Issue 3 of CraftSanity Magazine is now available.
Follow CraftSanity on Twitter
A Community Quilt Bee
I’ve had three boxes of fabric piled up in my dining room for weeks now. It’s been sitting there urging me to do something with it, reminding me daily of the commitment I made to do my best to transform it into something wonderful.
I accepted the fabric on behalf of the Craft Club I organize at the YMCA in Grand Rapids. The donor was Mary Dunneback, an 82-year-old woman looking to retire from quilting and get her fabric into good, crafty hands.
When I got the fabric home and began unpacking the boxes, I realized the weight of Mary’s decision to de-stash on her own terms now that she’s no longer able to quilt like she used to. I immediately started working on a plan to orchestrate a large public quilting event. I wrote a column about Mary and invited fabric lovers from all walks of life to join me next Tuesday night to make quilts out of Mary’s fabric. I’m not sure how this quilt adventure will end, but I’m really excited to find out what will happen next Tuesday night when we meet for the first Community Quilt Bee event I’ve ever been a part of.
Mary is the inspiration for this event. Her donation presented a great opportunity to spread the craft to the whole community, so I didn’t want to mess this up.
The response has been wonderful, and if everyone who signed up actually shows we’re going to have a lot of people, including several talented, veteran quilters who have kindly offered to help me show the rookies the ropes. (Thank you!)
Every quilt has a story, and I can’t wait to meet all the people who will stitch a piece of themselves into the ones we’re about to make. Grab your rotary cutters, folks. It’s time to rock this fabric stash!
Even if we overload the power grid at the Y with our irons and sewing machines, I believe this is going to be a wonderful experience. Mary helped build the local craft community by giving away her fabric. Now it’s up to us to stitch it up and get our quilts into deserving hands.
Stay tuned for updates on how things progress, as I plan to document this experience. If you’ve ever organized a community quilt bee, feel free to share any words of wisdom that you think might be helpful.
Have a lovely evening. I’m off to make a sample quilt block with the girls.
Posted: August 28th, 2008 under Charity Crafting, Craft Club, Quilting, Sewing.
Comments: 11
Comments
Comment from Megan
Time: August 28, 2008, 10:55 pm
Oh, how I wish I lived close so I could come too. What a great idea. I write a craft column for my local paper, too, and am trying to think of ways to involve readers more. We’re going to do a Christmas ornament make along in November/December.
Comment from Bev
Time: August 29, 2008, 1:52 am
Wow, aren’t they beautiful? Mary’s generosity is inspiring, and I am sure you will have a wonderful time at the quilting bee. I wish I could come along and help!
Comment from Patricia
Time: August 29, 2008, 5:49 am
What a lovely story! I wish all luck for you and the “bees” and hope to see the beautiful quilt that you going to built together.
congrats,
Patricia
Comment from Turtle
Time: August 29, 2008, 8:00 am
great story, i so wish i lived closer!
Comment from fiona
Time: August 29, 2008, 6:28 pm
what a fantastic project, i cant wait to see what everybody comes up with.Thanks Mary:)
Comment from Sarah
Time: August 30, 2008, 6:02 am
I wish I lived in Michigan so I could be a part of this. Sounds great! Can’t wait to see what you gals make.
I’m part of a group here called Victoria’s Quilts Canada. It is a spin-off of Victoria’s Quilts from the US. We make quilts to donate to people with cancer. There are “Friends” groups all over. Might be something to do with the quilts you make. http://www.victoriasquilts.com/
Comment from Terri
Time: August 31, 2008, 8:03 am
I can’t wait until Tuesday! I am packing up my supplies today!
TerriW
Comment from Monika
Time: August 31, 2008, 9:32 pm
Hello, love the quilts, great range of colors, cannot wait to see what you create with them.
I have just created my new first blog, so please visit and pass word, monikarosecrochets.blogspot.com
and I just opened up my store on etsy, monikarose.etsy.com
please visit
thank you, have a great day, :)
Comment from Stacie.Make.Do.
Time: August 31, 2008, 10:23 pm
My mom just turned 82 and last year she gave a quilt to my daughter with that blue bonnet fabric in the top of your photo featured in the quilt!
I can’t wait to see what your Bee comes up with….
Comment from Kim Dellow
Time: September 5, 2008, 1:55 pm
Oh what a fab idea and wonderful fabrics. Enjoy. Kimx
Pingback from CraftSanity » Community Quilt Bee Day One: Starting With Scraps
Time: September 7, 2008, 9:18 pm
[...] more than two dozen women gathered before a pile of donated fabric for the first meeting of a new community quilt bee. As you may recall, I accepted the fabric on behalf of the Craft Club I organize at the YMCA in [...]
Write a comment