Purple CallaLeah: Quilting

26 July 2013

Quilts For Boston

The second crafty outlet I found in the aftermath of all that happened was an initiative that the guild that I am a member of started. Several of our members wanted to do something to give some kind of comfort to those most impacted by everything. As one of our members said, she just wanted to wrap people up in a quilty hug.

As a guild we put out the call for standard 12.5" squared blocks that contained only the Boston Athletic Association's classic blue, yellow and white organization colors. We threw gray in there as well as many modern quilters frequently use it in their work. We really didn't know what to expect for a response but what we got was overwhelming!

We received well over 2000 quilt blocks that were sent to us from 46 US states, 5 Canadian provinces and upwards of 10 other countries. Quilters of all ages and experience levels responded with over 400 packages, letters, cards and personal messages. I spent one of our guild meetings reading through a sampling of these messages and was blown away. The kindness, concern and passion that came flooding in with these was undeniably powerful. People as far away as New Zealand felt 'our' pain and reached out with open arms. The guild and all of its members have been deeply touched by this project and the response from the quilting community at large. We ended up with 100 quilts and thanks to very generous quilt shops, bating manufactures, fabric designers, long arm quilters, and volunteers these quilts will find homes with those who truly need a little bit of handmade love wrapped around them.

I choose to just piece the blocks we received and turn those in to tops as my quilting/long arm skills leave much to be desired. The blocks we received were amazing and so diverse that at first I had no idea what these quilts would look like but its incredible how something that was touched but upwards of 20 people can look as if it was made by just one. The quilts are so beautiful and range from very modern to super traditional sampler style quilts.

Here are the three most recent finishes that my mom and I worked on.

All in the stars!

Flower Power and Sunshine!

A Modern Sampler.

This was an incredible project to be a part of and we are still working on it. Some of the 100 quilts will go to the Watertown Police Department, others to other first responders, some directly to victims, some to the families of those lost and the others will be part of an exhibit that the BAA would like to show during the Running Expo at next year's marathon. We couldn't be more excited for the future our little quilts will have!

As always, thanks for stopping by and happy sewing!
~Leah

22 July 2013

To Boston With Love

The second phase of my working through what happened in April was to bury myself in projects. There really is something restorative about the hum of a sewing machine and the feel of fabric gliding through my fingers.

Something I sewed displayed in a museum! Eek!

The first opportunity that came along was this amazing Flag Project put together by the incredible folks from the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild. The concept was really simple but was hugely impactful for those of us that participated. One of our local guild members was able to secure the Shapiro Family Courtyard at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for the display. This was extra special as it was just in time for the MFA's free pass for Memorial Day weekend (free admission for anyone who showed up at the Museum = amazing).

I jumped on the opportunity to particiapte.

My flag.

All that was needed was a flag that measured 6x8 that conveyed a message of positivity. I followed what ended up being the most common road and chose to have a heart on my flag and I dipped in to my precious fabrics stash and used some of the Vera Bradley prints I had left over from my quilt (the top has been pieced but no other progress as of yet). I went with bright fun orange, pink, and green and I am so happy with how it turned out... I made my way over to the MFA for the free weekend with my parents (my Mom also made some flags) and was blown away by the sheer number of flags.

I was actually able to find mine!

I was looking at the really sweet to Boston with Love chain and there it was taking up prime real estate on the end of a row!

It was so exciting to see something that I made with my own two hands hanging in a museum! I forgot my camera so my phone snaps will have to do but check it out! There were also some really great write-ups about the project in some local papers and on all kinds of blogs, give them a read if you have some time. The participation stats blew me away!