DECATUR - Katherine Petro hasn't seen her four children since Dec. 6 and won't until she completes her first 90 days of work release from prison.

She believes the older ones understand why she can't be with them but cannot stop worrying about her 5-year-old daughter.

"I've been away so long," said Petro, a 36-year-old inmate from Pontiac at the Decatur Women's Correctional Center. "I wish they could have something from me now."

Her heart has been resting a little easier, however, since she signed up a couple weeks ago for her children to receive handmade quilts tailored to their interests at Christmastime, each accompanied by a loving note from her. "They can wrap themselves in them and know they came from Mom," she said.

Petro is among scores of mothers at the prison who have asked for blankets under "Here's a Hug," a new initiative of the Central Illinois Chapter of Project Linus, which makes blankets for seriously ill and traumatized children.

Chapter coordinator Mary Balagna said the project is similar to the special way the chapter has reached out to cancer patients attending Camp COCO (Children's Oncology Camp Organization) for several years.

On a national level, Project Linus also has comforted victims of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina and grieving children at Camp Good Grief in Arlington, Va., sponsored by Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors.

"It has been a long process getting approval from the prison," Balagna said, "but I cannot tell you how thrilled we are to be given the opportunity to serve these special children."

The inmates are equally excited, first listening a bit warily to Balagna and chapter assistant Cheryl Hughes explain the program at the correctional center May 20 and 27, then oohing and aahing at the blankets the pair brought and carefully filling out the order forms.

Beth Tucker, 34, of Charleston wrote on her forms that her older daughter, 15, likes soccer and her younger daughter, 8, likes SpongeBob SquarePants.

She gets to see her girls every weekend but is still happy about the blankets. "It's another way to reach out to my children while I'm here and touch them," Tucker said.

Petro requested pink, purple and butterflies for her 5-year-old daughter, purple and flowers for her 9-year-old daughter, red, blue and basketball for her 12-year-old son, and yellow, tennis and music for her 17-year-old daughter.

Balagna said so many of her volunteers stepped up in response to an e-mail announcement last month that the about 300 blankets that have been ordered so far are spoken for already.

"They're mostly quilts, but still lots of fleece," she said. "We have only a few requests for afghans, and we will divide those up among our knitters and crocheters."

Janice Waddell of Decatur and her crew started work last weekend on quilts for Petro's two younger girls. "We all have bunches of kids around here, and we're thankful they're healthy," said her sister Gayle Bronson, also of Decatur.

Other blanketeers in the circle include their sister Marcia Zellner of Decatur, Waddell's friend Cathy Hambrecht of Decatur and granddaughter/great-niece Brooklyn Jewsbury, 9, of Pana.

"Every blanket we make is touched by more than one of us and sent with our love," Waddell said.

Blankets for Petro's older children will be made by Decatur residents Terri Tate and Brenda Galo.

Tate said the project pulled her heartstrings, and she's already thinking about what a 17-year-old would like. "I'm excited about what the mom wants for this quilt and have been playing with different ideas in my head," she said.

Galo said because she has two daughters and five of her six grandchildren are girls, she likes making boy blankets for Project Linus and signed up to make one for Petro's son. "I like to think that if one of my grandchildren ever needed one, there would be someone there to provide it," she said.

With more women entering the correctional center all the time and Balagna and Hughes planning to return for presentations to grandmothers, Project Linus will take Here's a Hug orders through Oct. 1.

A November ceremony, when the inmates can write their own messages and see the blankets their children and grandchildren will receive, is planned.

"I know we'll get enough blankets," Balagna said. "Our biggest challenge will be getting the money for postage to mail them to the children, but we know it'll all come together. We are sure this will bring us all together as a community."

Balagna and Hughes also created a sense of community in the prison's auditorium each time they came, with everyone getting emotional at times as the pair talked about Project Linus.

Hughes told about the fleece blanket she once had to make in a day for the foster daughter of a friend who had to give her up, how she found "a purple swirly pattern with horses" the girl would like and how the child wound up going to a family that had horses.

"A lot of you are nodding. You know blankets can be a comfort, that they can do magic for children," Hughes said. "We share our experiences because we really feel there is a greater power working through us."

Later, Balagna said she and Hughes were moved and humbled by the reception they received.

"They wrote sweet notes about their children on the forms and thanked us over and over as they presented them to us," she said. "One woman said she wanted me to know we were angels sent to them."

Assistant Warden Melody Hulett said Here's a Hug fits the correctional center's mission of strengthening the relationship between mother and child. "When I heard about this, I thought it was so awesome," she said.

Petro added that the project gave her and other inmates a much-needed boost to their self-esteem.

"It makes us realize not everybody thinks we're not human," she said. "Treating us like women and mothers strengthens our intention to move on."

Theresa Churchill can be reached at tchurchill@herald-review.com or 421-7978.