From September through Christmas, you’re most likely to find Barb and Don Jackel sewing up a storm, turning out products of peace and joy.

Pillowcases, to be exact, all made of flannel.

“We’ll hear, ‘Oh, they’re so soft,’ “ said Barb of the cases, as she smoothed out several she held in her lap. One was made of purple tie-dyed flannel. Several others came in camouflage.

All were crafted by the couple who “like people; we like kids,” said Barb, 79, a retired pharmacy technician.

“There is joy all around, when you give them,” said Don, 81, as they sat in their Austin living room.

Over the course of the year, the Jackels, friends and relatives have made 245 of the cases and donated them to schools, the Ronald McDonald House in Rochester, their church Bible school, Salvation Army — or sometimes, just a child visiting their church, Grace Lutheran.

The reason for making the pillowcases is pretty simple: They provide softness — which translates to comfort for an ailing child, or soothing softness to a troubled heart.

Their daughter, Kelly Scofield, first brought them the idea. Scofield is a longtime instructor in special needs at Crossroads School and Vocational Center in St. Francis, Minnesota. A talented seamstress herself, she each year helps her students create special projects during summer school. One of them was the sewing of a pillowcase. She suggested the idea of making  pillowcases to her folks.

“That got me started,” said Barb.

Soon, Barb, assisted by Don — a retired Watkins salesman and mail carrier — was creating pillowcases for Scofield’s students; this year, 170 were sent to the school. Many of the students live in a residential treatment center in Anoka County.

Don said that by word of mouth, they heard about how such items were welcomed at the Ronald McDonald House in Rochester. This year, 50 brightly-colored cases made their way to the House, a home away from home for families with a child who is ill and being treated at Mayo Clinic.

“We put one pillowcase in each mailbox; they say there is a lot of excitement” when patients know the pillowcases have arrived.

“They like them because they’re soft and cuddly,” said Barb and, depending on their age, “can be used as a blanket or a pillowcase.”

“They can carry toys and dollies; some kids have been known to put their feet in them, and jump around,” added Barb with a chuckle.

“It’s amazing to watch,” said Don. “Many of these kids have come through some pretty serious health crises.”

The Jackels did not sew all of them. Others offered their hands, too.

Barb’s sister, Joan Winjum of Grundy Center, Iowa, and her friend, Donna Boren, and the couple’s niece, Kendra Dumitrache of Mankato, and her stepson, have all sewed pillowcases this year that, together with the Jackel output, were given away. Scofield did the shopping for the materials, whose purchase was supported in part by a $250 gift from Thrivent Financial. That pays for about half of the material, said Barb.

“And, we’re pretty thrifty shoppers,” Barb added, adding a lot of the material is purchased on Black Friday specials.

When asked if they had ever sold any pillowcases, Barb said the couple occasionally sells some at craft shows, “but we found it’s just not much fun to sell them; it’s a lot more fun to see the smile on a child’s face” when they receive the pillowcase free of cost.

“That’s the fun ministry,” she said.

Don agreed.

“You see the reaction from someone getting one; it’s really pretty wonderful,” he said.