Gatherers and Groups: Another Way to Make Quilts

some of Kitty Sorgen’s blocks

UPATE: This post is now outdated (this way is waaaay too much work!), so please go here to receive up-to-date information about making quilts using blocks from you and your group. Thank you.

Calling all over achievers, natural born leaders, and pure bred angels . . .

Yesterday I revealed a new way to make quilts for The 70273 Project. Today we need to talk more about the systems that need to be in place to allow y’all the space to be creative and still get me the information I need. (Important note: This system is subject to change as suggestions come in and as we begin to implement it and discover better ways.)

First, the vocabulary:
Gatherers are the people who raise their hand and offer to (a) get members of a particular group to make blocks that are, in turn, pieced and quilted as a Group Quilt in The 70273 Project. Maybe you’ll invite coworkers to contribute a block, maybe you’ll ask classmates or members of your bridge club or maybe you’ll offer to gather blocks from nearby geographical areas and turn them into quilts. Gatherers take the lead and accept responsibility for gathering blocks and turning them into quilts.

Group Quilts is this new category of quilts. Instead of making quilts from a random selection of blocks contributed by Makers, blocks are contributed by members of a specific group or geographical area, and the eventual quilt represents their group’s participation in The 70273 Project.

Now here’s what we really need to talk about . . .

This is a screen shot showing some of the information I keep on each and every block that’s contributed to The 70273 Project. Even though the Group Quilts will come to me as a complete quilt instead of as an envelope of blocks, I still need this information for each block, so here’s what I’m proposing:

If you have a hankering to be a Gatherer, contact me via email or Facebook Messenger before you proceed. We’ll huddle up and get you ready to go.
Once we’ve talked, you can start getting the word out, encouraging people in your group to make blocks. Set a timeline, if you like (that’s up to you), and let group members know how to get the blocks to you. (Note: blocks must be made following the guidelines we follow now: bases on white fabric cut in one of these sizes 3.5″ x 6.5″ (9 cm x 16.5 cm) or 6.5″ x 9.5″ (16.5 cm x 24.2 cm) or 9.5″ x 12.5″ (24.2 cm x 31.8 cm) rectangles with 2 red X’s applied. No writing or other embellishments on the block.)
Make sure each Maker downloads, completes, and signs a Provenance Form to send to you with their blocks.
When blocks arrive at your doorstep, you’ll need to take a photo of (or scan) the Provenance Form and each individual block. Scanning works really well, too, in fact, that’s what works best for me, and you will, after all, become a mini-Jeanne, so maybe it’ll work better for you, too. Scans are easier to name and keep track of in your computer.
Assign each block a temporary number using this file name format: Your Initials.The Temporary Block Number. The Maker’s Name, and the first digit of the block dimension. Play along with me: You are a Gatherer, and your name is Absolute Angel. The Engineer and I send you three blocks a piece, along with our signed Provenance Forms, of course. You scan the P Forms, then you scan each block, saving it in your computer as: AA.1.JeanneHewellChambers3.jpg; AA.2.JeanneHewellChambers6.jpg; AA.3.JeanneHewellChambers9.jpg and AA.4.TheEngineer3.jpg; AA.5.TheEngineer6.jpg; and AA.6.TheEngineer9.jpg. Make sense?
Create an i.d. tag for each block by writing the name (as generated in #5) on a small piece of cloth or a small piece of card stock paper and pinning it to one of the red X’s using a safety pin or one of those micro fastener gizmos (the 4.4mm size works perfectly), if you have one. This identification tag will remain on the block throughout Piecing and Quilting, and I will remove the tags once I have the quilt in hand and have all the information I need for the database and the quilt label.
Piecing and Quiltlng is the same as always. MJ Kinman will make sure you have everything you need to know to get creative and get ‘er done.
When the quilt is finished, get it to me (remember: with the temporary i.d. tags in place on each block) along with the Provenance Forms for each Maker, the name and contact info for the Piecer, and the name and contact info for the Quilter. And hey, if you want to hand deliver, come on out here and let the falls that run right (and I do mean “right”) by our house be your lullaby.

As a Gatherer, you’ll basically be doing what I do – making sure that each person who touches this project gets credit and that we can track who created which blocks. You can elect to be a Gatherer and a Maker and a Piecer and a Quilter or any combination of the four roles. Whatever hats you choose to wear, you will be responsible for the seeing that the quilt gets finished by the guidelines already in place, that it finds its way back to me, and that I know who all I need to thank.

Now listen, y’all, after reading yesterday’s blog post, Jan Ebbott MacFayden messaged me, raising her hand to be a Gatherer, Piecer, and Quilter for folks in the New Zealand and Australia neck of the woods. Jan writes:

Hi Jeanne, I have recently joined your inspirational group and have posted a share about the group on my FB page. I mainly make quilts to donate to the needy but this project really speaks to me. I started working with the disabled as a volunteer when I was 16, then went on to become a nurse and now work as a hospital manager. I have asked for blocks to be sent to me and will make them into quilts and send them on to you. I’m happy to receive blocks from other Australians and New Zealand if that is OK with you. Please feel free to post this on your group FB page if this is OK with you. Thank you for allowing us to participate in making your vision a reality. Hugs, Jan Mac, Australia

Have I told y’all lately how much I love my job? Y’all are magic. Pure, unadulterated magic.

Anyway, you can find Jan on facebook and on her good blog. And hey, for all you prolific Makers in Australia, maybe this can save you some postage money. Jan already has ideas about how she’ll get the quilts to me, and I can’t wait till the day when I call her Sugar to her face.

In addition to commemorating those who died and celebrating those who live, I am committed to creating something y’all will feel proud to be a part of, something that you will be honored to have your name attached to. Big huge thanks to each and every one of you for making my job so enjoyable, meaningful, and easy.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or ideas, just holler.

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