Tag: 70273 recap (Page 4 of 7)

It was a week of medical offices and health concerns as our daughter suffered a concussion after being hit in the head not once but twice as she performed on stage. We are watching her closely, and we thank you for your good, healing thoughts.

It was a week of storytelling, as The Engineer and I attended the annual storytelling festival in Jonesborough, TN where I did what so many of you do: stitched, answered questions from inquiring onlookers, and handed out cards to those who were interested.

It was a week of weather as Hurricane Matthew teased, taunted, and tormented the coasts of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Even though some members of The 70273 Project tribe are still without power as I pen this post, I are relieved and grateful that so far as I know now, nobody was injured.

It was a week of visits as I have now been contacted by people in 95 countries.

It was a week of receiving mail. Thanks to the generous compassionate creativity of:
Margaret Andrews (MO, USA)
Kelly Beman (NH, USA)
Jackie Batman (ON, Canada)
Monique Rans-Gregorie (Nivelles, Belgique)
Laurie Dunn (PA, USA)
Colton Dunn (Laurie Dunn’s 3 year old grandson)
Jerrod Dunn (Laurie Dunn’s 5 year old grandson)
Steven Dunn (Laurie Dunn’s 8 year old grandson)
Sophia Holdren
Jessie Holdren, Jr. (Laurie Dunn’s 21 month old grandson)
Marlesa Dunn
Debbie Burchell (ON, Canada)
Thomas W. B. Hough (ON, Canada)
Monica Denison (ON, Canada)
Ian Jeffrey (Debbie Burchell’s 4 year old grandson)
Ava Jeffrey (Debbie Burchell’s 5 year old granddaughter)
Chelsey Burchell (ON, Canada)
Christina Cromwell (ME, USA)
Margaret Williams (GA, USA)
Pam Patterson (TX, USA)
Kitty Sorgen (WA, USA)
and me,
437 more people were commemorated this week, bringing our block count total to 4816! 

It was a week of surprises. Thank you, Laurie, Colton, Jerrod, Steven, Sophia, Jessie, and Martesa for the lovely decorated shell and the angel wing!

As we move forward into Week 35 (can you believe it?!), please remember:
~ There’s still time to collaborate on blocks with me. (postmark by 10/31/16)
~ And there’s still time to make blocks with your siblings (postmark by 11/30/16)
~ We are aiming to have all 70,273 blocks in my hands by the end of October 2017.
~ To help spread the word by sharing links to blog posts, sharing posts on Facebook, and encouraging others to find out more about The 70273 Project around one of these water coolers:

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.)

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.

Thank you all for your continued support of The 70273 Project and your efforts to commemorate the 70,273 who died, celebrate those who live, and educate all who will listen.

Now go have yourself a good week, why don’t you.

For the first time since April of this year, I enjoyed four consecutive days in the studio, and I filled them with The 70273 Project (though I’m still far from being caught up.) And it looks like I’ll get this post up just minutes before I turn into a pumpkin – Ha.

OUT AND ABOUT

~ Quilt 1 was on display in a quilt show. I was there today, and saw many people gathered around to look, read, and snap photos.

ADVENTURES

~ Our first monthly Adventure that kicked off 9/1/2016 was Collaborate with Jeanne. Due to popular demand, I’ve extended the deadline for that till 10/31/2016.

~ Our Adventure for October is Collaborate with Your Siblings. Deadline for Siblings blocks is 11/30/16.

~ On 10/1/2016, Jennifer Moya started a Facebook group for Australian Machine Embroidery Addicts – a Sew Along for The 70273 Project, encouraging machine embroiders to become involved. Thank you, Jennifer!

ADMINISTRATIVE

~ I added a space to the Provenance Form for Makers to let me know if the blocks accompanying the form are for a particular Adventure. In the “Required Information” section just to the right of “Date”, you’ll see a space for “Adventure (if applicable)”. If you’re sending blocks to collaborate with me, for example, please put “Collaborate with Jeanne” in that space. If you’re making blocks for the Siblings Collaboration, be sure to note “Siblings Collaboration” in the space. And so on. If you send blocks for The 70273 Project in general, just leave blank or put N/A.

BLOG BUSINESS

~ I added a new page to the blog for Clarions – people who spent some of their blog’s bandwidth writing about The 70273 Project. The only way I find out about these marvelous posts are if I’m tagged, emailed a link, or if one of my two alert services happens to pick them up and notify me. If you look at the page (links are arranged in chronological order of post) and don’t see yours, please send me a link, reread the preceding sentence,  and know that I would never knowingly leave you out. (But I will always Thank you.)

~ I went through every blog post and added block dimensions in cm. (If you find one I missed, please let me know.)

~ I added some link-crumbs to make it easier to find your way around from some blog posts that are related.

~ I tidied up the tags (a.k.a. keywords) to make it easier to find information. If you’ll look in the sidebar on the right, scroll down and you’ll see a search box for “keywords”. Click on the blue up and down arrows on the right of that box, and all the tags will show themselves for you. Highlight the one you want, click, and you will be whisked away to find the posts you seek.

~ I changed all links so that the new Provenance Form downloads.

~ I added the new Provenance Form to the Speaking to Groups Handbook and amended those links, too.

BIG NEWS OF THE WEEK

~ Because the German Nazis took 20 months to murder 70,273 disabled people, and because 20 months from our launch date is October 2017, and most importantly of all because it should not take longer to love than it takes to hate, we have a new deadline for collecting 70,273 blocks: October 2017.

~ I have now been contacted by people in 93 different countries.

~ Thanks to the creative generosity of:
Mary Schubert (California, USA)
Jerriann Crow (California, USA)
Elaine Smith (Texas, USA)
Onurai Dechakanist (Bangkok, Thailand)
Marjorie Holme (Illinois, USA)
Rosalie Roberts (Idaho, USA)
Desiree Habicht (California, USA)
Carolyn Katzoff (Colorado, USA)
Sylbette Bois (Coublevie, France)
Claudia Cross (California, USA)
Margaret Williams (Georgia, USA)
Anonymous (Florida, USA)
Linda Heron (Toronto, Canada)
Debra Steinmann (Georgia, USA)
and me
Our new block total is . . . 4379!

Give yourselves a hand, y’all . . . then get back to stitching;)

See you next week.

~~~~~~~

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.
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.

SaveSave

This was a week marked by planning for the future of The 70273 Project. I think you’re going to like some of the ideas, so be sure you keep tuning in to the blog so you don’t miss anything.

The Collaborate with Jeanne Adventure ends soon – there are still 5 days to get your one-red-X blocks in the mail – so stitch those single X’s and send them on over.

Kim Monins and Gisele Therezien emailed me this week, offering to rally quilters of The Channel Islands to make blocks and quilts and mount exhibits, so we’ve been in touch laying down the systems that will get both required and helpful information back and forth. The enthusiasm I’m hearing from The Channel Islands is phenomenal. I’ll be blogging more about this soon, so stay tuned. And hey, The Channel Islands are a mere 14 miles off the coast of France, so I’m planning to visit when I go over for Le Projet 70273 en Occitanie exhibit in Lacaze, France June 24 and 25, 2017. Join me?

MJ Kinman Pieced and Quilted Quilt #5 of The 70273 Project, and she delivered it in person when she came to visit for a few days.. It is so beautiful, y’all. (Shells  brought along one of her dazzling diamond quilts, so I got to see it in person and even touch it.)

MJ Kinman with Quilt 1

Jeanne Hewell-Chambers and MJ Kinman with Quilt 1

Quilt 1, Pieced by Kitty Sorgen and Quilted by MJ Kinman, was on  display as part of the Smoky Mountain Splendor Show at Western Carolina University on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

To date, I’ve been contacted by people in 89 countries.

And thanks to:
Bev Flowers
Erin Bross
Serena Bross
Margaret Andrews
and me,
our current block count is now 4144!

These are the highlights of the week that was #32.
Thank you for all you’ve done and all you continue to do to help commemorate those who died, celebrate those who live, and educate all who will listen.

~~~~~~~

Here are other hangouts for 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.
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 together and make a group quilt.

Another week of goodness at The 70273 Project Heartquarters . . .

Folks continue to pull up a log around The 70273 Project campfire (a.k.a. Facebook group). Some speak English (277 sit around that digital campfire), others speak French (76 sit around that e-campfire), and some (like moi, for example), have s’mores in both digital campfires. Others (currently 757 of them), who must be on diets and thus stay away from s’mores, stop by and “like” our Facebook page. If you haven’t already, won’t you please join one or both of our Facebook groups (you can thank me later cause you’ve never met a more big-hearted, fun, caring group of people) and/or like our Facebook page? And hey, while you’re at it, how ’bout telling all your friends and family and ask them to do the same. Not only will you have a big time in the groups, but we need a big ole’ headcount to demonstrate interest and enthusiasm for potential grants and sponsorships.

As of this week, I’ve heard from people in 87 different countries.

And a drum roll, please . . .
Katell Renon, Chloe Grice, and I have been feverishly working behind the scenes the past several weeks to make something very special happen: Le Projet 70273 en Occitaine! The enthusiasm and dedication of these women and so many others who I’ll be introducing to you as we go along is beyond heartwarming. I’ll be writing a blog post about the exhibit this week, and just wait till you see where it’s going to be held. (Today will be my 7th French lesson, by the way, and according to my “teacher”, I’m now 3% fluent . . . which is a long way to go by next June, but I’ll get as close as I can and hope that the good people of Occitaine will find a way to enjoy my Franglais.) (With a Southern accent, of course.)

Thanks to these who sent blocks to me:
my daughter Alison’s college class (GA, USA)
Kathy Shaw (AL, USA)
Nathalie Toulouse (Quebec, Canada)
Christina Aiton (FL, USA)
Bronca Martine (France)
Margaret Williams (GA, USA)
Catherine Wycliff (IL, USA)
Jill Hagererer (IN, USA)
Debbie Buckner (AZ, USA)
and these who sent blocks to Chloe Grice:
Chloe Grice (France)
Chantal Legein-Kierkhofs (France)
Nicole Dufour (France)
Claire Schwartz (France)

our block count is now 4073!

For all the ways you are involved in The 70273 Project, thank you – thank you – thank you.

~~~~~~~

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.
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 together and make a group quilt.

Why yes, I am late . . . again  . . .

because I was out of town . . . again. This time visiting my cousin, Mary and her husband, Danny, and being treated to four days of trekking down memory lane and playing games and, of course, making blocks. We did two days of back road trips – aren’t they The Most Fun?! – seeing various parts left standing of the old textile mills and hearing the most wonderful stories about life in mill towns and villages. I’ll do a post about that later, but for now, let’s see what’s been happening in The 70273 Project.

I got back to around 3000 emails and over 500 Facebook posts, messages, and comments – isn’t that WONDERFUL?  Such gusto and enthusiasm for The 70273 Project! Blocks are being made. Quilts are being requested. Exhibit venues are being suggested. It’s all good. Real good. Now if you’re one who emailed me or communicated somehow on Facebook and you haven’t yet heard back from me, please don’t interpret my slow response as disinterest because nothing could be further from the truth.  I’ll get to you, I promise. This week finds me on deadline for two articles and a quilt that I’m selling to raise funds for The 70273 Project, so my correspondence time is rather limited, but I’ll get caught up, and in the meantime, Thank you for being such an enthusiastic and involved member of The 70273 Project Brigade.

Thanks to one app and one online program, I am learning and relearning French. (According to the app that sends me an alarm every night at 10 o’clock reminding me that it’s time for my French lesson, I am now 2% fluent in French. Ha.)

We have now been visited by people in 86 different countries. Yes, really.

And thanks to:
Dorothy Gibson  (Kansas, USA)
Greta Wells (Vermont, USA)
Sarah (United Kingdom)
Jan Stone (Missouri, USA)
Christine Escots (France)
Suzanne McCarthy, (Michigan, USA)
Mary Hewell Tate (Georgia, USA)
Danny Tate (Georgia, USA)
The Engineer (Andy Chambers, North Carolina, USA),
our block count is now . . . a cool 3803! Remember that Kitty Sorgen has set our next incremental goal at 5,000 blocks in my hands by 12/31/2016, so stitch on, y’all!

And always, always, always Thank you for all you do to commemorate those who died, celebrate those who live, and educate all who will listen. It’s what we are about here at The 70273 Project.

While I was in another state with my 3-month old grandson in my arms, y’all were stitching and typing and reading and talking up a storm. What is happening in The 70273 Project over the past two weeks is so incredibly exciting. I now hear from 84 different countries and continents, and great, exciting plans are being made for blocks, quilts, workshops, exhibits, and other happenings in Europe. There is so much, you might expect more frequent blog posts over the coming few weeks.

On Saturday, 8/27/2016, my daughter-in-law and grandson took me to meet one of our most prolific block makers, Carolyn Katzoff for lunch. Yes, I really did get to call Carolyn “Sugar” to her face! It was so much fun, you just wouldn’t believe. Thank you, Marnie and Calder Ray, for taking me to meet Carolyn. And Carolyn, thank you for taking the time and for all the goodness you bring to The 70273 Project. Oh, and get this: while Carolyn was looking at the quilt I made for my son, Kipp, (you should see the quilts she is making for her granddaughter, Aero, and her daughters-in-law – oh, she has such an eye for colors!) a waiter came through, asked about the quilt, and told us that his wife has just started quilting. So what did I do? What any of you would’ve done: I told him about The 70273 Project, wrote the information down for him, and made him pinky swear to give it to his wife. You just never know when you’re gonna’ run into somebody who might join us.

After auditioning several apps and software programs, I have downloaded an app that will help me learn to speak in French without (too much) embarrassing myself.

Chloe Grice created a sister Facebook group in French for those who are more comfortable speaking, writing, and reading French. Go here to join the English-speaking group . . . here to like the English-speaking Facebook page . . . and here to join the French Facebook group

Quilt 3, Pieced and Quilted by Margaret Williams arrived. I’ll be showing and telling you more about that real soon. In the meantime, you can learn more about Margaret here and here.

And now, what you’ve all been waiting for: The Block Count. Thanks to delightfully decorated envelopes from:
Marti Anderson
Mary Callen
Janat Hillary
Carol Reed
Cameron Tobias
Cecile Denis
Kitty Sorgen
Jillian Urbach
Lucy Urbach
Jill Urbach
Sandra Urbach
Dan Sorgen
Andrew Urbach
Teddy Pruett
Deidre McConathy
MJ Kinman
Deena Sanders
Carolyn Katzoff
Rosalie Roberts
Monica McCarthy
Christina Cromwell
and
Margaret Wiliams
who sent in a whopping total of 589 blocks, I now have in my possession 3756 blocks! That’s a mere 1244 blocks shy of our next incremental goal set by Kitty Sorgen, our resident coxswain of 5,000 blocks by 12/31/2016. What say we meet that goal long before the end of the year?

We are now on Day 4 of The First The 70273 Project Adventure: Let’s Collaborate. You, Dear Makers, each have 26 more days (postmarked by 9/30/2016) to make and send me up to 50 blocks in the choice of your size (along with your completed Provenance Form, of course. Your blocks will have only one X on them, and I will make the second X. See? You and me, we collaborate. So get your fabric, thread, and needles going and let’s make lots and lots of beautiful blocks together.

Thank you all for everything you are doing to commemorate the 70273 disabled people who died, celebrate those with special needs who live among us today, and educate ourselves and others as a way to make sure such an atrocity as Aktion T4 never happens again. Ever.

~~~~~~~

And remember, there are more places to find and share The 70273 Project in addition to the ones linked to in the post:
Instagram (be sure to use #the70273project)
Pinterest

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Week 27 of The 70273 Project seemed to be – without any direction from me and definitely not by design – the week of spreading the word . . .

HARK THE HERALD, HEAR US SING
Many people shared or wrote Facebook posts about The 70273 Project:
Ann Grasso
Pam Patterson
Charles Clifford Brooks
Kimberly Brock
Chloe Grice
Laurie Dunn
to name a few. (If I missed you, please let me know. Sometimes folks forget to tag me or think they’ve tagged me, but it doesn’t take.) (Then there’s the distinct possibility that I forgot to make a note, too.)

Barbara Schaffer wrote a blog post about The 70273 Project. So did Cecile,, who lives over in France. Cecile has already made her block and dropped it off in the post, and I received Barbara’s blocks this past week.

Jackson County, NC (where I live)  is creating a new Directory of Artists, and I got us listed in it. I figure it can’t hurt, might help.

Nancy Fenstermacher invited me to drop off a post on her Facebook page, Bakers at Red Lion. Thank you, Nancy!

I know you’re busy making blocks and piecing and quilting and I thank you big for that. And if you’re on Facebook, might you please take a minute periodically to post about The 70273 Project and tag either the group or the page? Or maybe you’ll share a blog post or a post somebody else made on Facebook. Perhaps you’d like to write a post about The 70273 Project or have me write one for you and become your guest blogger, just let me know. However you get the word out, thank you. This is a grass roots effort, that’s for sure, and the way it grows is with everybody telling somebody else.

QUILT 1 IS GETTING OUT INTO THE WORLD
Thanks to the generosity of folks like Linda Smith, Michelle Banton, Frances Holliday Alford, Phyllis Hendricks, and MariAnn Stephanelli, I was able to pay the submission fees for The 70273 Project: Quilt 1 to be in two upcoming quilt shows: one in Asheville, NC (9/30-10/2), and the Smoky Mountain Splendor quilt show in Franklin, NC (9/22-24). We live close enough that I can deliver and pick up the quilt, so no postage was required. Plus I’ll admit to being a little bit nervous about letting these go. It’s like children going off to college – thrilled and at the same time scared to death to let them go.

MONDAY MORSEL
Our Monday Morsel was contributed by our Julie Weller . . .
A Good Fight
I once watched a movie on the last years of Martin Luther King Jr’s life not was an excellent movie that taught me a lot. The best “take away” I had was a quote by one of MLK’s close advisors. It was: “If you see a gods fight, get in it.”
I absolutely love this quote because it reminds us that some causes are worth taking a risk to fight for the desired outcome. See somebody getting bullied? Join the fight. See somebody getting abused? A kind word and HELP can make all the difference.
Thank you, Julie, for giving us something so positive and good to take us through the week, for reminding us of why we’re gathered here around The 70273 Project campfire. If you’re willing to provide a Monday Morsel – can be a quote, a photo, a short story, a positive thought, whatever – message or email me.

ANOTHER BUNDLING DAY HAPPENED
Friday was Bundling Day in The Dissenter’s Chapel & Snug.  Because it’s only the third time I’ve done this, it’s still quite time-consuming – lots of checking, double checking, triple checking, logging in, and stuff, but the good (or at least encouraging) news is that I think I’ve come up with a system that will streamline things, making it more efficient.

MORE QUILTS IN THE MAKING
Bundles of blocks for Quilts 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 went out on Saturday morning. Quilt 6 bundles will light on the front steps of Fran Saperstein. Bundles for Quilts 7 and 8 are  destined for Kitty Sorgen. Quilt 9 bundles are winging their way to Becky Lewis, while blocks for Quilt 10 should be landing in MJ Kinman’s mailbox any time now. A bundle of blocks for Quilt 11 is headed straight to Janet Hartje. All are scheduled to arrive today. Our quilt inventory grows and grows – thank y’all for that. If any of you would like to raise your hand to join the P’s and Q’s (Piecers and Quilters), please let me know and I’ll put you in touch with MJ Kinman, our P’s and Q’s Coordinator and she’ll get you all scheduled up.)

AND NOW, WHAT YOU’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR . . . THIS WEEK’S BLOCK COUNT:
Thanks to Barbara Schaffer and Millie Long (who even included a present for Nancy), our block count is now – wait for it – 3167! I’m not kidding – I have 3167 blocks in my studio – so you know what that means: we need a new goal! Kitty Sorgen, our 70273 project coxswain, set us a goal of 3,000 blocks by 9/5/2016, and y’all met it early! Congratulations. And thank you.

OUR NEXT MILESTONE
Kitty’s new goal? 5,000 blocks by 12/31/2016. Can we do it? Of course we can. As Kitty says, we’ll close out this year with a BANG.

TUNE IN TOMORROW
Be sure to come back tomorrow, y’all, cause I have something to tell you. I’m calling it an Adventure, and you . . . well, just come back tomorrow, okay?

MY EXCUSE FOR BEING TARDY
If you’ll allow me a personal note . . . this edition of the Week in Review is a day late because this happened:

Yep, I’m in Denver on my first (well, technically my second, but this is my first solo) babysitting gig. Meet Calder Ray, y’all. I’m spending all week with this bunch of awesomeness, folks, popping in and out as I can, so please keep stitching and posting and emailing . . . just expect delays in my response time. (And if there are any typos in this post, it’s his fault.) Thanks for understanding . . . and for being part of The 70273 Project.

Here’s a thumbnail view of what happened this past week in The 70273 Project:

~~ If you’ll look in the right sidebar, you’ll see code you can copy and paste on your blog to show that you’re a member of The 70,273 Project Team. Please grab the code and display it proudly.

~~ We currently have 637 likes on The 70273 Project Facebook page and, thanks to the efforts of Debbie Spouse Buckner, the number of folks gathered around our virtual campfire in The 70273 Project Facebook group has grown to 207 folks. As MJ Kinman mentioned recently, we will soon be petitioning for grants, so please do stop by and show your support by liking the Facebook page and joining the Facebook group and encouraging folks you know to do the same. It warms the hearts – or should I say checkbooks – of grantors to see that the project is supported far, wide, and consistently.

~~ Chloe Grice penned our Monday Morsel. Won’t you please send me a quote or a thought or a photo – something for an upcoming Monday Morsel?

The whispering voices of these blocks are already increasing in volume in my ears even as their numbers swell into life. They call me to work, their voices becoming at times demanding. Do this! Take that out, I don’t like it. That’s not me.

I have spent the last two weeks trying to do other, absorbing sewing tasks, projects left incomplete in the chaos of my life that have their own distinctive calls. I am pulled almost without will, back into the red and white world we are creating with our fingers, our collectively clever hands.

The pure, clean white, cleansing the now ancient memories of pain, of dirt, of neglect and suffering. I think of those suffering within their minds, aware but trapped inside. I think of children, mute with anguish and loss. I think of men with damaged bodies, yearning for escape from their inevitable fate. And women. Grieving, screaming, dying. The white cloth soothes me and tissue thin it sits with me, this epitaph, an unspoken prayer for release. Souls set free.

~~ I continue to receive encouraging, enthusiastic emails like the one from Catherine Symchych, who saw a flyer about The 70273 Project in a quilt shop in Michigan, and wants to do a Group quilt with seventh graders in her school. And I heard from Susan Himmelman Bianchi that she received permission from the board of directors to make a presentation about The 70273 Project to a 500+ members of an association she belongs to. After the general meeting, notices about The 70273 Project will be posted on their facebook page and go out in their newsletter. Thank you Catherine and Susan and all the rest of you who are regularly spreading the word and encouraging others to join us in commemorating the 70,273 disabled people who died at the hands of Aktion T4 and celebrating the countless numbers of special needs people who live among us today.

~~ Thanks to envelopes and boxes from Tari Vickery, Linda Heron, Linda Smith, Margaret Williams, Laurie Dunn and her grandchildren Steven, Grace, Jillian, and William, our block count climbs to 2843! Kitty Sorgen, it sure looks like I’ll have 3,000 blocks in my hands by 9/5/2016, so be thinking about our next goal.

Till next week . . . y’all keep smiling and stitching.

What a week it’s been . . .

~~ Issue #4 of The Blue Mountain Review came out containing an article I penned about The 70273 Project.

~~ Megan Null penned our Monday Meditational Morsel. If you’d be willing to contribute food for thought and stitching for one (or more) weeks, please let me know. Here’s Megan’s good MMM:

Happy Monday! 

Here’s something to think about as you count blocks. 

This project is important to me and something I think and talk about often. How many blocks have I made so far? Three. Does that mean that I’m slacking? NO!

~~ Thanks to envelopes from Lori East, Frances Holliday Alford; Bobbi Penman; Maryellen “Graz” Gryseqicz; Lori DeJarnatt; Deborah McKinnon, and Pat Gaska, our block count is now at . . . are you ready for it . . . 2692! Being allergic to math, I asked The Engineer, and he tells me we need only 308 more blocks to hit Kitty Sorgen’s goal of 3000 blocks in my hands by 9/5/2016. That’s about 4 weeks from now, y’all, so I have no doubt we’ll make her goal and then some. Thank y’all.

And that’s about all I can think of that happened last week, so I’ll excuse myself and head on back to visit with my friends who came to visit.

~~~~~~~

How can you be a part of The 70273 Project?
Make blocks.
Pen a Monday Meditational Morsel. (email me: whollyjeanne (at) gmail (dot) com)
Subscribe to the blog.
Make a Group Quilt.
Write about the project or have me write one for you. (email me: whollyjeanne (at) gmail (dot) com)
Join us around the FB Group Campfire.
Like our FB Page.

Highlights of the week include:

~~ A blog post by Lori D. Word’s still getting out, and, because we’re on the verge of applying for grants and seeking sponsorships which means we need to show interest, MJ Kinman set a goal for us of 500 followers on The 70273 Project Facebook page by the fall, so please make sure you’ve liked ti and tell all your friends ’cause I know you’re popular.

~~ A new category of quilts: Group quilts. You can read all about it here, but the thumbnail version is this: if you’d like to raise your hand and be Group Leader (we call them Gatherers) for your family, your coworkers, your club members, your quilt guild – wherever there are more than 2 people gathered, you ask them to make blocks, then piece those blocks into a top and quilt it to make a quilt for The 70273 Project.  If you’re interested in becoming a Gatherer, let me know.

~~ The Monday Meditational Morsels continue, with MJ Kinman posting for this last Monday. “We don’t have to wait for some grand Utopian future. The future is an endless succession of presents, and to live now as we think humans should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.” ~ Adapted from Howard Zinn’s biography, “You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train” If you’d like to submit a quote or a word or a positive thought that we can stitch into blocks for The 70273 Project, please let me know and I’ll assign you a date. (You can submit more than once, too, by the way.) The MMM’s go up every Monday morning around our Facebook campfire.

~~ Within hours of reading about the Group quilt category, Jan MacFayden from Australia, sent me a note saying she’s willing to be a Gatherer for the New Zealand and Australia areas. So if y’all live in that neck of the woods, feel free to reach out to Jan and figure out how to get your blocks to her for piecing and quilting. Thank you, Jan. You epitomize the spirit of The 70273 Project.

~~ Work on Quilts 2, 3, and 4 continues, and we have up to Quilt 18 in the queue right now  – meaning people have graciously raised their hand and offered to Piece and/or Quilt – so please keep making and sending those blocks!

~~ We remain at 77 different countries.

~~ Thanks to Carolyn Katzoff, we close out the week with a block count of 2542. Thank you, Carolyn, you prolific block maker you.

Thank y’all for continuing to be a part of The 70273 Project . . . for commemorating those who died and celebrating those who live.

Till next week . . .