Tag: 70273 quilt 5

Utah Quilting and Sewing Marketplace Exhibit

May 3, 2018 / jeanne / 0 Comments

When Jina and Moana stopped by The 70273 Project Special Exhibit at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, TX last November and invited us to be a Special Exhibit at the Utah Quilting & Sewing Marketplace, it seemed like a l-o-n-g time away. But here we are, and it seems like it was just yesterday we stood talking with Jina and Moana in Houston. Funny, that.

The Engineer and I spent today flying across country to be here, and I thought maybe you’d like to know which quilts will be exhibited and maybe even find some of your own work on display. Feel free to read all the way through this post or enter your name in the search box in the right sidebar and find it that way. And hey, if you’re in the neighborhood or can get here, come on over and be sure to stop by The 70273 Project Special Exhibit and say Hey.

Note: Each quilt will be profiled individually in its own blog post as we go along, and there you’ll find complete info like countries of residence and all dedications along with stories. Oh my goodness, y’all know how I adore and cherish the stories! I need help entering information into a spreadsheet, so if any of you are willing to do that or have a responsible, attention-oriented teenager who would be, let me know. Having that Central Headquarters Spreadsheet will be a tremendous help. (And for the record, it took me forever to type the word “spreadsheet” because just the thought of the word stomps down my creative spirit! I call them Landscape Oriented Tables.)

And now without further ado, if you can’t be in Utah, enjoy the exhibit here. And hey, thank y’all so much for all you do to commemorate these 70,273 souls.

quilt with white base covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt 1
Pieced by Kitty Sorgen
Quilted and Finished by MJ Kinman
Blocks made by:
Helen Voyles
Robin Hewell
Ada Hewell
MJ Kinman
Kitty Sorgen
Susan Graham
Andy Chambers
Jeanne Hewell-Chambers
Deborah Cheek
Glenda Williams
Margaret Williams
Sharleen Jespersen
Kimberly Brock
Pamela Arena
Mari Ann Stefanelli
Samantha Kendig
Julie A. Taylor
Barbara Atwell
Steve Jankousky
Michelle Banton
Lucy Urbach
Jillian Urbach
Little Luna and Her Mom
Lee Durbin
Denniele Bohannen
Debra Steinmann
Robin Woods
Chloe Grice
Linda Smith
Laurie Dunn
Elizabeth (Libby) Cook
Faye Cook
Carol Howard Donati
Susan Jimison
Juline Bajada
Marnie Gloor-Chambers
Alison Chambers
Kipp Chambers
Brenda Shimshick
Angela Canada
Andrew & Nicholas Canada
Jennifer Shimshick

a white quilt covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt 3
Pieced and Quilted by Margaret Williams
Blocks made by:
Ada B. Hewell
Alida Palmisano
Andrew Canada
Andy Chambers, for Nancy Chambers
Andy Grimaldi, for my children who HAD the opportunity to live no matter their flaws! (no red X’s for them!)
Angela Canada
Angel Childs, for Phylis Leona Childs
Anonymous
Barbara Attwell, for Joe Conrad, mentally handicapped uncle
Bev Haring (
Bradley L. Pope, for the 692nd Tank Destroyer Battalion
Brenda Shimshick, for Beverly Thomas
Carolyn Katzoff, for Harry Katzoff
Chloe Grice, for Tula Belle Grice
Christa Joy, for Jimmy Joy
Cindy Hall
Dan Sorgen
Danny Sorgen
Deena Sanders
Denniele Bohannen, for former students
Denise Giardullo, for all the special needs children I taught who would have perished if the Nazis were successful
Elizabeth Belcher, for my father, Leneord White, RAF Pilot, WW2
Elizabeth (Libby) Cooke
Faye Cooke
Gail Black, for Evan Bright
Glenda Williams
Jane Wilson
Janet Eidem
Janet Hartje, for Amanda
Jeanne Hewell-Chambers, for Nancy Chambers
Jerry Hewell
Jillian Urbach
Julie A. Taylor, for Cecilie M. Taylor
Juline Bajada
Kathy Cox, for Nancy Chambers
Kaylee Sorgen
Kevin Barton, for Burt Brooks, WW2 Veteran, purple heart recipient (deceased)
Kitty Sorgen
Laurel Hotchkiss, for all the families who suffered under Hitler
Laurie Dunn
Lee Durbin, for Tim Durbin
Linda Heron, for the 70,273 lost in Nazi Germany and for those I have known, those I know now, and those I”ll never know personally
Linda Smith, for Helen Helms and Geraldine
Little Luna (and Her Mom )
Lucy Urbach
Margaret Williams, for Marie Dreyer
Maria Conway
Maria Sorgen
Marie Z. Johansen, for Women of the French Resistance
Marissa Shenkle
Melody Butler, for all the special children who have come into my life at the kindergarten where I work
Michelle Banton
MJ Kinman, for Bess J. Liversidge and Elizabeth Zelms
Nancy Burch
Nicholas Canada
Pauline
Rebecca O’cannon, for Roxie Anna Duhon
Ross Greene, for Ross W. Perrin
Scott Linville
Steve Jankousky
Steve Ulman
Susan Getchell
Susan Graham, for Carlo
Zachery Freeman

a white quilt covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt 5
Pieced, Quilted & Finished by MJ Kinman
Blocks made by:
Students and Staff of the Blanchard Valley Center

white quilt covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt 10
Pieced, Quilted, and Finished by Margaret Williams
Blocks made by:
Ada Hewell
Adalee Beasley
Andy Grimaldi
Andrew R. Chambers
Anonymous
Barbara Atwell
Bev Wiedeman
Bobbi Penniman
Brenda Shimshick
Caroline Rudisill
Carolyn Katzoff
Chase Hughes
David S Leader
Deborah L. J. MacKinnon
Debra Steinmann
Denniele Bohannen
Elizabeth Belcher
Emily May (Milly) Grice
Faye Cook
Frances Holliday Alford
Glenda Williams
Hylke and Marjolein Lootens
Janet Eidem
Janet Hartje
Janice Foy
Janine Morrell
Jeanne Hewell-Chambers
Jennifer Eastment
Jennifer Lario Moya
Jennifer Shimshick
Kimberly Kuhns
Kitty Sorgen
Laurie Dunn
Lee Durbin
Linda Heron
Linda Isaacs
Linda Smith
Lori East
Margaret Williams
Marsha Hardan
Maryellen “Graz” Grysewicz
Michelle Banton
Michelle Hughes
Mildred S (Millie) Long
MJ Kinman
Mona Masters
Patricia Gaska
Pauline
Robin Welsh
Rosemary Claus-Gray
Sarah Noelle Ballantine
Sue Beermann
Susan Getchell
Susan Graham
Susan Guild
Susan Leader
Susie Wheelis

white baby christening gown sewn onto a white quit base, surrounded with pairs of red X's forming teardrops and streams of teardrops

Quilt 14
A Middling made by Jeanne Hewell-Chambers

white quilt base adorned with pairs of large and small red X's

Quilt 15
A Middling made by Jeanne Hewell-Chambers

a white quilt embellished with pairs of red X's

Quilt 22
Pieced and Quilted by Catherine Symchych
Blocks made by Students at Snowy Range Academy Middle School

white quilt embellished with pairs of red X's

Quilt 23
Made by Maité Findeling

white quilt base adorned with pairs of red X's

Quilt 28
Pieced, Quiited, and Finished by Katell Renon and Chantal Bommier
Blocks made by:
Christiane Richard
Paulette Lacroix
Dany Monnier
Angèle Peltot-Leccia
Martine Voutain
Brigitte Janin
Guillemette Marraud
Katell Renon
Anonymes

white quilt base with pairs of red X's forming a heart in the center and pairs of red X's forming a frame around the outer edges Quilt 29
Made by Maité Findeling

white quilt covered with pairs of red X's Quilt 42
Pieced and Quilted by Katell Renon and Kristine Toufflet
Blocks made by:
Helene Berettta
Catherine Moliet
Maité Findeling
Kristine Soufflet
Martine Toutain
Gillette Maraud
Marie Jo Dimas
Evelyne Carrasco
Suzy Bignau
Catherine Floch

white quilt base covered in pairs of red X's, some forming larger red X's

Quilt 44
Pieced and quilted by Annie Pinel
Blocks made by members of the Can’canettes in Castres, France
Claudine Bize
Beatrice Tavirre
Colette Bouisset
Yvette Durans
Anonyme

white quilt covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt 45
Pieced and quilted by Jo Drouet
Blocks made by Members of the Can’canettes in Castres, France:
Dominique Medard
Jo Drouet
Beatrice Tavirre
Carole Giovanolla
Colette Bouisset
Anonyme
Suzanne Ribera
Annie Pinel
Rachel Durrieu
Maryanne Tailler
Aline Montagne

white and off white quilt base covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt 47
A Middling made by Margaret Williams

white and cream quilt base covered with pairs of red X's Quilt 50
A Middling made by Margaret Williams

white and cream quilt base covered with pairs of red X's, some of them arranged in the shape of a heart Quilt 52
A Middling made by Margaret Williams

a white quilt base covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt 54
Pieced, Quilted, and Finished by Brenda Wartalski
Blocks made by Members of TBLOVERS2
Brenda Wartalski
Victoria Swann
Brenda Lowe
Adva Price
Dianne Llewellyn
Yvonne Walton
Brenda Linkhart
Ella Andrews
Gisele Therezien
Kim Monins
Jane Howie
Neet Davies

white and cream quilt base covered with pairs of red X's Quilt 60
Pieced, Quilted, and Finished by Margaret Williams
Blocks made by:
Nancy Fenstermacher & Barbara Churchville
Dawn Dayside
Anonymous
Elaine Erickson
Martine Bronca
Shelly Burge, for Ryan
Gerrie Congdon
Pam Patterson
Debbie Buckner
Betty Hedrick, for Jacquie Moje
Patricia Gaska, for Sandy Wild
Faye Cook
Maria Conway
Debbie Buckner
Janine Morrell
Lee Durbin
Brenda Shimshick
Jennifer Eastment
Jackie Batman
Faye Cook
Rosalie Y. Roberts
Kathy O’Donnell
Betty Hedrick
Trena Johnson
Alida Palmisano
Diane Dresdner
Martine Bronca
Kathleen J. Reck
Anonymous
Susan Utech
Past Brletich, for Robert Rebecca Pohlad
Debbie Burchell
Deborah L. J. MacKinnon
Staff of Holly Spirit College, for all those with different levels of ability
Sharon Berg
Glenda Williams
Barbara Atwell
Michelle Banton
Elizabeth Belcher
Denniele Bohannen
Christina Cromwell
Carolyn Katzoff, for John Wies
Caroline Rudisill
Jennifer Lario Moya
Jerriann Crow
Margaret Williams
Jennifer Eastment

white quilt base embellished with pairs of red X's

Quilt 61
Pieced by Denniele Bohannon
Quilted and Finished by Becky Collis
Blocks made by:
Elaine Erickson
Carolyn Katzoff
Elizabeth Belcher
Anonymous
Dawn Daymude
Christina Cromwell
Deborah L. J. MacKinnon
Faye Cook
Elizabeth (Libby) Cook
Betty Hedrick
Pam Patterson
Debbie Buckner
Linda Kemp
Betty Hedrick
Martine Bronca
Onurai Dchakanis
Denniele Bohannen
Jennifer Lario Moya
Jackie Batman
Maria Conway
Diane Dresdner
Kathleen J. Reck
Jennifer Shimshick
Glenda Williams
Debbie Burchell
Lee Durbin
Brenda Shimshick
Nancy Fenstermacher
Barbara Churchville
Gerrie Congdon
Patsi Brletich
Susan Utech
Caroline Rudisill
Patricia Gaska
Alida Palmisano
Margaret Williams
Faye Cook
Barbara Atwell
Jeanne Huebert
Michelle Banton
Staff of Holy Spirit College
Chloe Grice
Jennifer Eastment

white quilt base covered with pairs of red X'x

Quilt 70
Pieced by Kris Phillips
Quilted by Debra Woods
Blocks made by:
Claudia Cross
Janine Morrell
Elizabeth (Libby) Cook
Faye Cook
Patricia Gaska
Sharleen Jespersen
Nancy Fenstermacher
Barbara Churchville
Lee Durbin
Pam Patterson
Maria Conway
Mary Schuberg
Christina Cromwell
Linda Heron
Debbie Buckner
Brenda Shimshick
Jennifer Eastment
Patsi Brletich
Faye Cook
Rosalie Roberts
Staff of Holy Spirit College
Glenda Williams
John Cheek
Barbara Atwell
Robin Woods
Laurel Hotchkiss
Susan Getchell
Barbara Atwell
Janet Eidem
Michelle Banton
Elizabeth Belcher
Denniele Bohannen
Margaret Williams
Carolyn Katzoff
Jessie Rose Grice
Caroline Rudisill
Jennifer Lario Moya
Barbara Winfield
Jeanne Hewell-Chambers
Desiree Habicht
Kris Philips

white quilt base covered with pairs of red X's Quilt 73
Made by the Quilt du club Sur un Air de Patch
Colette de Rosso
Danielle Michon

white quilt base covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt 75
Blocks made by:
Pascale Bourdoncie
Nicole Marty
Kristine Soufflet
Colette de Rosso
Suzy Bignau
Yolande Clavel
Catherine Floch
Maté Findeling

white quilt base covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt 76
Pieced and Quitled by Katell Renon
Blocks made by:
Nicole Marty
Alice Thomas
Annie Vignals
Yolande Clavel
Pascale Bourdoncie
Colette de Rosso
Suzy Bignau
Catherine Floch
Maité Findeling
Kristine Soufflet
Anonyme

white quilt base covered with pairs of red X's Quilt 78
Pieced and quilted by Evelyne Carrasco
Blocks made by:
Florence Bismuth
Valerie Ramsay
Brigitte Janin
Guillermette Maraud
Catherine Floch
Danielle Laffont

white and cream base covered with pairs of red X's Quilt 102
A Middling made by Debra Baker Steinmann

white quilt base covered with pairs of red X's Quilt 111
Made by Catherine Symchych

white quilt base covered with small pairs of red X's

Quilt 112
A Middling made by Katell Renon

white quilt base covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt 113
Pieced & Quilted by Brigitte Gaston
Blocks made by Members of Quilt du Club de Balma:
Brigitte Gaston
Betty Pizard
Jacqueline Garrigues
Claire Petitgirard
Françoise Calmttes
Michele Bergon
MichelineGolvano
Anne-marie Bugnot

white quilt base covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt 114
Pieced and Tied by Annie Cunnac
Blocks made by Members of Quilt Villeneuve-Tolosane:
Michelle Cortes
Annie Touzet
Isabelle Alzieu
Giselle Boyer
Christiane Tavel
Martine Sessa
Annie Cunnac

white quilt base covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt 115
Pieced by Katell Renon
Quilted by Evelyne Carrasco
Blocks made by Members of Les Filles du Vent du Sud:
Helene Vispe
Nelly Riviere
Antoinette Vilo
Primarose Traube
Noelle Ricard-Loubeau
Anonymes

white quilt covered with small pairs of red X's Quilt 150
A Middling made by Margaret Jackson

white quilt covered with los of small pairs of red X's Quilt 152
A Middling made by Chantal Trouillot

two large red X's filled with smaller red X's Quilt 162
A Middling made by Jennifer Broemel

white quilt adorned with pairs of red X's Quilt 164
A Middling made by Patricia Gaska

white quilt with pairs of red Xs Quilt 168
A Middling made by Mary T. Green

white quilt with pairs of red Xs

Quilt 169
A Middling made by Margaret Andrews

white quilt bearing pairs of red X's

Quilt 174
A Middling made by Wendy Reed

white quilt adorned with pairs of red X's Quilt 177
A Middling made by Deirdre McConathy

a white quilt with pairs of red X's Quilt 179
A Middling made by Cindy Cavallo

white and cream quilt base covered with pairs of red X's Quilt 185
Pieced and Quilted by Margaret Williams
Blocks made by:
Gail George
Anonymous
Betty Byford
Cathy Watkins
Tree Kuharich
Faye Cook
Polly M Davis
Diane Dresdner
Mildred (Millie) Long
Jeanne Hewell-Chambers
Pam Patterson
Kathy Shaw
Dorothy Gibson
Wendy Canton Reed
Charlotte McAdam
MJ Kinman
Margaret Williams
Carolyn Katzoff
Andrew R Chambers
Jennifer Lario Moya
Lori East
Deborah L. J. MacKinnon
Michelle Banton
Susan Guild
Patricia Gaska
Brenda Shimshick
Staff of Holy Spirit College
Georgeanna Hawley
Margaret Andrews
JanetTobler
Claudia Cross
Debra Steinmann
Frances Holliday Alford
Cheryl Kotechi
Debbie Burchell
Singele Majo
Elaine Smith
Christina Aiton
Nancy Weinmeister
Thomasina S. Miller

white quilt base decorated with balloons created using pairs of red X's and a child's pair of gloves holding onto the strings of the balloons Quilt 555
A Middling made by Jeanne Hewell-Chambers
dedicated to Rue Opal
and all the joy and wonder she will bring
to the lives of all who know and love her

~~~~~~~

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Quilt #5: Blanchard Valley Center, part 2

April 18, 2017 / jeanne / 7 Comments

MARCH 6, 2017
MONDAY AFTERNOON
Read Part 1 here

Who can forget these faces of students at Blanchard Valley Center on block-making day in 2016?

Some learned to use a sewing machine for the first time

others – like Jordan – is already quite familiar with sewing machines,
using them often to make costumes and clothes for himself and others.

Here we see Jordan in one of his latest creations. Unfortunately I didn’t get to meet Jordan
because he was out the day I was there, but what fun I had hearing about what he comes up with
and how he’s frequently known to dress teachers in clothes that are more to his liking.

Some drew their two red X’s onto the cloth

others painted

Tanya Weising-Pike, Director of Childrens Services, was one of the first people I heard from after launching The 70273 Project. “I want us to be a part of The 70273 Project,” she wrote. “We will have 100% participation. I’m already gathering supplies to make our blocks.”

And oh what a block making day they did have last year, sending a great big box of blocks that I decided needed to stay together in a quilt made just by hand of the staff and students at Blanchard Valley Center.

The Engineer and Cindy Maag get set up in the gym.

I contacted Tanya earlier this year to ask if The Engineer and I could deliver Quilt #5 to them to be on display for the month of March for Disabilities Awareness Month. Tanya gave my favorite answer: Yes, then introduced me to Cindy Maag, the Community Relations Manager at Blanchard Valley, who turned a simple quilt delivery into a Very Special Event. It was wonderful, amazing, heartwarming. It was epic.

The suspense builds.

Students and teachers came.
Families came.
Randy Roberts, of The Courier came with his big camera to cover the event for the newspaper.

L to R: Tanya Weising-Pike, Jeanne Hewell-Chambers, Mayor Lydia Mihalik

Mayor Lydia Mihalik came. (She’s the short one in the beautiful orange jacket.)

Tanya introduced me then called me up to say a few words. Students were running around the gym. Teachers were stepping in front of them to steer them in another direction, but never to make them stop. It was the mild chaos of people being who they are without anybody telling them to be somebody else, and it was wonderful. (Plus I didn’t cough – not even once.)

I told them about The 70273 Project, trying hard not to bust into quiet tears when I looked at the students and imagined how anybody could consider them “useless eaters” or “unworthy of life.” Over and over and over again I said a silent Thank you that we live today where there are places like Blanchard Valley Center and not in 1940 with Aktion T4 constantly lurking and looming.

Quilt #5. Blocks made by students and staff of Blanchard Valley Center. Beautifully, lovingly pieced and quilted by MJ Kinman.

Finally it was time for what everybody came for: The Big Reveal. I asked (well, actually I told, but since she’s the mayor and since I was raised right, let’s pretend I asked) Lydia and The Engineer to come turn the quilt around. Honestly, I was a little nervous, a little afraid the quilt wouldn’t have the emotional impact the blocks and quilts usually do because this was one quilt in a big gym. I wasted a few minutes of my life that I’ll never get back worrying about that. When the quilt was revealed, there was a moment’s hush as everybody took it all in, the faces registering what was going through their heads, through their hearts. There were tears and smiles in equal measure, and we didn’t rush through this moment, taking time to let it soak in that any one of these students would have received two red X’s at the bottom of their medical records were we to dial back the calendar a few decades.

I fielded some really good questions. Perhaps my Favorite Question of All Time was asked by none other than The Mayor Herself: “What else do you need?” Isn’t that the most fantastic question? After blowing her a kiss, I told them I still need blocks. And people to piece and quilt the blocks. I need people to make quilts from their own blocks or make Middling quilts or Long Skinny quilts. I need people to tell others and encourage them to get involved. I need help getting all the quilts back to HEARTquarters to prepare for The Great Gathering and Launch that’s slowly beginning to take shape in the background. And oh yes, I need financial donations to help cover the growing expenses.

I’m very grateful to Randy Roberts and The Findlay Courier for giving me permission to use this good photo because I was too busy talking to take pictures, something I couldn’t’ve done anyway because I’d already used up every bit of juice in my phone’s battery taking photos all the rest of the day!

Then it was time for people to come up for a closer look at the quilt they made.

Who could forget this photo of her making her block,

and here she is looking for her block in the quilt.

L to R: Cindy Maag, Bobbi Morman, Jeanne Hewell-Chambers, Tanya Weising-Pike ,and Ali Weising-Pike (who felt good enough to be there, thank goodness, else I wouldn’t’ve gotten to meet her!)

L to R: The Engineer, Jeanne Hewell-Chambers, Tanya Weising-Pike, and Ali Weising-Pike (They both have blocks in the quilt.)

As the students made their way back to their classes to prepare to go home,
there was nothing left for us to do but take a few more photos,
give and receive a few more hugs,
and turn the truck towards home,
(with another spend-the-night in Kentucky).

The afterglow? Oh it’s still going on, y’all.

~~~~~~~

Other places to gather around The 70273 Project water cooler:

Shop with Amazon Smile and support The 70273 Project.

Subscribe to the blog (where all information is shared).

Join the English-speaking Facebook group – our e-campfire – where you can talk to other members of The 70273 Project Tribe.

Join the French-speaking Facebook group – our other e-campfire – where you can chat with other members of The 70273 Project Tribe.

Like the Facebook page where you can check in for frequent updates.

Get folks to help celebrate your birthday by making blocks and/or donating bucks.

Follow the pinterest board for visual information.

Post using #the70273project on Instagram. (Please tag me, too, @whollyjeanne, so I don’t miss anything.)

Tell your friends what you want for your birthday.

And if you haven’t yet made some blocks, perhaps you’d like to put some cloth in your hands and join us.

Or maybe you’d like to gather friends and family, colleagues or students, club or guild members, etc. together and make a group quilt.

Quilt #5: Blanchard Valley Center, part 1

April 17, 2017 / jeanne / 2 Comments

If I’ve ever called you “Sugar” to your face, you may have noticed this bracelet adorning my wrist. The symbol is called Sankofa, and it means “go back and retrieve”. Because my calendar has been consumed with illness and travel, and most importantly because I am now feeling better, I thought we’d spend the next few days looking back and retrieving the stories I didn’t have energy to tell you about till now, beginning with delivering The 70273 Project, Quilt #5 to Blanchard Valley Center in Findlay, Ohio in early March . . .

MARCH 4, 2017
SATURDAY

Boone Tavern and Inn

The doctor assures us we aren’t contagious, though she urges us to stay in bed at least another week – and though, in hindsight, that might’ve been a really good idea, there is no way we will miss seeing our daughter off to Italy on Friday or delivering Quilt #5 to the Blanchard Valley School. So Friday, we peel ourselves off the sofa, grab our barrel full of cough drops, rake the meds into a suitcase and head on down the road. On Saturday, March 4, we sleep as late as coughing will allow then make our way to Berea, Kentucky where we spend the night in the Boone Tavern Inn, one of our favorite places. (Oh, I just thought about this: I bought the sankofa bracelet from some artists in Berea many, many years ago.)

MARCH 5, 2017
SUNDAY

barns: architecture’s workhorses

After a breakfast that includes spoon bread – a staple at Boone’s Tavern – we hit the road again, admiring the countryside and Ohio’s barns, structures I call architecture’s workhorses.

Tanya Weisling-Pyke and her adorable son, Silas

We make it into Findlay, Ohio late afternoon/early evening, where Tanya and Silas meet us for supper. Tanya says Silas acted his age (2) all day, making her a wee little bit nervous about him going to supper with us.

Silas charms Jeanne right off her feet

Now I don’t know what she did with The Daytime Silas and I’m not calling her a liar (I would never), but The Evening Silas I sup with is charming, hospitable, and adorable. Absolutely adorable.

MARCH 6, 2017
MONDAY

Tanya Weising-Pike, who’s Director of Childrens Services, kicks the day off by taking The Engineer and me on a tour of Blanchard Valley Center. Notice anything about the classrooms? Ignore the walkers you see in the second photo, and the children, the teachers, and the classrooms look like any other classroom, any other students, and any other teachers, don’t they? (A note: all photos are taken by me and used with permission.)

This room is set up like a home, and all classes have access to it daily to practice living skills. Which reminds me, how many of y’all think we ought to bring back Home Ec and Shop classes . . . without the dreaded stigma, of course.

Within walking distance is housing for those who can live like Nancy does – independently, but with round-the-clock assistance.

As we walk to the car for the next stop on our tour, we pass the Blanchard Valley Center’s Free Library, painted by Jordan. You’ll hear more about him later.

Next stop is the Kan Du Studio, where local artists – I don’t even know how to say this, y’all. Let’s start over . . . the Kan Du Studio where artists with disabilities work and sell their art right alongside other artists from the community. Maybe this: The Kan Du Studio where artists with all sorts of different abilities come together to create and sell their art. See what I mean? We need to get to a place where we talk not of abilities and disabilities but of people.

The artists at Kan Du Studio are well-known for stars – for being stars and for making stars.

The local newspaper donated these sheets of metal, and the Kan Du artists turn them into stars that you see everywhere . . .

. . . even in the women’s restroom in the gym.

Oh – and for those of you who sit with me around the The 70273 Project’s digital campfire (a.k.a. the Facebook group) where digital s’mores are served regularly, I want y’all to lookahere what they sell at Kan Du. If you’d like a place around The 70273 Project Campfire, come on over. We’ll make room for you, and I’ll try to steer you to a seat next to somebody who doesn’t tend to hoard their (digital) chocolate or steal yours.

One of the Kan Du artists creates his own world, making towns and everything you’d find in a town, including hamburger joints. He makes the towns by layering piece after piece after piece of paper, gluing the pieces together, and when he’s satisfied, he paints and positions it. He was absent the day we visited . . . which is the only reason I got a “tour” of his towns cause he kinda’ keeps the proverbial gate around these towns, posting no trespassing signs everywhere by way of snatching pieces away from curious onlookers, and well, trespassers like me.

Tiles at the front door of the Main Street Deli in Findlay, Ohio

The Main Street Deli

Ceiling tiles at the Main Street Deli.

After Kan Du, it’s time for lunch at the Main Street Deli where the owner hires folks who’ve just been released from prison and those who are homeless. Not only do we get some of the best food ever, but the folks who cook it for us and those who serve it to us provide some of the friendliest customer service I’ve had in a long time. There was a good spirit in that little place, and Tanya says that the owner has never been disappointed by the people she hires.

Our stomachs full and our faces smiling, it’s time to head back to campus for the great unveiling of Quilt #5. Come back by tomorrow and I’ll tell you all about it. Click right this way for part 2 of our time with the folks at Blanchard Valley Cnter.

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Other places to gather around The 70273 Project water cooler:

Shop with Amazon Smile and support The 70273 Project.

Subscribe to the blog (where all information is shared).

Join the English-speaking Facebook group – our e-campfire – where you can talk to other members of The 70273 Project Tribe.

Join the French-speaking Facebook group – our other e-campfire – where you can chat with other members of The 70273 Project Tribe.

Like the Facebook page where you can check in for frequent updates.

Get folks to help celebrate your birthday by making blocks and/or donating bucks.

Follow the pinterest board for visual information.

Post using #the70273project on Instagram. (Please tag me, too, @whollyjeanne, so I don’t miss anything.)

Tell your friends what you want for your birthday.

And if you haven’t yet made some blocks, perhaps you’d like to put some cloth in your hands and join us.