A Centennial Quilt, Times TWO!

Bailey's Chapel Centennial Quilt 66" X 78"

I've been helping out with a special project for a local church over the last several months. They wanted a unique way to celebrate their centennial anniversary and settled on a quilt; well, actually, TWO identical quilts! One will hang in their sanctuary and one will be raffled off to support the church. You may recall seeing a photo on this blog of the growing pile of "signature" blocks as I embroidered them, there are 58 of them (per quilt!)! The church members sold these blocks as opportunities to have one's name immortalized on the quilt. They opted for machine embroidery in a consistent font/size so that it would look harmonious and the names would be visible from a distance. I worked from printed forms to ensure that the names/spellings/ dedications were exactly right.

There was a celebratory moment over the weekend when focus shifted from these signature blocks to the machine appliquéed banner sections! There are sections for five photo transfers; the church in every season in each of the four corners plus one larger, 12" square panel, in the center of the quilt a group snapshot of the membership gathered in front of the church at the Centennial Gathering last summer.

I've assisted by serving as the designer (thank you, EQ, you make me look smart!) and facilitator for this project. It won't be long now before workshops are scheduled and I can hand over the units to the church members for assembly. This has been a wonderful collaborative effort and I'm proud to have had a hand in seeing them achieve a dream, I am also very grateful to them for their patience with yours truly!

Life is Good!