Author: jeanne (Page 15 of 120)

I'm just your basic complicated simple red dirt girl who feels most beautiful when wearing skirts that caper and earrings that dangle. Entering into my Second Life (my tenured phase, I call it), I tell, write, stitch, and perform stories about this time of life when the mythological (and downsized) empty nest is now filled with aging pets, aging parents, a retired husband, and the knowledge that you're living on the finite side of infinity.

Day 1 of the International Quilt Festival

November 3, 2017 / jeanne / 4 Comments

As we cruise to the front of the massive line (to give us time to get ready to greet our visitors) waiting to gain entry to Day One of the International Quilt Festival, a security guard stops me to say, “I love your project. It is the most meaningful project here for me because my dad was a pilot in World War II and spent years in a German prison camp.”

As we get to our Special Exhibits, in comes a text from our son telling me that he’s thinking of me and loves me along with a text from our daughter saying I’m proud of you and love you. Always a grand way to start a day.

The next person I see is Day Brightener Kathee Colman, whom you met yesterday when she stopped by with Patricia A. Montgomery. Kathee gives me my start-the-day-off hug and checked by throughout the day to give hugs of support and encouragement and offer to fetch me water. From here, my day is filled with stories and hugs and smiles and tears from the likes of . . .

Libby Wares and Peggy Conklin from Florida (I met them when I presented
The 70273 Project to the Orlando Modern Quilt Guild last July.

Cindy Cavallo (We’re standing in front of her gorgeous Middling that’s hanging in the Special Exhibit.) An active member of The 70273 Project Tribe,
Cindy also spent the day at the project’s interactive booth.

Sharron Evans

Rose

Patty Spiller

Jennifer (daughter), Susan (mother), and Belinda (daughter).
Susan works with people like Nancy who lives in group homes.
Jennifer promises to take The 70273 Project
back to her school’s art design classes.

Jennifer (niece) and Jan (aunt) – my Bathroom Girls, I call them because when I exited the bathroom, they were waiting on me. “I saw you go in,” Jennifer said, ” and I told Jan, ‘There’s the two red X woman.’ We are captivated by what we’ve read,
and we want to know more about the project.” Of course I told them about it, and true to their word, they stopped by later for a visit with the quilts and me.

And there were the most delightful fifth grade students and teachers who came by to view the quilts and ask projects. They’re from the Pearland, TX Independent School District, and I’m very excited that they want the students to Skype with me later AND they’re going to incorporate The 70273 Project into their curriculum. It’s something they apparently do every year – have the students research something then quilt it. The students were engaged, asked the most thoughtful questions, and showed keen observation skills.
It was a little spot of heaven as I stood there talking to them, remembering
why I so enjoyed teaching fourth graders.
I’m looking forward to hearing from and talking with them more.

Quilting Rock Star Bonnie Bobman came by, and oh the outside-the-box talk we did have.

While Bonnie and I were talking, Quilter Rock Star Pauling Salzman happened by for a chat.

Meet Gilda Hamilton and 2017 IQA Award Winner Pat Connally.

All the while The Engineer and I talk with hundreds and hundreds of people in the Special Exhibit, Peggy Thomas, Cindy Cavallo, and Tari Vickery woman our Interactive Booth in aisle 100, telling more people about the project and inviting them to make Friendship Blocks that Cindy has graciously offered to turn into a Festival 2017 quilt.

Visitors commemorate.

“For the sensitivity and the love
For the memory and the knowledge
For all with two ❌❌
Whoever was taken and whoever lives”

The lovely Evy Styliara penned these words in Greek in her friendship block.
More tears.

Right next door to the interactive booth, Siege Leland with
the Houston Quilt Guild teaches people how to Quilt and quilt with a purpose.

And that’s not all. Across The Pond, Wendy Daws and members of the Kent Association for the Blind and their guide dogs are making tactile blocks and quilts that will fill Rochester Cathedral come January. Photos sent by Wendy and taken by LadyBird Day.

Peggy, The Engineer, and I close out this magical day with our one meal of the day and stories. Y’all know I’m an optimist if I wear all white and drink chocolate martinis, right?

So many stories to tuck away in my heart. So much heartspeak (my name for tears). So much goodness and wonder and compassion and kindness is happening here, y’all. I didn’t get a photo of Robin Moore, but remind me to tell you that story one day because she is a treasure. And there’s so many more that I didn’t get photos of – just know that you’re now permanently a part of my heart, and I look forward to hearing from you as you become part of The 70273 Project Tribe. This is an amazing experience, y’all. There are no words, except Thank you.

~~~~~~~

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.

The Morning After Preview Day of the International Quilt Festival

November 2, 2017 / jeanne / 3 Comments

I told you I’d post every night – I lied – that was the promise of a woman who’s a virgin who’s at the International Quilt Festival for the first time. So we’ll shift into Plan B where I post the morning after.

“You’re the two red X woman,” she says. “I want to know how you came up with the idea.” This is how the day started, and this is Jeanne with Queen Becky. She hung our exhibit – she made us look GOOD.

I overhear her say, “I’m Sherri Lipman McCauley, and I’m here to work at the SAQA booth.”
“Hey, Sherri of SAQA,” I said from across the way. “I’m Jeanne Hewell-Chambers, and I’m a member of SAQA, too. Thank you for being here to keep he booth open.”

“OH, you’re the two red X woman,” she rather exclaimed as she spies my name tag. After that there are hugs and tears and stories. When she was 12 years old, she and her sister babysat for a man who had numbers printed on his wrist. “Don’t you ever ask him about those number,” her mother admonished them before they went on their first babysitting gig.” Now she knows why.

Andy, Peggy Thomas, and I work to set up The 70273 Project Interactive Booth #150. The Engineer prepares the thread caddies we’ll be selling to raise money for the project. Each thread caddie is designed and handmade by the talented wood artist Heather Muse, and a generous 40% of the proceeds benefit The 70273 Project. I’ll be posting an order form as soon as I have a minute. Till then, you can just message me and let me know to hold one for you. And if you have an idea of something we could sell or do as a fundraiser, let me know that, too.

Queen Becky, Rose Williams, and Peggy hang quilts in The 70273 Project Interactive Booth #150. Queen Becky and Rose (who taught special ed) marvel at the different pairs of red X’s in the quilt made by members of Kitty Sorgen’s family.

Positively Peggy Thomas in The 70273 Project Interactive Booth #150.

Booth #150. None of us has ever been to Festival before, and while we may not know what we’re doing and how to best represent The 70273 Project, we know where our hearts are, and we let them guide us.

The equally effervescent Tari Vickery arrives in the afternoon, and soon after, we whisk her away to see the Special Exhibit. Here we see her standing in front of a Middling made by Katell Renon.

Early in the project, Robin Woods sent not just blocks but a handwritten note about potential marketing avenues, and finally we meet in person. What a treat, a delight, a font of helpful information she is!

I meet these two fun, charming women before I had the good and useful idea to snap photos of name tags. If you see yourself here, please let me know your names.

It takes a while before Ricka Neuman and I can talk through the tears.

Meet Beth Conlin and Kendra Carroll, Quilt Angels extraordinare. “We want to get up close to the quilt,” they told me, “and touch it because WE CAN.”
I am so grateful to have them close by.

Oh my goodness the conversation Lynea from Utah, Sharon from Calgary, and I enjoy. Sharon has a long, full career of working with people with all sorts of special needs, and it’s obvious that she loves what she does. I hope that families who get to work with her how lucky they are. When I tell them about Nancy, Lynea (whose mother took the name from a steamy French novel she was reading at the time) walked away, and when she comes back, she has tears streaming down her face. Turns out she, too, has a sister named Nancy who is also 57 years old and who has mental development issues.

Gloria, seen here in the red shirt, looks at the Middling made by Chantal Trouillot, sees the tiny scroll curled up in the upper righthand corner, and says, “That makes me think of the Torah.” So many people see something in these quilts that I’d never considered. I’ll tell you later.

Sandy (white shirt) is married to Bill who, as a result of contracting polio when he was 18 years old, is paralyzed from the waist down. Doctors told him he would never walk again, but he taught himself how. “He walked with a stiff gate, but he walked,” Sandy tells me, “until he fell so many times that he stretched out something.” And not only did Bill walk, he is a true – as in I’m not kidding – rocket scientist. “He’s brilliant,” Lois tells me, “absolutely brilliant.” Sandy made this astonishing quilt that hands in the booth behind and Lois (from Alabama) quilted it.

Sue Harrison, who lives in Durham, Kent, UK, came by and I show her the Middling (top) made by Margaret Jackson, who’s an Ambassador for The 70273 Project in – say it with me – Durham, Kent, UK.

“I sent blocks in, and she wrote me a thank you note,” Bunnie Jordan of Virginia tells her friends. “Yeah, well, I’m a wee little bit behind on my thank you note writing,” I tell them.

When Patricia A. Montgomery and Kathee Colman come by, they tell me they read about The 70273 Project and were determined to see it tonight. “Thank you,” they each said as they hugged me. When I find out that Patricia (left) made the spectacular Civil Rights coats that are on display, I spontaneously hug her and say, “Thank you.”

Michelle was our last visitor on this glorious night. She says that when her friend, Frances Alford, told her about The 70273 Project, she made sure she got over to see it on the first night. Less than a moment after this picture was snapped, tears flowed from our four eyes. I didn’t get your last name, Michelle, so perhaps you and/or Frances will let me know?

Thank you to all who stop by to share your stories and your reactions. It is an emotional night, with many good tears being shed. Tears of joy and gratitude and compassion. I met so many kind, creative people tonight – my heart swells even more.
It is a night I’ll never, ever forget.

Peggy, The Engineer, and I enjoy a pizza and a drink afterwards as we swap stories and bask in the afterglow of a night well spent and much enjoyed.

As we walk back to the hotel, we find ourselves totally caught up in the celebration of the Houston Astros winning the World Series. There was much whooping and hollering and horns honking – even from me (well, not the horn part) – and I wrote baseball off umpteen years ago when the Atlanta Braves players decided multi-million dollar salaries weren’t enough for them and went on strike without giving a nanosecond thought about the people who depend on the considerably smaller amounts of money they make selling hot dogs and beer and cleaning up after games. That wasn’t forgotten, but the celebratory joy was, indeed, infectious.

~~~~~~~

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.

International Quilt Festival 2017, Get Ready Days 1 and 2

November 1, 2017 / jeanne / 0 Comments

The annual International Quilt Festival held in Houston, TX is mecca for quilters and cloth enthusiasts. It has long been my dream to attend, and this year I am here with The Engineer and many others I’ll tell you about as the week goes on, to give voice to The 70273 Project Special Exhibit of quilts. Such an honor to be selected.

When it was time to pack up the quilts after the First Major European Exhibit in Lacaze, France last June, Katell Renon gave us this purple suitcase that is now part of The 70273 Project Fleet. Were I to decorate it with bumper stickers from all the places it’s been since arriving on US soil, you wouldn’t be able to see the purple, so thank you again, Katell!

We flew into Houston yesterday, dropped our bags, and trekked right on over to the convention center where we had the delightful pleasure of meeting Terri Winsauer, and Deann Shamuyarira live and in person. These two and Becky Navarro are My Dream Team. I know they must be frazzled and exhausted, and yet I have never seen them in anything other than a smile, and oh the patience!

The Festival Special Exhibits Dream Team did an amazing, astonishing, outstanding job designing and hanging our exhibit. And it’s so big! There are 4 long walls, one short wall, and two end walls where two long walls come together.

Frances Alford happened by, and what fun it was to meet her live and in person. She’s every bit as effervescent in person as she is on Facebook. Frances has a beautiful quilt on display at Festival, a self portrait. Click on the link to see it as her profile photo. For some reason, the hotel’s internet won’t let me transfer the photo from my phone to the computer, and my blogging software won’t accept the saved image from her fb profile, so yeah. Just click over and have a look.

I got to meet the amazingly productive and fun Desiree Habicht, her husband Randy, their daughter Jen, and Jen’s service dog, Chloe. What fun! If you’re reading this and will be at Festival, be sure to find Desiree in her vendor’s booth and maybe treat yourself to a few things.

And tonight Peggy Thomas, The 70273 Project Chief of Nectar, arrived!

I’ll leave you with some bird’s eye view photos The Engineer took of The 70273 Project Special Exhibit and a promise to post every night about the day’s happenings and profile quilts in the exhibit, so y’all come back now, ya’ hear?

~~~~~~~

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.

Making Minis

October 10, 2017 / jeanne / 1 Comment

A Mini Made by Cindy Cavallo

A Mini made by Kim Monins, Jersey, Channel Islands U.K.

Just in time for #GlobalBlockDay and Blockapalooza, a new way to make quilts: fabric postcards which will be called Mini Quilts or Minis for short. The spark for this idea goes to Jennifer Lario Moya who tucked the cutest mug rug into a batch of blocks, and one thing led to another, and here we are talking about how to make Minis.

A Mini made by Pam Patterson

To keep things creative to make and visually interesting to look at, there are some familiar guidelines/rules and some new guidelines/rules:

Minis must be made of fabric.
Minis are 6″ x 4″ / 15cm x 19cm – that is 6″/15cm wide x 4″/10cm tall. Think landscape or horizontal orientation.
Minis must have 3 layers: a top, stiff middle; backing. Top and backing must be fabric.
The top must be of white or slightly off white background, just like the quilts.
Backing fabric can be whatever you choose, though many of the samples made by veteran postcard makers feature a light colored backing fabric so it can be made to look like a postcard.
Include as many pairs of red X’s as you like on the front of the Mini, but they must be presented in pairs, just like in Middlings, and each pair of red X’s will be considered a commemoration.
You must tell me on the Provenance Form how many pairs are in each Mini (so I don’t have to count!). You may send one Provenance Form with a batch of as many Mini Quilts as you want to create, and each Mini Quilt must have a note attached telling me the number of commemorations (pairs of red X’s) on that particular Mini.
Please no words, numbers, names, drawings, or symbols, etc. on the front – only pairs of red X’s.
Feel free to write a note or a favorite quote or make a drawing on the back, but say it with me: not on the front.
Embellishments (beads, lace, ribbons, textured fabrics etc.) are welcomed.
Edges must be finished in red or white.
If mailing them as postcards, check with your local post office for mailing regulations. (See notes below for more info.)
Even if you mail them in envelopes, please get the Minis hand canceled so that when they’re displayed, viewers can see how far they traveled.
Remember that the backs will often be displayed, so don’t write anything (like your address) you don’t want the world to see.

Another Mini made by Pam Patterson

Minis Made by Jennifer Lario Moya

PLANNING COMMITTEE
Thank you and thank you big to these people for teaching me about fabric postcards, making samples, and helping me figure out how to turn them in to Minis for The 70273 Project:
Betty Hedrick
Carolyn Katzoff
Chantal Baquin
Janet Hartje
Jennifer Lario Moya
Kim Monins
LindaMarie Davinroy Smith
Margaret Andrews
Marjorie Holme
Pam Patterson
Suzanne McCarthy

From Pam Patterson

From Pam Patterson

From Kim Monins

From Cindy Cavallo

MAILING

Just mailed my postcards. Because they are fabric, the postal service was going to treat them as a parcel and put one of those ugly stickers all across it, even after I specified “hand cancellation”. After I said WAIT! the post lady did not apply the sticker. I explained to her I needed it to really be handcancelled (stamped with a stamper.) Since the post office rules did not allow that, we came up with a plan for her to handcancel the fabric and then mail all three postcards in a mailer. It cost $3 and something cents to mail all three that way. Mission accomplished. ~ Pam Patterson
The US post office will mail postcards without envelopes only if they’re thinner than 1/4″. ~ Marjorie Holme
I don’t know a lot about the French Post Office, I probably wouldn’t send it except inside an envelope. ~ Chantal Baquin
Fabric postcards are an art form in themselves. postal art. That has gone thru the post in a normal way, with a PO cancelled stamp. ~ Kim Monins
If I put my fabric postcards in a clear envelope, my local post office made me put the stamp on the envelop and wouldn’t take time for hand cancelling. ~ Janet Hartje
Clear envelopes protect any embellishments like beads etc. I have occasionally mailed in a clear envelope but get thE PO to hand cancel the stamp before sealing it. So it’s ‘legal’ AND looks like it’s made its journey! ~ Kim Monins

A Mini Made by Kitty Sorgen

TECHNIQUE

I’ve made a bunch of fabric postcards. As long as it’s less than 1/4″ thick, it mails with regular first class letter postage. I usually use the thick double fusible pellon, like is used for fabric bowls. I fuse plain muslin to the back and draw a traditional postcard back design with half for message and half for address. On the other side I fused my collaged/embroidered/stamped fabric piece. I prefer hand stitching so I usually buttonhole stitched the edges…most people use a machine stitch zigzag over the edge. It’s best to secure any embellishments, like buttons, well. Smaller things can be trapped under a layer of netting or tulle. ~ Marjorie Holme
Minis need a tiff middle which can be interfacing, buckram, Pellon or the like. ~ Kim Monins
Just as on blocks, red X’s can be painted, embroidered, hand stitched, appliquéd – apply them any way you choose.

I think these Minis will add much visual interest to exhibits, and they will fit into spaces where big quilts won’t. We welcome experienced fabric postcard makers, those who’ve been meaning to make fabric postcards, and those who never thought about it before, but adopt a why-not attitude and dive right in. We welcome Minis and look forward to seeing many of them on social media as you post on 14 October 2017, Global Block Day! If you have anything to add, please leave a comment or email me. And hey, thanks for telling all your friends ’cause I know you’re popular.

SaveSaveSaveSave

SaveSave

Gentle People, Thread Your Needles

October 7, 2017 / jeanne / 0 Comments

Q: What October 14 is?
A: The 20 month birthday of The 70273 Project

Q: How will we celebrate?
A: We’re throwing a Blockapalooza!

Let’s see how many blocks we can make on that one day – October 14, 2017.

Participation is easy:

Cut a piece of white or nearly white fabric in one of these sizes: 3.5×6.5″ or 6.5×9.5″ or 9.5×12.5″ 2)
Put two red Xs on it. Don’t sew? Don’t let that stop you cause there are many ways to lay those two red X’s down on the base of white or near-white fabric. You can use paint, permanent marker (red Sharpies work swell), ribbon, fabric, lace, embroidery, stencil, – whatever method you choose. If you enjoy sewing, you stitch those two red X’s down any way you want to. These quilts will not be washed, so don’t worry too much about the red being colorfast. No words, no numbers, no drawings or symbols – just two red Xs. That’s all that goes on the blocks. That’s it. Period.
Grab yourself a badge like the one above and share on social media on October 14 (or even before to build enthusiasm and give folks time to gather supplies) to help us get the word out and encourage your friends become involved. Use the hashtags #globalblockday and #the70273project to show us your blocks or quilts and to let us know how many people you’ve commemorated.
Repeat as many times as desired.
Get involved and get others involved. Let folks know you’re participating by mashing the “going” button on the Facebook event then invite your friends and make a pledge in the comments. Pen a blog post about Global Block Day or invite me to write one for you. Or maybe you’re a shop or a library or an organization or an individual who’d like to host a physical or virtual Global Block Day Event and write a post for me? Let me know.
Fill out a Provenance Form and mail with your blocks or quilts.

A few notes . . .

If you have blocks, a quilt made from your blocks, or a Middling you’re working on and just haven’t gotten around to finishing, get that needle in motion so it can be included in our numbers for Global Block Day or Blockapalooza.
Can’t stitch on October 14? I’m gonna’ make it easy for you: Global Block Day is October 14, and Blockapalooza starts today, October 7, and runs till November 14 to allow time for stitching and shipping. Blocks, Middlings, or quilts made from your own blocks received by me or an Ambassador by the end of 11/14/17 will be counted as Global Block Day/Blockapalooza contributions and added to the official block count.
If you have a stack of blocks or a Middling or a quilt made from your blocks that you’ve been meaning to get in the mail but just haven’t gotten around to it, get around to it in time for me to receive it by November 14. If you’re in Europe, let me know and I’ll put you in touch with a 70273 Project Ambassador near you.
Though they won’t be added to the official block quilt until received by Ambassadors or me, 70273 Project Ambassador Tari Vickery will be donning her green visor to keep a tally on 10/14/17 Global Block Day and keep us updated, so check in often to watch the numbers grow as this big beautiful rock we call Earth makes its way around the sun. After Global Block Day, look for Blockapalooza updates on the blog.
Join The 70273 Facebook Digital Campfire, like The 70273 Project Facebook, or subscribe to the blog to stay in the loop.
A big Thank you to 70273 Project Ambassador Sarah Jespersen Lauzon for creating the badge and easy-to-follow instructions. Please use the badge and share this post as often as possible to let others know about The 70273 Project and to encourage them to participate.
Another big Thank you to 70273 Project Ambassador Lucy Horner for researching and creating the hashtag #GlobalBlockDay.
And last but not least, a big Thank you to y’all for helping us remind and/or convince the world that Every life has value. Every. Single. Life.

Now let’s get busy commemorating.

SaveSave

The 70273 Project in Germany

October 6, 2017 / jeanne / 0 Comments

In Germany, Uta Lenk, German Ambassador for The 70273 Project is quite busy. . .

She just finished quilting The 70273 Project Quilt #265 containing 117 commemorations made by Conny Fleck and members of The Quilter vom Junfernkopf.

Uta and Chantal

Last month while waiting on the shuttle when attending the Ste. Marie-aux-Mines in France and, Uta spied two red X’s on a name tag and met Chantal Baquin, a 70273 Project Ambassador from France.

The Engineer and I had so much fun with Uta and her son
when they came for a visit in late August of this year.
There was stitching,

boating

sliding down web, slippery boulders

eating fast food

and did I mention stitching?

When she’s not quilting or teaching or dying fabric or traveling or attending quilt gatherings, Uta writes blog posts and makes blocks to commemorate those we honor. If you’re in Germany or the vicinity of Germany and want to make blocks or quilts, let me know and I’ll put you in touch with Uta or go direct and leave her a comment on her blog. Thank you, Uta, for bringing Germany to The 70273 Project.

xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx

How are you shaping your involvement in The 70273 Project? I’d love to talk to you, so please let me know what’s happening in your studio and in your part of the world.

xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx

Make blocks.
Make Middlings.
Make quilts.
Subscribe to the blog.

SaveSave

Things Are A-Buzz Across The Pond

October 5, 2017 / jeanne / 2 Comments

I met Lucy Horner in an online photography class, and fell immediately in love with her exquisite photos and her enthusiastic, can-do personality. Though she undoubtedly had no idea what she was in for, it sure was a lucky day for me when she heard of The 70273 Project and offered to collect blocks in her area of the U.K. She is an amazing, talented dynamo of a woman, and I am hugely awed and grateful by all that is going on in her neck of the woods across The Pond. Writes Lucy in her most recent update . . .

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Friday 13th October 7.30pm St Stephens Church, Maidstone Rd, Chatham ME4 6JE … We will be having a ‘Putting Together’ Evening. If you are an experienced sewer with your own machine, please bring it along to St Stephens and help us start putting together the Rochester Cathedral Quilts. Thank you to those of you who have already volunteered to put together quilts – YOU’RE AMAZING! If you can help put together a quilt but don’t live near to Medway then do get in touch – bundles of blocks can be sent XX Email: Lucy for more info and if you can come along to St Stephens.

Friday 10th- Saturday 11th November 10 am-4.30 pm (4 pm on Saturday) – The Autumn Quilt Festival, Kent Showground, Detling, Kent ME14 3JF. Lucy and her Team 70273 will be block making and putting together quilts at the Grosvenor Show What better way to commemorate Armistice Day in 2017 – making blocks and quilts for The 70273 Project. Click on the link above for full details.

XX xx XX XX xx XX xx XX xx xx XX xx XX XX xx XX xx xx XX xx XX XX xx xx

Thank you thank you thank you XX Thank you to all of you wonderful people at The Great British Sewing Bee LIVE who stopped and made blocks, pledged blocks and have promised to give our Project wings by getting their sewing groups, schools and community groups involved back home. Thank you to Berol, Bev, Debs, Edina, Gabby, Linda, Louise, Lydia, Sal and Sally who donated their days to run the stand. To Upper Street Events for the opportunity to spread our message, and to our fellow stand holders for making blocks and donating fabric & ribbon XX

Here are some photos from The Great British Sewing Bee Live, and I love how they contain the meditation of people stitching to remember somebody, the connection and chat with whoever they are sitting next to, and the happiness at contributing to this beautiful blanket of love that we want to wrap the world in.

Val flew over from Toulouse to be at the show and was delighted and surprised to see two of the French Quilts being displayed at The Great British Sewing Be LIVE. She contributed blocks to the quilts that were displayed in Lacaze, in the South of France back in June. Twenty of these quilts are now doing a UK tour, and will be on display in Durham and Rochester Cathedral next year.

This week is National Inclusion Week, and this year the theme is ‘Connect for Inclusion’. This could be the perfect week and way to introduce The 70273 Project to groups, schools and colleges.

And big thanks to Louise Back for cutting all those 100’s and 100’s of blocks up for TGBSBL! If you’ve got sheets and white fabric to donate then let us know!

271 blocks arrived through the post this week … many from people who pledged to make blocks at TGBSBL. Jill Nibloe sent a letter with hers which sums things up beautifully:

‘Dear Ladies, I am very pleased, proud and humbled to take part in this Project. I have worked for many years supporting secondary school students with learning difficulties, so when I saw the stand at the Sewing Bee show I was hooked. I had no idea about Aktion T4 so this is a way of spreading love around the world and perhaps atoning a little for all the ‘wrongs’ that happen. Many thanks and lots of love.’ Lots of love to you Jill! We salute you! XX

Photo By Clive Tanner

Photo By Colin Tolhurst

And finally, The 70273 Project received a royal block when the Countess of Wessex visited Rochester Cathedral and she took time to make her own commemoration. The Countess was visiting the newly opened Cathedral Library and also touring the tactile timeline in the Textus Roffensis exhibition space which the incredibly talented and delightful Wendy Daws and the Kent Association for the Blind Medway Art Group were involved in, as well as The Crypt Glass Manifestation which was created and designed by artists from the Kent Autistic Trust. Both of these groups will be involved in creating the altar hanging for The 70273 Project which will be on display in the Cathedral from Mid January to early March.

xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx

A hearty Thank you to you, Lucy, and the dynamic Team 70273 you’ve put together. I can’t wait to be over there next year and meet y’all in person.

xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx

Other places to gather around The 70273 Project water cooler:

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.

If you’d prefer to work solo and need a little more room to spread your creative wings, consider making a Middling.

Block Count Update!

October 1, 2017 / jeanne / 0 Comments

Block #17311 by Christine Prades

I’ve had a productive week while feeding, chauffeuring, and otherwise tending to our daughter during her post-surgery complications. I’ll tell you about all those exciting things in various blog posts to come. Today, I’ll cut right to the chase and give you the block count info. This week I checked in blocks from:
Malek Suleiman (US)
Jennifer Suleiman (US)
Sylvie Keryhuel (FR)
Mireille Grot (FR)
Evelyne Ollivier (FR)
Isabelle Comte (FR)
Annie Hemmerlin (FR)
Catherine Guignol-Moraine (FR)
Agnes Rozenknop (FR)
Anne-Marie Andrau (FR)
Marianne Petition (FR)
Evelyne Lattore (FR)
Chantal Benoudiz (FR)
Annick Petit (FR)
Suzanne Mounters (FR)
Aline Bouchard (FR)
Bethany Sharpton (US)
Amy Castillo (US)
Jeffrey Allen-Kantrowitz (US)
Carlyn Clark (US)
Wendy Caton Reed (US)
Barbara Williamson (US)
Jeffrey Bovee (US)
Becky Ludden (US)
Joanne Sowa ((US)
Alisa Stedman (US)
Sophie Hudson (UK)
Pauline Jennings (UK)
Alida Palmisano (UK)
Avril Bond (England)
Sue Maudling (England)
Ros Masrin (UK)
Karen Bingham (UK)
Jean Higgins (England)
Ginny Crosthwait (US)
Janet Eidem (US)
Carolyn Katzoff (US)
Barbara Ellis (US)
Dian Dresdner (US)
Sam Bell (Scotland)
Jean Dargie (Scotland)
Pamela Cameron (Scotland)
Elsie Swales (Scotland)
Roger Clare (Scotland)
Patricia Menzies (Scotland)
Teresa Parnham (Scotland)
Jean Iso (UK)
Liz Crichton (Scotland)
Sally Bennett (Scotland)
Sylvia Clark (Scotland)
Anonymous

and a quilt from:
Quilt 264 Edna Dorris (US)
(Don’t panic if you sent quilts in. I have 3 to 5 boxes that I simply haven’t had time to open yet, and I’m sure there’ll be more waiting for me when I get back up on the mountain.

I assigned several more quilt numbers and have other quilts yet to be checked in. I was interviewed several times, and did A LOT of infrastructure work that we’ll talk about later. For now, let’s get an answer to what we all want to know: how many blocks do I have right now?

Are you ready?

As of right now, our official block count stands at :::::: 24,720! Maybe one of you mastheads can figure out what percentage that is, all I know is that’s a lot of blocks checked in since our last update 12 days ago. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page and look at how our graph tube is filling up! And I know there are thousands of blocks being stitched and quilts being made around the world even as I type, so please keep commemorating and sending them in. And always, always, always, Thank you.

~~~~~~~

Other places you might want to visit:
The Introduction Post
The English-speaking Facebook Group (Our Digital Campfire)
The French-speaking Facebook Group
The Facebook Page
To Subscribe and Have Blog Posts Delivered to You
Block Instructions
To Make and Register a Quilt
To Make Middling Quilts
To Make Long Skinnies Quilts
Pinterest Board

SaveSave

Just Look at These Blocks from Scotland

September 28, 2017 / jeanne / 0 Comments

What are the chances I’d open two envelopes from Scotland as I check in blocks today? (I should’ve bought a lottery ticket!)

Sam Bell sent these beautiful blocks – one in each size – and a copy of the Spring 2017 issue of The Quilter magazine, the periodical of The Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles because on page 9 is a short article about The 70273 Project and the good work U.K. Ambassadors Mary Turner, Margaret Jackson, and Chrissy Fitzgerald are doing along with other members of the Coxhoe Quilters.

Envelope #400 is filled with many blocks and this delightful note from Petrina Menzies, a Development Worker at The Session House & Open Learning Centre in Perthshire . . .

Dear Jeanne,
Enclosed are the blocks made from a very small group of ladies in Perthshire Scotland. Working on the blocks gave the ladies time to give thoughts and prayer to something that we had all forgotten. Thank you to you for spreading the word about your wonderful project.
Yours sincerely,
Petrine Menzies

Made by Jean Iso

Made by Liz Crichton

Made by Teresa Parnham

Made by Teresa Parntiam

Made by Sylvia Clark

Made by Sally Bennett

Made by Petrine Menzies

Made by Elsie Swales

Made by Jean Dargie

Made by Pamela Cameron

And there were a few blocks made by people who wish to remain anonymous.

Big thanks to all the people in Scotland who’ve made blocks and who will make and send blocks. We still have many people to commemorate, though, so keep stitching, y’all.

~~~~~~~

SaveSaveSaveSave

Blocks Being Made Around the World

September 24, 2017 / jeanne / 0 Comments

More block drives, y’all . . .

Susan Luff sends photos from today’s Block Drive and Workshop for The 70273 Project organised by Edina Geering and held in Culverstone Community Centre in Meopham. “An amazing amount of love has gone into making all these blocks – it was a pleasure to be able to help,” writes Susan. “It was also quite chilling and surreal as I was sewing today to imagine that I was sewing someone’s life.”

L to R: Susan and Edina

Our Edina fell and dislocated her toe, leaving her foot a colorful array of bruises. She will be at The Great British Sewing Bee tomorrow as scheduled, but she needs help, so if you’re going, please consider volunteering your time for at least a little while.

The amazing, dynamic Lucy Horner sends these photos from The Great British Sewing Bee today where more blocks were made and pledged:

Three Generations of Women Stitching Blocks for The 70273 Project

And over in Franklinton, Louisiana, Mary Teresa Green held a workshop for the Queen Bees Guild and sends these photos and words:

“Today I hosted a 70273 Block Making Party at one of my quilt guilds, The Queen Bees of Franklinton, LA,” Mary writes. “The members had a great time and took a lot of white squares and red fabric to make blocks. In Franklinton, Louisiana. One member who wasn’t able to make it to the meeting even texted me photos of two blocks she made ahead of time. Everyone was very moved and motivated. The members will continue to make blocks and bring hand them in to me to send to you. The Queen Bees have two steadfast rules: leave your bad attitude at the door and you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. Those rules make for a laid back group that is amazingly productive.”

So many people being commemorated with reverence and beauty. Please keep making blocks, Middlings, Long Skinnies, and block quilts, encouraging your friends and family to join in, and send me photos and stories. I’ve got some important news coming out over the next few days, so be sure you either subscribe to the blog or check back here frequently so you’re always in the know.

SaveSave