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Nancy Responds to Our Collaboration

June 30, 2018 / jeanne / 0 Comments

A question I am frequently asked is “What does Nancy think about you stitching her drawings?” And the answer is: “I haven’t a clue, not an inkling.”

She doesn’t give any verbal or physical indication that she understands or even recognizes that I am stitching her marks, that we are in collaboration. My only indicator is how our relationship has changed since June 2012 when she began drawing and I began stitching her drawings. In the 39 years I’d known and loved Nancy prior to June 2012, I was an aside existing in the shadow of The Engineer (a.k.a. Andy) because you see, Nancy has always loved Andy more than I love pocketbooks. “Andy, Andy, Andy,” she would say through her face-sized smile, her love and adoration due in part to the natural bond of affection and in part from her Mother’s influence. Mrs. Chambers – or Mama C as I often called her – talked adoringly of Andy, and Nancy followed suit. Though it stung at times, I always understood that Mrs. C’s first concern was for Nancy’s well being. She knew that Andy would always be in Nancy’s life, and regardless of how many years we had on the books, I was still a question mark that she couldn’t afford to invest in wholeheartedly.

Nevertheless, Mama C knew I loved Nancy with every nano-inch of my heart. She made that obvious. When the institution where Nancy lived contacted Mrs. C asking permission to sterilize Nancy (at least they asked, right?), she invited me to lunch to talk about it. When it was time to move Nancy to another facility, she asked me to go down and have a look then let her know my thoughts. When she was in the hospital and couldn’t attend Nancy’s Parents’ Day, I assured her we would go, and when she was on her deathbed, I told Andy that the best gift we could give his mother was to go visit Nancy, take her some strawberries and cookies “for the friends” like Mrs. C. always did, then go back to the hospital with reassurances, stories, and photos of Nancy’s well being. Yes, it didn’t take all that long for Mrs. C. to believe my assurances that Nancy would always be taken care of (something Mr. C. didn’t invest in until he was on his dying bed), and while maybe there was no doubt about that, I would never be blood kin. I get that.

So Nancy was obvious in her love for Andy and tolerated me. That’s how it went for the longest time. Then came June 2012 when the drawings and stitchings began, and since then there are signs that Nancy, too, believes I do and always will love her. I am included in her love talk. I am now considered a “pretty good girl” (Nancy’s highest compliment). She wants to hold my hand when we go walking. She turns to talk to me when we’re in the car. Our togetherness is decorated with signs that I have gained her trust and love, and I credit it all to art.

As to what she thinks about our collaboration, as to her response to seeing her drawings in stitch, I haven’t a clue, so yesterday I asked Andy to show her In Our Own Language 3 on exhibit at the Ross Art Museum on the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University while I recorded her reaction. Have a look, and let me turn the question back on you. What do you see? What’s your interpretation of her reaction? What do you think she thinks / how do you think she feels about our collaboration?

In Our Own Language 3 at the Ross Art Museum in Ohio

June 26, 2018 / jeanne / 0 Comments

Y’all know I haven’t had a minute’s regret about launching The 70273 Project. Not a single minutes much as a nano. And yet . . . a few months ago I found myself going splat.

Splat, I tell you.

I lost myself in the forest of systems and forms and communications and tallying and spreadsheets and planning. I was putting in the hours, but I just couldn’t catch up – something that wears heavily on an accomplishment-oriented gal – and the next thing you know, I caught myself mourning.

Yes, mourning.

I mourned the loss of my sense of humor. I mourned the loss of my creativity. I mourned the loss of my Self. Never one to stew in a vat of victim-flavored self pity for long, I started poking around, and when I found a Call for Entries for an exhibit at the Ross Art Museum called See My Voice, I sprang, took photos, completed the application, and mashed the Submit button. Several weeks later, the email came: 2 out of the 3 pieces I submitted were juried in!

Meet In Our Own Language 3

and Apocrypha 4

For those of you who don’t know, since June 2012, I stitch the drawings – the marks – made by my sister-in-law Nancy. Every time we visit her (about every-other month), The Engineer and I leave a box or two (10ish reams) of paper and bring home the drawings she’s made since our last visit. I bring them home, archive and title them, then I set about stitching. Once I’ve stitched every drawing in a set, the piece becomes part of the In Our Own Language Series. This third piece contains 274 stitched drawings. Apocrypha 4 is a single drawing from her first set of marks.

Taking 3 of the 5 days we had at home between trips, The Engineer and I scampered up to the Ross Art Museum in Delaware, Ohio for a look-see with our own eyes. It was worth it, y’all. It was totally worth it. Not only were we accepted, our pieces hung with some exquisite pieces of fiber art created by some prestigious Makers . . .

Like Susan Shie, for example, of whom I’ve been a long-devoted fan
(And for the record, I’m pointing, not touching.)

And Maria Shell.
Color me another long-time devotee.

and Nancy Gamon: Prospecting

and Jo Thomas, Bittersweet the Rose

and Linda Strowbridge, Splintered

and Tasha Owen, Carnival

and Claire Murray Adams, Anonymous Makers
to name a few.

And though I’m certainly not looking for things to do, I’ve begun 2 more pieces that are yet to be titled and must be completed by this fall. But don’t you fret. I promise not to let The 70273 Project run completely off the rails. I’ll just pull 2-3 all-nighters every week, and y’all, losing the sleep will be totally worth it.

Totally.

Click here to read more about In Our Own Language 1

Here for more about In Our Own Language 2

And here for more about In Our Own Language 3

Then there’s In Our Own Language 16 in which we took a bit of a detour

Quilts on Display at the Minnesota Quilt Show

June 14, 2018 / jeanne / 0 Comments

I”m honored that The 70273 Project is a Special Exhibit at the 40th anniversary Minnesota Quilt Show and Conference June 14, 15, and 16, 2018 in beautiful St. Cloud, Minnesota, and I thought you’d like to see which quilts are on display here.

Quilt 55
Made by Margaret Andrews (USA)
60″ x 68″ / 152cm x 173cm
121 lives commemorated
Completed May 2017

Quilt 65
40″ x 60″ / 102cm x 152cm
55 lives commemorated
Completed July 2017
Pieced by Caribou Quilt Guild (USA)
Quilted by Carol Goodsell (USA)
Finished by Sandy Martin (USA)
Blocks made by:
Jeanne Huebert
Anonymous
Maria Conway
Lee Durbin
Jennifer Eastment
Margaret Williams
Susan Utech
Diane Dresdner
Betty Hedrick
Rosalie Roberts
Linda Heron
Debbie Buckner
Alida Palmisano
Pam Patterson
Faye Cook
Barbara Atwell
Janet Eidem
Chloe Grice
Sandy Martin
Martine Bronca
Sharleen Jespersen
Frances Holliday Alford
Laurel Hotchkiss
Michelle Banton
Carolyn Katzoff
Jennifer Lario Moya
Nancy Fenstermacher
Past Brletich
Glenda Williams
Janine Morrell
Elizabeth Belcher
Caroline Rudisill
Jill Hagererer
Barbara Churchville
Elaine Erickson
Kathleen J.
Reck Patricia Gaska
Elizabeth (Libby) Cook
Brenda Shimshick
Shelly Burge
Staff of Holy Spirit College, dedicated to all with differing abilities

Quilt 74
56″ x 28″ / 142cm x 72cm 28
lives commemorated
Completed February 2017
Blocks made by:
Nicole Marty
Alice Thomas
Suzy Bignau
Anne Vignals
Yolande Clavel
Maite Findeling

Quilt 80
67.5″ x 78.5″ / 171cm x 199cm
90 lives commemorated
Completed February 2017
Pieced by Annie Paire (France)
Quilted and Finished by Chantal Baquin (France)
Blocks made by Citizens of Lentigny, France

Quilt 112
18″ x 22″ / 46 cm x 56 cm
698 lives commemorated
Completed March 2017
Made by Katell Renon, France

Quilt 116
66″ x 35″ / 168cm x 89cm
56 lives commemorated
Completed April 2017
Made by Members of Quilt du Club de Careers
Maryse Carbet
Eliane Pete
Daniele Delvit
Odile Mainguy
Kristine Soufflet

Quilt 121
40.5″ x 50″ / 103cm x 127cm
41 lives commemorated
Completed May 2017
Blocks made by
Marie-Claude Serres
Martine Pages
Viviane Molières
Sue Webb
Anonymous
Claudine Dupont
Annie Delbox
Marie-Annick Couffignac
Christiane Debray

Quilt 138
41″ x 55″ / 104cm x 140cm
62 lives commemorated
Completed August 2017
Blocks made by:
Marie-Claude Serres
Martine Pages
Viviane Molières
Sue Webb
Anonymous
Claudine Dupont
Annie Delbox
Marie-Annick Couffignac
Christiane Debray

Quilt 150
18″ x 22″ / 46 cm x 56 cm
685 lives commemorated
Completed May 2017
Made by Margaret Jackson (UK)

Quilt 152
18″ x 22″ / 46 cm x 56 cm
998 lives commemorated
Completed May 2017

Quilt 177
18.5″ x 22.5″ / 47cm x 57cm
503 lives commemorated
Completed June 2017
Made by Deirdre McConathy (USA)

Quilt 188
18″ x 22″ / 46cm x 56cm
222 lives commemorated
Completed July 2017
Made by Margaret Andrews (USA)

Quilt 199
18″ x 22″ / 46cm x 56cm
547 lives commemorated
Completed July 2017
Made by Nan Ryan (USA)

Quilt 206
40″ x 54″ / 102cm x 137cm
63 lives commemorated
Completed October 2017
Pieced by: Wendy Tuma (USA)
Quilted by Connie Albin (USA)
Finished by: Wendy Tuma (USA)

Quilt 214
46″ x 56.74″ / 116cm x 144cm
50 lives commemorated
Completed November 2017
Pieced by: Patti Lapinsky (USA)
Quilted by Beth Schmidt (USA)
Finished by: Marge Cree (USA)
Blocks Made by:
Patricia Gaska
Margaret Williams
Peggy Lowrie
Faye Cook
Kathy Shaw
Christina Cromwell
Mildred S. (Millie) Long
Margaret Andrews
Nathalie Toulous
Brenda Shimshick
Faye Cook
Jean Fogle
Diane Dresdner
Nancy Weinmister
Lori East
Pam Patterson
Rebecca hart
Susan Utech
Carolyn Katzoff
Carly Burch
Marti Anderson
Jackie Batman
suzanne McCarthy
Jennifer Lario Moya
Anonymous
Michelle Banton
Deborah L. J. MacKinnon and the Kingston/North Kitsop Rotary Club
Janet Tobler, for all those who had no voice
Susan Guild, for Bobbie Cherry and the 70273 people who died
Jeanne Hewell-Chambers, for Brad, Robby, Rachel, Nancy, Kevin, Carol
MJ Kinman, for Bess J. Liversidge and Elizabeth Zelms
Jane Cunningham, for Tania, Taylor, Pete, Tania, Hugh, Marty, Jeannie, Vicki, Sharon, Aiden, Martin, Guy, Don, Murray, David, Craig, Willie, David, Manoli
Frances Holliday Alford, for Linda Rybak
Pam Patterson, for Jack GArland Richie, a World War II veteran and her dad
Rosalie Robers, for Tawna Roberts
Staff of Holy Spirit College, for all those with different levels of ability
Betty Byford, for the 70273 disabled people killed by the Nazis in early World War II

Quilt 249
62.5″ x 66.5″ / 159cm x 169cm
35 lives commemorated
Completed June 2017
Made entirely by Amy Castillo (USA)

Quilt 266
39.5″ x 51.5″ / 100cm x 131cm
31 lives commemorated
Completed September 2017
Made by Sandy Martin (USA)

Quilt 269
21″ x 19.5″ / 53cm x 50cm
613 lives commemorated
Completed August 2017
Made by Philippa Doyle (New Zealand)

Quilt 281
46″ x 35″ / 117cm x 89cm
65 lives commemorated
Completed October 2017
Pieced, Quilted, and Finished by Sophie Brunch
Blocks made by:
Nicolle Merest
Marie Dominique Angais Francine Chartier
Jeannie Leglise
Betty Pecastaing
Pierrette Darrigan
Marie-Catherine Cazeenave
Marie-Ange Bonnet
Nicole Baudet
Marie-Therese Morant
Patricia Ledoux
Micheline Mimaud
Jocelyne Hontabat
Corinne Lesgourgues
Francoise Labarsouque
Christine Amstutz
Sophie Brunch
Dominique Lucat
Marie-Therese Lentz
Christiane Coumailleau
Edmond Rouchaleou
Dany Labernede
Michele Girou
Agnes Bernet
Marianne Darroussat
Francoise Berniolles
Annie Line
Anne-Marie Digeos
Jeanne Denoyer

Quilt 310
21.5″ x 18.75″ / 55cm x 48cm
339 lives commemorated
Completed August 2017
Made by Bev Haring (USA)

Quilt 368
17″ x 21.5″ / 43cm x 55cm
224 lives commemorated
Completed November 2017
Made by Karen Fahel (USA)

Quilt 370
24″ x 23.5″ / 61cm x 60cm
616 lives commemorated
Completed November 2017
Made by Sarah Lauzon (USA)

Quilt 555
18″ x 22″ / 46cm x 56cm
1105 lives commemorated
Completed April 2018
Made by Jeanne Hewell-Chambers, for Rue Opal
and the joy she will bring to all who know and love her

It’s a wonderful, marvelous show because of the wonderful, marvelous people from the show organizers to the people attending. More about the show tomorrow.

~~~~~~~

Other places to gather around The 70273 Project water cooler:

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.

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

Jersey, Channel Island Quilts

May 30, 2018 / jeanne / 0 Comments

Kim Monins and Gisele Therezien have been Ambassadors for The 70273 Project from the get-go (note the quilt numbers), ultimately convincing people in every Parish and most (if not all) of the reporters they contacted to make blocks. They’ve been involved in the project so long, in fact, that Kim was scanning and labeling each individual block just like I do here. That simply was not sustainable, yet I had already counted some of those individual blocks, so I’ve spent many spare minutes sifting through the good information Kim compiled along with my records to make sure I didn’t duplicate blocks. Now it is done, so allow me to introduce you to these beautiful Jersey, Channel Island quilts. Unless otherwise noted, all photos were made by Kim Monins. Don’t the quilts look right at home in this breath-taking landscape?

Quilt #35

Made by Members of the Jersey Modern Quilt Guild
Gisele Therein
Kim Monins
Liz Webb
Anne Hill
Sue Harris
Rosalie Hollis
Lorrain Brogan
Lucy Baker
Becky Porter
Val Porter
Ella Andrews
Jackie Tardivel
Ella Andrews
Angela Rybarczuk
Jenny Marshall
Karen Scott for beautiful people whose individualism never had the chance to shine
Elizabeth Webb for Capt. David Seath who died during the London Marathon 2016

Quilt #87

Quilt # 87 made by Gisele Therezien using blocks
made by Grouville parishioners in Jersey, UK
Janet Harrison
Julie Le Bailly
Christopher Clark
Margaret LeQuesne
Patricia Gurgan for The Doublet Bros.
Mandy Corbett
Dorothy Perriot
Cara Leanne Thomson
Anthea Pomroy
Karen Clark
Mobile Waring
Maureen Harrison
Miriam Higginson
Sylvia Milne
John Edward LeMaistre for Edna and Alan LeMaistre
Charlie McArdle for all those whose fate was sealed with 2 crosses
Ian Webb for Dianne Neal, great Aunt who worked at Bletchlley Park during WW II

Quilt #88

Quilt made by Kim Monins using blocks made by
St. Brelade’s parishioners in Jersey, UK
Joanne Anderson
Margaret Bellee
Anonymous
Cara Bryant
Veronica Bryant
Betty Bullock for Elizabeth Nicholson
Joan Couvain
Maureen Cobon
Sheila de Caux
Betty Ellis
David Ellis
Laura Ferdinando
Sarah Fitz
Julie Long
Charlotte Monins
Daniel Monins
Steve Monins
Mrs. Rita Pinel
Sarah Raper
Fiona Smith
Sheila Sykes
Mrs. Pauline D. Tagg
Eric Vezie
Marlee Vezie
Susan Ann Le Gresley for Almire Norman
Revd Jo Milliner for all the wonderful contributions which those with Downs make to our world
Andy Milliner for all my mentally handicapped pupils I taught in my 30 years in Special Education
Helen Miles for Duncan Brian Sykes (brother born with Down Syndrome) and Autism Jersey

Quilt #89

Quilt made by Gisele Therezien using blocks made by
St. Clement’s parishioners in Jersey, UK
Sarah Weymouth
Natalie Payne
Cassie Leeuwenburg
Muriel Freeman
Irene Beaumont
Jean Anderson
Ann Laframboise
Christine Bunting

Quilt #90

Quilt made by Kim Monins using blocks made by
St. Lawrence parishioners in Jersey, UK
Lynn Bouchard
Mrs. Gladys Dunell
Mrs. Brenda Emmanuel
Jackie Le Brun
Lynne Lusby
Deidre Mezbourian
Mary Mimmack
Mary Moody
Holly-Hope Perrier
Ann Pipon
Sienna Springett
Simone Springett
Theo Springett
Norma Thomas
Margaret Ward

Quilt #91

Quilt made by Kim Monins using blocks made by
St. John’s parishioners in Jersey, UK
Sandra Coutanche
Vivienne Day
Thelma Fry
Carole Gowlett
Suzanne La Marquand
Dary Monins
Pat Monins
Mrs. Jane Osborne
Emily Renouf
Sophie Renouf
Sue Renouf
Stuart Rowe
Denise (Dee) Shrives
Jill Keogh

Quilt #92

Quilt made by Kim Monins using blocks made by
Gladys Dunell for the Parish of St. Lawrence in Jersey, UK

Quilt #93

Quilt made by Gisele Therein using blocks made by
St. Martin’s parishioners in Jersey, UK
Mrs. Barbara Le Troquer
Jo Ann Perchard
Annie M. Richardson
Jane Hardy
Helen Toole
Diana Toole
Carole L Broco
Stephen Gooch
Mr. Michel Le Troquer
Anastasia Stone
Paddy Haversham-Quaid
Alice Ferguson
Susan Cuming for Sheila and Stanislaw Elimek
Lizzie Keogh
Miriam Gotrel-Hill
Megan Gaudin
Marlene Henley
Joan Richard

Quilt #94

Quilt made by Kim Monins using blocks made by
St. Mary’s parishioners in Jersey, UK
Jennifer Bratch
Anne Harris
Sue Heppolette
Sharon Knight

Quilt #95

Quilt made by Kim Monins using blocks made by
St. Ouen Parishioners:
Loretta Cullinaine
Joyce Du Feu
Amy Milner
Emilia Milner
Carolyn Romeril
Mrs. Pauline Syvret
Alex Vautier
Anonymous
Mrs. Brenda Ann Pirozzolo for The Hurel Boys
Theresa Crehan-Ferey for Gary Marck Ferey (husband)

Quilt #96

Made by Kim Monins using blocks made by
St. Peter’s parishioners in Jersey, UK
Joan Adamson
Margaret Finch
Connor Le Cuirot
Val Le Cuirot for April Gren and Ivy Evans
Yolanda Logan
Pippin Newton
Freya Pallant
Brenda Smith
Jean M. Vibert

Quilt #97

Quilt made by Kim Monins using blocks made by
St. Saviour’s parishioners in Jersey, UK
Gisele Therein
Kim Monins
Liz Webb
Anne Hill
Sue Harris
Rosalie Hollis
Lorraine Whiting
Jane Mallet
Ella Andrews
Fatima Dos Reis
Linda Denny
Caroline Glamey
Anonymous
Ella Andrews
Lynsey Hairon
Julie Ferrey
Angela Journeaux
Astrid Corbel & Laura Goldstein
Tina Ware
Kathleen McGill
Linda Denny
Kerry Moisan
Tina Anne Ware
Lynsay Hairon
Linda Denneny
Caroline Blamey
Jane Mallet
Barbara Coram
Pat Derrien
Mary Milon
Janet Averty
Jean Renouf
Beverly Ferey
Margery Gallichan
Sue Quérée
Dawn Heaney for the none survivors
Sadie Le Sueur Rennard for Caroline Monamy

Quilt #98

Quilt made by Kim Monins using blocks made by
Trinity parishioners in Jersey, UK
Jennifer Bell
Anonymous
Philippa Bertram
Eliana Cowslip
Andrea Elcock
Poppy-Anne Elcock
Tammy Fage
Jayne Grochy
Alison Keogh
Karen Minty
Mrs. Margaret Moisan
Sarah Nugent
Jane Powell
Daphne Tingley
Mrs. J. R. Leighton for James Ross and Philip Leighton, our sons
Carol-Anne Philpott for all the people who suffered under the Nazis
Mrs. K. Powell for Victor Amos Letchford who died in France during World War I

Quilt #99

Quilt and blocks made by Kim Monins
for the Parish Of St. Brelade in Jersey, UK

Quilt #133

Quilt made by Kim Monins using blocks made by Jackie le Brun
for the Parish of St. Lawrence in Jersey, UK

Quilt #167

Quilt made by Gisele Therezien using blocks made by
Theresa Crehan-Ferey in memory of her husband
whose racing number was 67.
Photo by Gisele Therezien

Quilt #255

Quilt made by Gisele Therein, using blocks made by Barbara Le Troquer
for the Parish of St. Martin in Jersey, UK

Quilt #260

a Middling made by Sue Harris for the Parish of St. Brelade in Jersey, UK
(I met Sue when I was there to see the exhibit in January 2018.)

Quilt #261

a Middling made by Gisele Therezien
Photo by Gisele Therezien

Quilt # 273

Quilt made by Kim Monins using blocks made by Margaret Bellee,
for the Parish of St. Brelade in Jersey, UK

Quilt #335

Quilt made by Kim Monins using blocks made by
St. Helier parishioners in Jersey, UK

Quilt #336

Quilt made by Kim Monins using blocks made by Lynn Bouchard,
for the Parish of St. Lawrence in Jersey, UK

Quilt #367

Quilt made by Kim Monins using blocks made by Kerry-Jane Warner
for the Parish of St. Helier in Jersey, UK

Information on two Jersey quilts got lost somewhere between
this gorgeous spot of earth and me.
Will post I when the information on Quilt #337 and #394 is found.

And you want to know something fun and thoughtful? When Tari Vickery, The Engineer, and I were there in January 2018 to see the exhibit of all of these quilts at the Jersey Heritage Center, Kim drove us around to see most, if not all, of her photo locations. (Tari, Andy, and I plan to go back and visit One Day. It’s gorgeous.)

The addition of these quilts brings our new Block Count to . . . 41,084!

A huge thank you to Kim and her husband Steve; Gisele and her son Ed; and all the people who commemorated. I can’t wait to visit again.

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Our Commemorations Grow

May 26, 2018 / jeanne / 0 Comments

hands stitching a second red x onto a white piece of fabric

After receiving blocks and quilts from these good people:
Sharleen Jespersen (US)
Nancy A. Erisman (US)
R. Jeffrey Miller (US)
Frederick J. Seitz III (US)
Gabrielle Stephenson (US)
Chester Austin (US)
Alyssa Wilson (US)
Anna M Courier (US)
Michael Williams (US)
Barbara Douglas (US)
Sandra Engstrand (US)
Patti Brletich (US)
Patty Ericsson (US)
Lori Inkel (US)
Helen McPherson (US)
Joyce Thordson (US)
Penny Carpenter (US)
Anonymous
Sheryl Koeur (US)
Karen Dormois (US)
Gayle Jonston (US)
Jeanie Jinkel (US)
Annette Meyers (US)
Laurie Dunn (US)
Mary Vanhecke (US)

Quilt #524 (a Middling)
Laurie Dunn (US)

Quilt #553 (a Long Skinny)
Bev Haring (US)

Quilt #555 (a Middling)
Jeanne Hewell-Chambers

Quilt #558 (a Middling)
Jenny Hicks (UK)

Quilt #559 (a Mini)
Kim Monins (UK)

Quilt #560 (a Mini)
Kitty Sorgen (US)

Quilt #561 (a Mini)
Pam Patterson (US)

Quilt #562 (a Mini)
Pam Patterson (US)

Quilt #563 (a Mini)
Pam Patterson (US)

Quilt #576
with blocks made by:
Linda Hurl (Spain)
Linda Lewis (Spain)
Dee Stephenson (Spain)
Susan Westcott (Spain)
Rita Bowler (Spain)
Jenn Seaborne (Spain)
Debbie Moore (Spain)
Christine Laycock (Spain)
Christine Furnurge (Spain)
Linda Garett (Spain)
Veronica Conway-Smith (Spain)
Sally Ann Cox (Spain)
Barbara Oldham (Spain)
Jan Strange (Spain)

Quilt #577
with blocks made by members of the GT Quilters
(who heard of The 70273 Project from my interview with Sylvia Priest on UKQU):
Ivy Barkhouse (England)
Lynn Banks (UK)
Donna Sales (UK)
Sylvia Priest (England)
Madeleine Stocks (UK)
Dee Ball (England)
Lucy Durston-Birk (UK)
Kay Radford (Australia)
Sheila Chapman (UK)
Amy Watson, leader of GT Quilters (UK)

the number of people we have commemorated is now 39,742.

Though there will be more long-overdue updates in the next few days, we still have more to commemorate, so please keep stitching and sending. And please always remember how grateful I am to have each of you walk beside me on this path.

~~~~~~~

Perhaps you want to . . .
make a Mini
make a Middling
make a Long Skinny
make blocks

SaveSave

A Credo for Support

May 11, 2018 / jeanne / 0 Comments

Today, a letter from Linda Heron, an Ambassador for The 70273 Project . . .

Hi Jeanne,

This was hanging in my new doctor’s office.

It was dedicated to Tracy Latimer, a severely disabled 12 year old who was “mercy killed” by her father . After an extremely long trial that went to the Supreme Court in Canada, he was sentenced to 7 years for second degree murder.

It seems a bit long for the 70,273 facebook page but I thought you should see it.

Also there’s a wonderful video on youtube.

Thanks for all you do,

Linda Heron

Toronto Canada

A CREDO FOR SUPPORT
Do Not see my disability as the problem.
Recognize that my disability is an attribute.

Do Not see my disability as a deficit.
It is you who see me as a deviant and helpless.

Do Not try to fix me because I am not broken.
Support me. I can make my contribution to the
community in my way.

Do Not see me as your client.
I am your fellow citizen.
See me as your neighbour.
Remember, none of us can be self-sufficient.

Do Not try to modify my behaviour.
Be still & listen.
What you define as inappropriate
may be my attempt to communicate with you
in the only way I can.

Do Not try to change me, you have no right.
Help me learn what I want to know.

Do Not hide your uncertainty behind “professional” distance.
Be a person who listens, and does not take my
Struggle away from me by trying to make it all better.

Do Not use theories and strategies on me.
Be with me.
And when we struggle with each other,
let that give rise to self-reflection.

Do Not try to control me.
I have a right to my power as a person.
What you call non-compliance or manipulation may
actually be the only way I can exert some control over my life.

Do Not teach me to be obedient, submissive, and polite.
I need to feel entitled to say No if I am to protect myself.

Do Not be charitable towards me.
The last thing the world needs is another Jerry Lewis.
Be my ally against those who exploit me for their own gratification.

Do Not try to be my friend. I deserve more than that.
Get to know me. We may become friends.

Do Not help me, even if it does make you feel good.
Ask me if I need your help.
Let me show you how you can best assist me.

Do Not admire me.
A desire to live a full life does not warrant adoration.
Respect me, for respect presumes equity.

Do Not tell, correct and lead.
Listen, Support, and Follow.

Do Not work on me.
Work with me.

Norman Kunc and Emma Vander Klift

~~~~~~~

Thank you, Linda, for sending this, for making blocks and quilts, and for all you do to help move us to a time when talk not of disabilities or special needs or developmentally delayed, but simply of people.

~~~~~~~

Other places to gather around The 70273 Project water cooler:

Shop with Amazon Smile and support The 70273 Project (USA only).

Subscribe to the blog.

Receive the occasional XXtra Newsletter.

Join the English-speaking Facebook group.

Join the French-speaking Facebook group.

Like the Facebook page.

Follow the pinterest board.

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

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.

Northwest Festival of Quilts Special Exhibit

May 10, 2018 / jeanne / 0 Comments

Y’all say “Hey” to the quilts that will be on display in The 70273 Project Special Exhibit at the Northwest Festival of Quilts on Friday, 5/11/18 and Saturday, 5/12/18:

a white quilt adorned with pairs of red X's

Quilt #6
57.75″ x 47.25″ / 147cm x 120cm
75 lives commemorated
Completed August 2017

Pieced by Fran Saperstein
Quilted and Finished by Georgeanne Hawley
Blocks made by:
Kitty Sorgen
Elizabeth (Libby) Cook
Faye Cook
Glenda Williams
Bev Wiedeman
Jennifer Shimshick
Jennifer Eastment
Mona Masters
Barbara Attwell
Lois York
Tyler Flores
Linda Heron
Tami Kemberling
Mildred S. (Millie) Long
Carolyn Katzoff
Frances Holliday Alford
Bev Haring
Michelle Banton
Maria Conway
Addison Crowe
Rosemary Claus-Gray
Jennifer Lario Moya
Anonymous
Chloe Grice
Luke Flores
Suzanne Flores
Susan Getchell
Ted Buzzynaki
Linda Reeder
Margaret Williams
Bobbi Penniman
Ada Hewell
Janet Eidem
Steve Jankowsky
Marilyn Fitch
Mary Ann Morris
Catherine S. Bryant
Jane Kennedy
Susie Wheelis
Shea Flores
Laurie Dunn
Pauline
L. G. Wright
Linda Smith
Susan Guild, for Bobbie Cherry and ge 70,273 people who died
Deena Sanders, for the children undergoing gene therapy treatment
Brenda Shimshick, for Beverly Thomas
Lee Durbin, for Tim Durbin
Jeffrey Allen-Kantrowitz, for family members who perished in the Holocaust
Susan Leader, for all who died at the hands of Nazis
Caroline H. Rudisill, for the lost 70,273 and my late sister Susan, whose Special Ed students were so precious to her
Linda Isaacs, for all who are different
Ginger Sauls, for all my former mentally and physically challenged students
Danielle Bohannen, for former students
Elizabeth Belcher, for my father, Lenord White, RAF Pilot, WW 2
Laurel Hotchkiss, for all families who suffered under Hitler
MJ Kinman, for Bess J. Liversidge and Elizabeth Zelms
Linda Davinroy Smith, for Brenda Lynn Muskus and Zachary Cohen
Jeanne Hewell-Chambers, for Brad, Robby, Nancy, Rachel, Kevin, Carol, Alison, Kipp, Marnie, Calder Ray

white quilt covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt #25
59″ x 59″ / 150cm x 150cm
67 lives commemorated
Completed October 2016

Pieced by Andree Traversaz & Evelyne Carrasco
Quilted by Evelyne Carrasco
Blocks made by Members of Quilt de la Ruche des Quilteuses
Evelyne Carrasco
Maité Findeling
Brigitte Janin
Katell Renon
Kristine Toufflet
Andree Traversaz

white quilt covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt #55
60″ x 68″ / 152cm x 173cm
121 lives commemorated
Completed May 2017

Made by Margaret Andrews

white quilt covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt #65
40″ x 60″ / 102cm x 152cm
55 lives commemorated
Completed July 2017

Pieced and Finished by Caribou Quilt Guild
Quilted by Carol Goodsell
Finished by Sandy Martin
Blocks made by:
Elaine Erickson
Kathleen J. Reck
Patricia Gaska
Elizabeth (Libby) Cook
Shelly Burge
Jeanne Huebert
Anonymous
Maria Conway
Lee Durbin
Jennifer Eastment
Margaret Williams
Susan Utech
Diane Dresdner
Betty Hedrick
Rosalie Roberts
Linda Heron
Debbie Buckner
Alida Palmisano
Pam Patterson
Faye Cook
Barbara Atwell
Janet Eidem
Chloe Grice
Sandy Martin
Martine Bronca
Sharleen Jespersen
Frances Holliday Alford
Laurel Hotchkiss
Michelle Banton
Carolyn Katzoff
Jennifer Lario Moya
Nancy Fenstermacher
Patsi Brletich
Glenda Williams
Janine Morrell
Elizabeth Belcher
Caroline Rudisill
Jill Hagemeier
Barbara Churchill
Brenda Shimshick, for Beverly Thomas
Staff of Holy Spirit College, for all with differing abilities

white quilt adorned with pairs of red X's

Quilt #74
56″ x 28″ / 142cm x 72cm
28 lives commemorated
Completed February 2017

Blocks made by:
Nicole Marty
Alice Thomas
Suzy Bignau
Anne Vignals
Yolande Clavel
Maité Findeling

white quilt covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt #80
67.5″ x 78.5″ / 171cm x 199cm
90 lives commemorated
Completed February 2017

Pieced by Annie Paire
Quilted and Finished by Chantal Baquin
Blocks made by citizens of Lentigny, France

white quilt with pairs of red X's

Quilt #81
40.5″ x 85.75″ / 103cm x 218cm
109 lives commemorated
Completed October 2017

Pieced, Quilted, and Finished by Chantal Baquin
Blocks made by:
Dominique Rivas and
other Members of Mon Ile En Patch

white quilt with pairs of red X's

Quilt #103
45″ x 46″ / 114cm x 117cm
41 lives commemorated
Completed June 2017

Pieced & Quilted by Sharleen Jespersen
Blocks made by:
Jennifer Lario Moya
Linda Heron
Michelle Banton
Janet Hartje
Robin Woods
Glenda Williams
Mary Schuberg
Lee Durbin
Faye Cook
Claudia Cross
Christina Cromwell
Janet Eidem
Steve Jankousky
Barbara Atwell
Debbie Burchell
Kathy Shaw
Maria Conway
Elizabeth (Libby) Cook
Caroline Rudisill
Denniele Bohannen
Susan Getchell
Laurel Hotchkiss
John Cheek
Jennifer Eastment
Pam Patterson
Janine Morrell
Nancy Fenstermacher and Barbara Churchville
Desiree Habicht, for daughter Jennifer & to moms with disabled children
Carolyn Katzoff, for John Wies
Margaret Williams, for Nancy Chambers and Jeanne Hewell-Chambers
Elizabeth Belcher, for her father Leneord White, RAF Pilot in WW2
Staff of Holy Spirit College, for those with different levels of abilities
Rosalie Roberts, for Ila Rae Yost
Patsy Brelitch, for Robert and Rebecca Pohlad
Katie Smith, for Josephine Thompson
Patricia Gaska, for Sandy Wild
Brenda Shimshick, for Beverly Thomas

white quilt covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt #105
45″ x 45″ / 114cm x 114cm
37 lives commemorated
Completed June 2017

Blocks made by:
Jennifer Lario Moya
Chloe Grice
Margaret Williams
Michelle Banton
Barbara Atwell
Debbie Burchell
Margaret Williams
Lee Durbin
Anonymous
Caroline Rudisill
Christina Cromwell
Janet Eidem
Glenda Williams
Faye Cook
Jennifer Eastment
Maria Conway
Sharleen Jespersen
Patricia Gaska
Janine Morrell
Linda Heron
Ellzabeth Belcher
Denniele Bohannen
Laurel Hotchkiss
Frances Holliday Alford
Patsi Brletich
Elizabeth (Libby) Cook
Pam Patterson
Deborah L. J. MacKinnon
Debra Steinmann
Debbie Buckner
John Cheek
Carolyn Katzoff, for John Wies
Barbara Winfield, for all who suffered because of bias and hate
Staff of Holy Spirit College, for all those who have differing abilities
Brenda Shimshick, for Beverly Thomas

white quilt covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt #116
66″ x 35″ / 168cm x 89cm
56 lives commemorated
Completed April 2017

Blocks made by:
Members of Quilt du Club de Careers
Maryse Carbet
Eliane Pete
Daniele Delvit
Odile Mainguy
Kristine Soufflet

white quilt adorned with pairs of red X's

Quilt #121
40.5″ x 50″ / 103cm x 127cm
41 lives commemorated
Completed May 2017

Blocks made by:
Marie-Claude Serres
Martine Pages
Viviane Molières
Sue Webb
Claudine Dupont
Annie Delbox
Marie-Annick Couffignac
Christiane Debray

white quilt covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt #131
52.5″ x 83.5″ / 133cm x 212cm
109 lives commemorated
Completed September 2017

Pieced, Quilted, and Finished by Chantal Baquin
Blocks made in France

white quilt covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt #138
41″ x 55″ / 104cm x 140cm
62 lives commemorated
Completed August 2017

Pieced by Kathy Carfagno
Quilted and Finished by Jessica Skultety
Blocks made by Kathy Carfagno

white quilt adorned with pairs of red X's

Quilt #188
18″ x 22″ / 46cm x 56cm
222 lives commemorated
Completed July 2017

Made by Margaret Andrews

white quilt covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt #199
18″ x 22″ / 46cm x 56cm
547 lives commemorated
Completed July 2017

Made by Nan Ryan

white quilt covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt #206
40″ x 54″ / 102cm x 137cm
63 lives commemorated
Completed October 2017
Pieced by: Wendy Tuma
Quilted by Connie Albin
Finished by: Wendy Tuma

Blocks made by:
Connie Albin
Emma Brinkner
Ruth Brinker
Barbara J. Drentlaw, for Lisa Drentlaw, Phillip Drentlaw Barbara J. Drentlaw, Kimberly Drentlaw Anderson Amanda Roberts, for John Raymond Emery
Amanda Roberts, for Eve Myrtle Emery
Lydia Telstra, Loni Warner, Sara Webser, Kiwi Bielenberg, Laurie Larson, Mary Boyum, Dolly Larson, and Allyson Bernsdorff, for the hundreds of babies, children, and adults – and their families – they have worked with and served
Wendy Tuma, for Robert Tuma

white quilt embellished with pairs of red X's

Quilt #214
46″ x 56.74″ / 116cm x 144cm
50 lives commemorated
Completed November 2017

Pieced by: Patti Lapinsky
Quilted by Beth Schmidt
Finished by: Marge Cree
Blocks made by:
Patricia Gaska
Margaret Williams
Peggy Lowrie
Faye Cook
Kathy Shaw
Christina Cromwell
Mildred S. (Millie) Long
Margaret Andrews
Nathalie Toulous
Brenda Shimshick
Faye Cook
Jean Fogle
Diane Dresdner
Nancy Weinmaster
Lori East
Rebecca Hart
Susan Utech
Carolyn Katzoff
Carly Burch
Marti Anderson
Jackie Batman
Suzanne McCarthy
Jennifer Lario Moya
Michelle Banton
Deborah L. J. MacKinnon and the Kingston/North Kitsop Rotary Club
Janet Tobler, for all those who had no voice
Susan Guild, for Bobbie Cherry and the 70273 people who died
Jeanne Hewell-Chambers, for Brad, Robby, Rachel, Nancy, Kevin, Carol
MJ Kinman, for Bess J. Liversidge and Elizabeth Zelms
Jane Cunningham, for Tania, Taylor, Pete, Tania, Hugh, Marty, Jeannie, Vicki, Sharon, Aiden, Martin, Guy, Don, Murray, David, Craig, Willie, David, Manoli
Frances Holliday Alford, for Linda Rybak
Pam Patterson, for Jack GArland Richie, a World War II veteran and her dad
Rosalie Robers, for Tawna Roberts
Staff of Holy Spirit College, for all those with different levels of ability
Betty Byford, for the 70273 disabled people killed by the Nazis in early World War II

white quilt covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt #221
20.75″ x 17″ / 53cm x 43cm
147 lives commemorated
Completed July 2017

Made by Esther Muh

white quilt with pairs of red X's arranged in the shape of a pot of flowers

Quilt #222
16.5″ x 21.75″ / 42cm x 55cm
166 lives commemorated
Completed July 2017

Made by Jan Stone

rows of pairs of red X's atop a white quilt

Quilt #249
62.5″ x 66.5″ / 159cm x 169cm
35 lives commemorated
Completed June 2017

Made by Amy Castillo

white quilt decorated with pairs of red X's

Quilt #262
21.75″ x 17.75″ / 55cm x 45cm
39 lives commemorated
Completed September 2017

Made by Jeffrey Allen-Kantrowilz
In memory of Chaim Giwner, Rochel Zombrbrofsky, Yenta, Jacob Joseph Krimckewitz, and 5 children who perished in Treblinka

white quilt decorated with pairs of red X's

Quilt #266
39.5″ x 51.5″ / 100cm x 131cm
31 lives commemorated
Completed September 2017

Made by Sandy Martin

[Yikes – photo is missing. Will snap one at the festival and enter it Friday night.]

Quilt #269
21″ x 19.5″ / 53cm x 50cm
613 lives commemorated
Completed August 2017

Made by Philippa Doyle

white quilt covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt #281
46″ x 35″ / 117cm x 89cm
65 lives commemorated
Completed October 2017

Pieced, Quilted, and Finished by Sophie Brunch
Blocks made by:
Nicolle Merest
Marie Dominique
Angais Francine Chartier
Jeannie Leglise
Betty Pecastaing
Pierrette Darrigan
Marie-Catherine Cazeenave
Marie-Ange Bonnet
Nicole Baudet
Marie-Therese Morant
Patricia Ledoux
Micheline Mimaud
Jocelyne Hontabat
Corinne Lesgourgues
Francoise Labarsouque
Christine Amstutz
Sophie Brunch
Dominique Lucat
Marie-Therese Lentz
Christiane Coumailleau
Edmond Rouchaleou
Dany Labernede
Michele Girou
Agnes Bernet
Marianne Darroussat
Francoise Berniolles
Annie Line Anne-Marie Digeos
Jeanne Denoyer

white quilt covered with pairs of red X's

Quilt #282
17″ x 21.5″ / 43cm x 55cm
46 lives commemorated
Completed September 2017

Made by Beth Schmidt

white quilt covered with pairs of red X's, large and small

Quilt #310
21.5″ x 18.75″ / 55cm x 48cm
339 lives commemorated
Completed August 2017

Made by Bev Haring

white quilt with pairs of red X's arranged in the shape of a tree

Quilt #368
17″ x 21.5″ / 43cm x 55cm
224 lives commemorated
Completed November 2017

Made by Karen Fahel

white quilt covered with multiple pairs of red X's

Quilt #369
21.25″ x 19″ / 54cm x 46cm
116 lives commemorated
Completed November 2017

Made by Orlando Modern Quilt Guild

white quilt covered with pairs of red X's Quilt #370
24″ x 23.5″ / 61cm x 60cm
616 lives commemorated
Completed November 2017

Made by Sarah Lauzon

So honored to be invited to the Northwest Festival of Quilts, and I hope that if you’re in the vicinity or can get there, you’ll come to the festival so I can call you “Sugar” to your face. Thank you, Maureen Eldred, for all the time and energy you’ve put into making this Special Exhibit happen.

~~~~~~~

Other places to gather around The 70273 Project water cooler:

Shop with Amazon Smile and support The 70273 Project. (US only)

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.

Follow the pinterest board for visual information.

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

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.

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St. John’s Notting Hill Exhibit

May 8, 2018 / jeanne / 0 Comments

a reverend stands before white quilts adorned with pairs of red X's

If you’re in the vicinity of London and would like to see some of The 70273 Project quilts, you must find your way to St. John’s Notting Hill before 10 May 2018. When I first heard from The Rev’d Canon William Taylor, he wrote: “I have been very moved by the exhibition and am working with the Serbian Orthodox Church on the genocide of the Second World War. I would like to offer to hose the exhibition in London after it comes down at Rochester. Would that be possible?”Thanks to the efforts and assistance of Lucy Horner, it was not only possible, this exhibit happened.

3 empty walls waiting for quilts to be hung

the inside of a cathedral

two large banners, each bearing 2 red X's and from the ceiling of a cathedral

a wall covered with quilts with a white base, each filled with pairs of red X's

inside a cathedral

The quilts come down on 10 May 2018, so go on now, scoot. Thank you, William, for displaying the quilts and giving others an opportunity to experience them, and thank you, Lucy Horner, for all the time and energy you continue to devote to The 70273 Project.

Would you like to host an exhibit? Let me know.

~~~~~~~

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Postcards and a Head Scratcher Mystery

May 7, 2018 / jeanne / 0 Comments

8 small quilts

Quilters love mysteries, right? For you non-quilters, a mystery quilt is a fun way to make a quilt from patterns (a.k.a. clues) dribbled out as you go along. You don’t know what the final quilt looks like till the last steps of putting it together.

Well, just this morning, I woke up in room 106 of the Comfort In in Montpelier, Idaho (yes, The Engineer and I are on a road trip going from the Utah Quilting and Sewing Marketplace in Sandy, Utah last weekend to the Northwest Festival of Quilts in Portland, Oregon this-coming weekend – May 11 and 12, 2018) and bless goodness if I didn’t hatch a mystery challenge for The 70273 Project the minute my eyes opened! Here in The 70273 Project Tribe, we celebrate and champion differences, right? So our Mystery will be . . . well, different.

small quilt, white base with two red X's

back of a postcard

If you choose to participate in The 70273 Project Mystery Mystery (and I sure do hope you will ’cause this is gonna’ be fun), here’s what you do:
~ Make and send Minis (The 70273 Project version of a fabric postcard). As many as you can and want to cause I need A LOT of them. Of course I’ll need a Provenance Form with your Minis. (Note: Though you can if you want to, you don’t have to send them individually. You can put them all together in an envelope and we’ll call that a bus trip.)
~ Send picture postcards (or photos, if you can’t find postcards) of landmarks in the area where you live.
~ Send me stories about something that’s quirky and off-the-beaten path about your area. Do y’all have an unusual ritual or celebration that happens every so often? Tell me about it and send photos or postcards. Is there a landmark that you take visitors to see? (Like the geyser in Soda Springs, Idaho that Sandy and Marvin Martin took us to see yesterday, for example.) What would we find on a brochure in the rack in a hotel lobby? Introduce me to your hometown by way of its landmarks, celebrations, statues, small museums – anything that would be on a billboard or in a brochure rack in the hotel lobby. And don’t stop with just one ’cause I know wherever you live is interesting.

four old geysers standing in front of a geyser

Bonus points if you email me photos of your Minis, photos of your picture postcard (or just photos that we’ll call postcards), and your stories before licking the envelope and putting the stamp on.

Start sending as quick as you can, send as many as you can, and don’t stop till I tell you to.

And last but not least, check back here often for more breadcrumbs cause more will be revealed as we go along.

~~~~~~~

Other places to gather around The 70273 Project water cooler:

Shop with Amazon Smile and support The 70273 Project (US only).

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.

Follow the pinterest board for visual information.

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

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.

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Let’s Welcome The Netherlands

May 5, 2018 / jeanne / 0 Comments

04May18

After agonizing over it a while, The Engineer and I opt to go to lunch together, and sure enough what we feared would happen, did. We get back to the exhibit to find a note in our journal from a woman that I would love to have met. Fortunately (1) we eat fast and (2) she comes back, and now you get to meet her, too. Yvonne promises to galvanize the Netherlands and get them into The 70273 Project in a big way. And one detail I’m not sure she mentions in the video: though they’re not Jewish, she and her husband live in a Jewish cemetery. Every year on Memorial Day, school children come in to help clean the graves, put out flowers, and hear stories from Holocaust survivors.

two women stand beside a multi-colored quilt

At the end of the day as we are leaving, we take the circuitous route (we do every day when entering and leaving) so we can view more of the amazing quilts on display, I hear my name and look around to see Yvonne beckoning me over. She’s won a Teacher’s Award ribbon, and oh my goodness is it an award ever well-earned.

a closeup of small quilts sewn together to make a large quilt

a closeup of the border of a quilt

I couldn’t get a photo of the entire quilt because there were so many people standing around admiring it, but I’ll get one today before the crowds arrive and add it here. It is 225 mini quilts stitched together and surrounded by a spectacular border . . . and it’s all hand pieced and quilted. Yes, really.

You know how you meet someone and feel an instant connection and desire to spend more time with them? Well, Yvonne is on that list with so many other people we’ve met along the way. I sense (well, hope) a visit to the Netherlands in my future, and maybe Yvonne and her husband would like to come spend some time atop a mountain beside a waterfall.

I have so many more stories and photos to tell y’all, but when I sit down at the computer at night, I go to sleep! They’ll come. I promise.

I am, however, able to upload a few short videos if you’re interested.

~~~~~~~

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