Subversive Stitchers Challenge for the Quilts and Dreams Challenge

A 1600 Quilt
(photo from Heirloom Creations blog site).

Seems like a symptom of  'subversive' people is that we march to our own drum, are often loners, not joiners, and like to do things in our own time, following our own way. So I don't organize things or urge you to join in projects.

BUT I have just received an interesting book from American Quilter's Society (AQS) that has finally brought me around to Jelly Rolls.

The book is Jelly Roll Quilt Magic by Kimberly Einmo. It is her second book about quilting with jelly rolls. This time I paid attention. Einmo has included some really lovely projects in traditional styles by cutting jelly rolls into various shapes. Wild geese, stars, etc. Quite beautiful with helpful hints sprinkled generously throughout.

When I mentioned the book on my Subversive Stitchers facebook page, Mary Alice suggested I check out the 1600 quilts and the video produced by Heirloom Creations.

And that's when I fit together Kathy Thompson's ongoing quilt challenge to benefit ALS research and patients with Jelly Roll quilts. One jelly roll would make a 48x64 size 1600 quilt. They go together fast, could be tied rather than quilted if you'd rather, and would make an excellent EXCELLENT quilt for someone with ALS to snuggle under and feel loved.


Quilters Dream Challenge
for ALS



For a tutorial on how to make the 1600 quilts, here's the blog and video site. And for more information about Kathy's ongoing challenge and where to send your quilts, here's her link.

If you'd like, I'd be honored, if you would submit your quilts with your name as part of the Subversive Stitchers: Women Armed with Needles challenge. And if you would send a photo to me, I'd be thrilled to post it here.

Another quilt that makes a great charity quilt is the Disappear Nine Patch which is made even easier using Charm Squares. Here's a tutorial from the Missouri Star Quilt Company. My article for Suite 101 has a little different lay out and more information about making a Disappearing Nine Patch. It takes at least 2 packages of charms plus borders, backing, etc.

Both are fun, fast projects and would certainly brighten up someone's dismal ALS world. I'd be glad to hear if anyone's interested in this little challenge and of course, please send photos!

A big thank you to everyone.

Actually, it doesn't matter what design you use for your quilt -- I just hope you'll contribute to this challenge. You have my unending gratitude.

Wrapping the war wounded in a big quilt hug: Quilts of Valor Tink Linhart's story

When her son was deployed to Iraq, Tink and other parents of her son's United States Marine Corp group got together and made quilts -- 74 of them! Amazing dedication! And that's BEFORE she got involved in Quilts of Valor. Shown here is one of the 74 quilts the parents pieced and quilted. Note the second photo shows the grid key for quilt square placement. The third photo features a Marine Star pattern Tink made for Lt. Col. AJ Kostic, USMC.

Below is Tink's own story of her journey to quilting and beyond. And don't forget the contributions from her husband, Dick. -- Dawn

In her own words: Tink Linhart

I love quilts. I have always loved quilts. My first quilt memory was as a child visiting my parents’ friends at their Stowe, VT home. I was snuggled under several quilts in a tiny bedroom under the eves - feeling much like Laura & Mary in their Little House on the Prairie.


Like so many of my generation, I learned to sew clothing in home economics (sewing took, cooking didn’t). I started making most of my clothes -- still have that wrap skirt pattern (which might fit around one thigh today). I college I learned to crochet and do counted cross stitch, and continued to sew clothing, including a bathing suit that my parents wouldn’t let me wear until I added at least an inch of lace to the top of the bra.

I met my husband, Dick, in college (don’t recall if he ever saw that bathing suit). I even made a wild shirt or two for him -- reflective of the style of the early 70’s (am I a catch or what?) Being the ever practical and not particularly romantic guy that he was/is, in lieu of an engagement ring, he presented me with a used Pfaff 130 sewing machine that pre-dates me by at least a decade! (It’s a work horse and still my favorite machine all these years later).

Our first quilt creation was foisted upon us by my mother. When we announced our engagement my mother purchased yards and yards of calico fabrics. She graphed out a quilt design and for our first anniversary presented us with the box and the graph. All through graduate school Dick worked to re-design the flip side of the quilt, cut out the blocks, sewed three sides of the blocks together, turned them, and then neatly layered batting in that little pillow. Assembling this king size quilt got me a new Kenmore with cams so that I could piece the blocks together using a decorative stitch (after blind stitching all those fourth sides closed by hand). Dick finished the master piece by hand tying each square in five places. That quilt has travelled thousands of miles and survived years of wear, and one day will rest inside a duvet cover.

Flash forward 20+ years and we are waving goodbye to our son as the Marines drive him off into the July 2003 sunset, just weeks after his high school graduation. During those intervening years I’d added English smocking to my repertoire of hand crafts and created a handful of quilts - mostly “cheater cloth” baby quilts. I did managed to piece a Christmas quilt for us and quilt it with stitch-in-the-ditch quilting.

I took a leap and adapted the eagle quilt in Eleanor Burns Star Spangled Favorites and made it a two sided signature quilt for Jon’s graduation/farewell party. October 2004 found Dick semi-retired and loving his new job, Jon hanging around Kuwait awaiting the airlift into Iraq for the re-taking of Fallujah, and me gainfully Unemployed (and loving it), and having just been diagnosed with breast cancer. We were fortunate to make connections on MarineParents.com with other parents in USMC 1 / 3 and, ultimately, became part of the “unofficial” 1 / 3 parent group.

By February 2005, when our guys are finally heading home, we parents started talking about meeting them when they returned to their home base in Hawaii. Being in a radiation haze, I suggest that we make quilts for the families of our fallen (48 Marines and 5 sailors did not return from that deployment). The handful of us thinking about this had just about no quilting experience, but who cared? I started thinking wall hangings….

Pretty soon we’re just talking “whatever” and the quilts will include a large memorial square with the name, rank, company, and dates of the fallen Marine or sailor, as well as the EGA embroidered on it (EGA in this case is Eagle, Globe, & Anchor - the Marine emblem - not Embroiderer’s Guild of America).

Over the course of the next 11 ½ months, 3,317 10.5” quilt blocks came through the door of our little house and were squared on my cutting table. Using the floor between our living & dining rooms, Dick laid out 74 quilts. Another Marine mom tracked down a P&B white star on navy ground that we used for sashing in the 72 Memorial Quilts and the quilt for our most severely wounded Marine (the 74th quilt was a “thank you” to the wife of our sons’ executive officer for holding us all together throughout an exceptionally difficult and deadly deployment). The quilt rows were numbered, the quilts kitted, and they were assembled and then quilted by people from all over the United States and Okinawa.

During this time, I was introduced via email to Marcia Stevens (who came to our rescue and found long arm quilters for the remaining 20 quilts) and to Catherine Roberts, the founder and energy behind Quilts of Valor.

It took a year for me to emotionally heal from our USMC 1 / 3 Memorial Quilts Project; it took Dick a little longer. After creating some fun pieces, and having a blast with art bras, I was ready to jump in to Quilts of Valor.

Catherine Roberts founded Quilts of Valor in 2003. One quilt was presented that year. Her intent was to unite quilters in creating and presenting Quilts of Valor to any and all service members who have served in Iraq and/or Afghanistan, whether or not their wounds are visible, including TBI (traumatic brain injury) and PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). By August of 2009 over 24,000 Quilts of Valor had been delivered. In August our mission statement changed to include all those “touched” by any war. I haven’t seen official numbers yet, but I think I can confidentially say that 30,000 Quilts of Valor have been delivered as of the end of 2009.

Quilts of Valor is an all volunteer non-profit organization. We are about people, not politics. Our standards are high: all 100% cotton quilt shop quality fabrics, 80/20 cotton/poly batting (no 100% polyester). Patriotic colors are preferred. All quilts must be machine quilted - not tied - and have to include quilting beyond stitch-in-the-ditch. All QOVs must be nicely labeled (not iron-on stuff that peels off with little handling) and include “Quilt of Valor” and the names of those involved in creating the quilt. Sizes preferred are 54” x 67” up to 72” x 87” with 50” x 60” being the absolute minimum (remember, our servicemembers and veterans deserve our best work).

Each Quilt of Valor needs to include a presentation case -- simply a pillow case for transit and presentation. We ask that everyone involved in creating a QOV also include either a letter to the recipient or a journal (I know it can be a challenge to write a letter to someone you don’t know). Photos of the quilters and/or the quilt in progress are fun for the recipient to view. Recipients have told us that they really appreciate reading about the people involved in creating their quilt and the process. They are also very touched that a stranger would care enough about them to create a quilt.


What’s really cool is that if you’re a piecer - like me - you don’t have to struggle with attempting to quilt your creation -- we have long arm quilters who volunteer their time and talents to do what they like to do! You just go to the QOV website (www.qovf.org) and request a long armer! If you know of veterans or service members in your area who should receive a Quilt of Valor, but you don’t have one available, you can request one from the website. Should you have a completed quilt but don’t know who to give it to, you can visit the website and request a destination.

You can also use the website to find other QOV groups in your area. I do have to note that the website was hacked last fall and is still being re-worked. If you do not find what you are looking for, and cannot get a response to a question, please feel free to email me directly (tinklinhart@gmail.com) and I’ll get the information for you or find the person who can.

Dick and I are partners in our Quilts of Valor endeavors. He is actually the design eye behind this. Dick is also the one the quilt shop owners love to see coming -- not just because a man in a quilt shop who is not pouting is rare, but because HE is the one who starts pulling bolts of fabric and telling me what I need to purchase! (Eat your hearts out ladies!) The only down side to this aspect of our QOV partnership is that he is light years ahead of me in designs; it would take several of us sewing 40+ hours per week to keep up with him (interested in trying??? See my email address above!) After tiptoeing around all those quilts laid out on the floor, I finally gave Dick his own portable design wall. Now he’s talking about taking over one end of the basement (“Magic Sewing Cave”) and hanging a permanent design wall as well as having the portable design wall (help!!!)

We have had the opportunity to travel for Quilts of Valor. We made a quick overnight trip to St. Louis in June 2009 when Catherine & Gail (and her parents) were driving a van from California to Camp LeJeune, NC, picking up quilts along the way (videos of that adventure can be found on the blog: http://quiltsofvalor.wordpress.com/ ) We handed over 17 quilts that joined the 1,204 that were presented to the Marines of 1 / 8 upon their return from Afghanistan.

In August we joined a group of QOVers in Washington, DC. It was a wonderful opportunity to finally put names and faces together. During our personal behind-the-scenes tour of Arlington National Cemetery, Dick and I were thrilled to meet Cindy & Dave from Connecticut whose son had served with our son! We also found three of “our” Marines in Section 60 at ANC.

Thanks to Pauline’s efforts, several of us were able to have a short guided tour of the Pentagon to see the quilt Gail had created that was hanging in the 9-11 display case (the “sister” to that quilt had been presented that morning at the Women’s Memorial at Arlington). As Marine parents, I guess we would have to say that the culminating event was the reception at the Marine Commandant’s home, followed by the last Evening Parade of the summer.

Dick and I talk about Quilts of Valor at every opportunity, and that includes farmers’ markets and quilt guild meetings and shows. I am blessed in so many ways, and that includes a very creative printer who graciously keeps me stocked with my QOV business cards. I leave cards and information flyers everywhere - and have had calls/emails from folks who picked up my flyer in Duluth (never been there) or Ohio (haven’t been there recently) or Eastern Pennsylvania (ditto Ohio).

I post on the QOV blog and then post links to those posts on Facebook and Connecting Threads. I love what I do and I want to share this passion with anyone who will listen. What is more joyful than to get to play with fabrics, colors, layouts (okay, so Dick gets to do most of that), sing while I sew, and then present a quilted hug of gratitude to a service member or veteran?

Wrapping each of our wounded in one of these quilted hugs of gratitude sounds impossible, but it is simple. There are over 25 MILLION quilters in this country. If each of us creates one patriotic quilt we can hug lots and lots of veterans and active duty service members returning from the war zones (we’ve got over 3,200 recently home right here in Wisconsin!) Individually and together, we truly can make a difference.

Ami Simms 2008 Favorite Quilting Philanthropist and loving daughter

Is there anyone in the universe who doesn't know Ami Simms?

She (right after Mom and Grandma) influenced my love of quilts and all things fabric. She demonstrates that a quilt is first about love.

Her "Underlying Current" quilt (shown here) gave me goosebumps when I began reading the various blocks. They describe the behaviors that the Alzheimer's Disease brought about in Ami's mother, Beebe Moss. Like many who have seen this quilt, it brought back memories of a loved one. For me, I think of my father, Ben Stump, who battled Alzheimer's for more than ten years.

When it comes to quilting, Ami encouraged alot of us to make our first quilts and her 'Worst Quilt in the World" contest gives us someplace to show them!

Ami provides the answers to questions posted below. And she lets us get to know her and her mother and the charity that grew out of her mother's battle against Alzheimer's Disease. Like Ami's quilts, her fight to find a cure for Alzheimer's Disease is all about love.

Get your coffee, kick back, and give a warm welcome to Ami Simms. --Dawn

First introduced to quiltmaking in 1975 while conducting research among the Old Order Amish, Ami is the author of nine quilting books, numerous patterns, and is the creator of the infamous Worst Quilt In The World Contest®. Ami has designed two fabric lines, appeared on five different television shows, and was invited to the White House in 2004 along with other artists who participated in the Art in Embassies program.

Ami is the founder and Executive Director of the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative and the curator of "Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece." Ami was named Favorite Quilting Philanthropist by Quilters Newsletter in 2008. She blogs and writes a free monthly e-newsletter read by more than 16,000 subscribers. She is the creator of FindAQuiltTeacher.com.

1. What was your mother like or who was she before the disease?

My mom was one of the most creative women I ever met. She was a potter when I was a kid. We had a kickwheel and a kiln, and she sold her bowls at small art fairs in the Detroit area for several years. She gardened like no other. Her whole hand was green, not just her thumb. She was into orchids big time, and after she retired she traveled all over the world with other "orchid nuts" attending conferences and collecting the plants in the wild. She had a greenhouse and used to rent blooming orchids (they do that infrequently and they look pretty boring the rest of the time) to people whom she couldn't convince to grow their own.

Mom had a loom, she made all her own clothes and most of mine too. She could knit and crochet, loved to read, volunteered with the Art To The Schools program at the Detroit Institute of Arts, and went back to school when she was in her 70's. She went to Clown College---so she could entertain the old people. She designed a line of quilting fabric for Marcus Brothers after that. [See photo of Beebe and some of the images she created for her quilting fabric line below.]

Mom was my best friend. We lived overseas for 3 years, spread out over my growing up years, and as an only kid I was very close to my parents. I hung out with adults a lot. Until my teen years I was probably more comfortable with people four times my own age than I was with my age mates.

Back in the States we were very close with my Mom's side of the family, and for a time my great grand mother lived with us. She and I shared a bedroom. My father passed away in 1984 and when Mom got tired of living by herself the plan had always been that she would move in with Steve and I. Together we had added on an "apartment" for her, but she wanted her independence and refused to move in! Her diagnoses with Alzheimer's in 2001 pushed the issue and she moved in with us later that year.

Mom lived with us for almost four and a half year before I had to move her to an assisted living facility. It was during the last six months or so that the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative was born. Her constant, unrelenting decline was death in slow motion. I had to do something. My skill set being what it was, I did what I knew how to do.

She never grasped what I was doing, but for a time I used to bring the Priority: Alzheimer's Quilts to her at the assisted living place for her to unwrap. She thought they were all beautiful, even when she closely examined the wrong side or the paper they were wrapped in. She loved anything I ever did, no matter what it was and that stayed with her almost up until the end. She was my biggest cheerleader and that is one of the things I miss most about losing her. She was never objective, and that bugged me from time to time; but she loved me to pieces. She passed away in November of 2008 for the most part having forgotten who I was.

2. What quilts have you made for the initiative?

I made my exhibit quilt, "Underlying Current," which I started the day I moved Mom into the assisted living facility. Mine was the last one done, way beyond the deadline and into the "I May Not Make It In Time" zone. As curator, it was very intimidating to see the other quilts before completing mine. I remember that every single thing that could go wrong with my quilt did. I also made 23 Priority: Alzheimer's Quilts and Little Treasures Quilts, but that was mostly at the very beginning of the Initiative. I have very little time for my own quilts as the AAQI takes up an inordinate amount of time. It's the best work I've ever done, but it is work, and there is a lot of it. It seems to never end.

3. Does the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative help you cope with your mother’s and your situation?

Yes, it does. It feels good to know that hundreds of thousands of people have seen the traveling exhibit ("Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece") and been moved by it. It helps to know that quilters all over the country are threading their needles and becoming quilting philanthropists. It helps to know that we are supporting research that some day, hopefully, will end this vile disease.

4. Do you have any high points, exalted moments where you can say, “my quilts made a difference”?

I don't often get to travel with the exhibit, but it does work out some times. I have watched people read my quilts (the background is a chronology of Mom's disease direct printed on fabric) and weep. I have seen them laugh through their tears too. As an artist, seeing someone react to my work as I hoped they would is tremendously gratifying. Multiply that by 51 other quilts in the exhibit and you can understand why I feel drawn to it like a moth to a flame. These quilts are so emotionally painful to look and yet because they make their point directly to the heart, people understand what Alzheimer's is all about when they look at them. For those that don't know about this disease it's a way to appreciate why we're working so hard to end it. Those who are walking this journey with someone they love understand that they are not alone. Seeing the quilts can be cathartic, a vehicle to share their story with their friend, with me, with one of our white glovers. We ask that venues provide tissue. Some don't understand why until they need to give it to someone sobbing in front of a quilt.

5. Do you worry about becoming your mother (I think I can answer that one having watched my father disappear before my eyes and wonder if I was looking at my future).

Of course. It's only natural. If you are actively involved in caring for a relative, or even a friend, with a terminal disease it's not a big step to put yourselves in their shoes. You do that as a good caregiver all day long, trying to anticipate their needs from their point of view. Because we know that Alzheimer's probably has a genetic component, I think it's a given that anyone with a parent or sibling with his disease wonders if they're next. Like many people, as I age I have "become my mother!" Will I get Alzheimer's too? Every misspoken word, every time I forget where I put my purse, I used to wonder. Now that Mom's gone, I wonder a little less because I'm not dealing with her disease every moment. Running the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative is, to a great extent, like any other work. It's when I step back and remind myself of the reason behind the work that the fear comes back.

7. Who have become special friends or Samaritans or beloved friends through this effort.

Because of the AAQI I have had a chance to interact with thousands of people touched by this disease who have taken my struggle and made it their own. I have witnessed selflessness and generosity in our supporters which inspires me every single day. My life has become so much richer for knowing them. And, yes, there are some incredibly special people who, through this project, have become confidants, and friends. That is pure bliss.

8. What kind of quilts do you need?

We always need Priority: Alzheimer's Quilts.

These little 9" x 12" quilts account for more than half of the $300,000 we have raised so far. From the quilts we receive (more than 4,000 have been donated) I select those that I think will bring in the most money and auction them during the first 10 days of every month. We only have room for 26 quilts each month, so the rest are priced and offered for sale at quilting venues, most importantly at Houston's International Quilt Festival each October.

The Priority: Alzheimer's Quilts are also the pool of quilts from which the quilts for the next traveling exhibit will be selected.

9. How can one participate?
Visit our web site and read the "rules" to make a Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt.

Sign up for the AAQI Update and help (as much or as little as you want) with other things like printing flyers, and sharing information with your friends.

10. How’s the traveling exhibit doing? Where is it now, where is it headed?

"Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece will be hosted by the Mountain Top Quilters at their show in Prescott, Arizona on August 14 and 15. I'll be there for a lecture on the 15th which is open to the public. Check out the traveling schedule.

The quilts will stop traveling at the end of 2010, but there are still a few openings to book the exhibit early in 2010. Most of the quilts will be returned to their makers; however several have asked that I auction their quilts to raise more money for research. Our new exhibit, "Alzheimer's Illustrated: From Heartbreak to Hope" will begin traveling in January of 2011.

11. And what are you quilting right now? What do you do when not involved with AAQI?

My quilting time is pathetically non-existent, however I am trying to find time to work on a new pattern called Dancing Spools. When I'm not involved with the AAQI I basically eat and sleep. My life right now is terribly out of balance. As soon as I get some time, I'm going to try and fix that. Yeah, right.

Note: Ami has also made more than 200 quilts, and perhaps unrelated, has a quirky sense of humor that always makes me smile. Check out her blog for a laugh and maybe even a tear, but always a surprise. And if you aren't familiar with her 'rag fur', it too is worth a look!

[Copyright 2009. All materials on this blog are copyrighted.]

A few good quilters can change the world

For the past few years I have been happily interviewing quilters for articles that appear in The Quilters World magazine. Tough job, but someone has to do it. :)

The one element that seems to thread its way across the entire quilting community and pops out in each individual is the unselfish sharing. Not just fabric and pins, but caring enough to do that extra something. Many share by expanding their stitching to design and teaching. Whether it is devoting oneself to educating and encouraging beginners like that dynamic duo of Diana McClun and Laura Nownes or giving comfort to women and children, there are quilters stepping up and accepting the challenge to provide information, services and quilts.

Gwyned Trefethen of Sherborn, MA, makes delectable art quilts, but she is also founder and coordinator of The Power of the Quilt Project that provides quilts for women undergoing chemotherapy treatment and children facing hardships.

Of course Trefethen is not alone in her generous use of quilts for those in need. ABC Quilts, Linus Quilts, Amy Simms project to benefit Alzheimer Disease research, even quilts for Kosovo and Heartbeat quilts....the list continues to cover every need. Even quilts for stray cats and dogs housed in shelters. The quilt photographed here comes from the Wrap Them In Love 2007 gallery of donated quilts.

Some -- many -- make quilts in private, donating in secret. Not accepting praise or acknowledgment. Two such women live in my home town. For decades, probably even longer than I've been aware of, Carolyn and Kathleen have bought fabric, gathered scraps from whomever donated, and cut squares, pieced them together into baby quilt tops, added batting and flannel backings, knotted and bound each quilt, added a label and sent them off to missions and missionaries. The women's fellowship of the LaFayette Congregational Christian Church often gathered around these little quilts to knot and pray and maybe even gossip (just a little), but the ones who kept this project alive was always Carolyn and Kathleen. How many quilts have they donated? Don't ask them, they don't know. But if you only estimate 20 per year -- a very low estimate I'm sure -- that's at least 800 quilts. What we could all accomplish if we just decided that each year we'd make 10 quilts for charity.

As we approach the holiday season when we begin casting around for a way to help others and are overcome with the spirit of giving -- perhaps making a charity quilt will fill your need to share a bit of your own heart with those less blessed.