the small, colorful quilts when she realized there were children out there who needed a hug. She took comfort in the knowledge that from her few hours of sewing, children would receive "something to cuddle up to."

A friends in Georgia with breast cancer started her off on another mission — making bonnet-style caps for women who’ve lost their hair because of chemotherapy.

"I sent a bunch of those to Georgia," Byrd said, adding that many others have also made their way to Texas, North and South Carolina, Nashville, Knoxville, Morristown and Sevierville.

She’s also made many of the small pillows breast cancer survivors use to cushion their armpit following mastectomy.

The next item she tackled was making bibs to donate to residents of local nursing homes and others as far away as North Carolina.

There is a recurrent theme through many of Byrd’s designs.

"I collect chickens," she said.

For the past three years, she’s turned her love of chickens into decorations for her home and the subject for her quilts.

Her most recent project is a quilt she’s making for herself — Eggbert.

"That’s my quilt," she said. Adding that after making and giving away so many quilts to others, she decided she wanted to make a twin-size quilt for herself.

Another love Byrd inherited from her mother is caning chairs. After her mother passed away, Byrd inherited several chairs in need of new seats. So she set about learning the old-fashioned craft from expert Joe Mack Smith.

She learned the craft so well, she became an expert in her own right. She has taught caning classes at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area in Elizabethton and has demonstrated the craft at area fall festivals.

Increased prices of craft materials have not put a damper in Byrd’s plans. When others learn of her one-woman ministry, she receives donations of fabric to use.

While she employs the help of her daughter, Ginger, to help with cutting out her quilts, Byrd said she has no plans to slow down any time soon.

"I’m going to continue doing this as long as I’m able," she said. "I’ve got beaucoup material and I need to get rid of it. And she (her daughter) doesn’t sew."

She has tons of other crafts to keep her busy — knitting, crocheting, sewing and Swedish weaving.

If Byrd was pressed to pick a favorite, "I guess it’s my sewing," she said.