Our entry for the QuiltCon 2017 Modern Quilt Guild Charity Quilt Challenge
We are the “The Improper Bostonian Quilters.” Patty Bailey,
Lorri Foley, Jeannette Tobin, Mary
Willis, and Barbara Winrich met several times while planning the quilt. It
became an additional enjoyable social event, and not an unpleasant adventure
that group projects can become as remembered from Grad School. Although Lorri is still having anxiety
attacks about the group process.
Our approach to the challenge was to decide which charity
would benefit from the quilt challenge. We chose Casa Nueva Vida, whose mission
it is to help families develop skills and education to get out of poverty. They
serve the homeless families in Greater Boston. They have an excellent rate of success in
preventing further homelessness. The
name of our quilt is “New Home New Life.”
The mission of Casa Nueva Vida inspired us to use homes as
the jump off to our design. The log cabin block was the starting point and
figuring out how to manipulate the scale of the block was our challenge for the
front of the quilt. Homes are represented
on the back of the quilt thus joining Traditional and Modern aesthetics
together.
We collected fabrics and decided which we would use. The
design morphed into what it became and members volunteered for different tasks
related to their individual strengths. We used our time at October Quilt Camp to
continue getting the quilt together. We
gathered at a Saturday Day Camp and layered the quilt, and then began the
quilting process.
Watching how each individual effort came together in a
successful design was our favorite part. Barbara loved making the tiny log
cabins. Jeannette excelled at using quilt software to bring the design together
and making an amazing sleeve. Patty’s binding is the bomb. Mary fast forwarded
the machine quilting. Lorrie’s hand stitching is the finishing touch to add
texture. Each and every one of us was
enriched by the experience. We learned a
lot and would do it again in a heartbeat. Additionally, we still love each
other even though writing this blog post was like herding cats. We are so excited that we will be in Savannah
to see all of the challenge quilts and the other group’s interpretations of the
challenge.
Savannah, Georgia here we come, The Improper Bostonian Quilters.......
