Memories of Baltimore

This is the story of 5 quilts. 

They are all made in the Baltimore Album style by attendees and their friends of the Elly Sienkiewicz Applique Academy held each year in Colonial Williamsburg. You can read about it here:
http://www.ellysienkiewicz.com/

One year as Bette Augustine, the administrator of this event, was taking applications and making arrangements for the event, she noticed that a great number of conversations led to a common theme.  Cancer!  Cancer victims, cancer survivors, friends with cancer, family with cancer.  Bette being a cancer survivor herself, began to think about the impact this disease was having on us, our families, and our friends. 

So was the impetus for the Memories of Baltimore project.

The idea was hatched:

• Look for a sponsor to help provide the materials to make blocks for a quilt, a special quilt, a Baltimore Album quilt 
• Ask the quilters at Applique Academy to make blocks and send them in
• Ask for volunteers to assemble and quilt the quilt
• Auction the quilt, donate the funds to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for cancer research

The hope was that enough volunteers would make blocks for a quilt. 
Thats 35 volunteers, 35 blocks, one quilt. Should be an achievable goal.

After the project was approved by Elle, Bette got to work.  She secured RJR Fabrics as a sponsor. They dontated the fabric for the background and the pink for the sashing. She created the rules of participation. She cut 10 inch squares of background fabric and 6 inch squares of pink fabric, folded them into small kits wrapped with ribbon and filled a basket with these little gems. She prepared her presentation to be given at Applique Academy, asking that anyone interested in making a donation block take one of the little kits.

The rules: you must make a 10 inch block; you must use the background fabric provided; you must use some of the pink provided; you may use one any one of the patterns in any of Elle's books OR use an original pattern; the maker must sign the block and dedicate it to a family member or friend that has been impacted by cancer; and you must mail your block in by the deadline.

And then... the magic began.
All off the little kits were taken home.  And more were requested by those that didnt get one.
Friends of attendees also wanted to help.

Soon, the blocks began to arrive.  Each one accompanied by a card or letter expressing love; compassion; appreciation; grief;   An outpouring of emotion. Grieving and healing emotion. 

This was going to be no ordinary quilt.  No ordinary project.  It was beginning to be much more than a quilt.  Much more than a fund raiser. 

more to come....