We have all seen the pictures of the devastating conditions in Japan after the Quake and the terrible aftermath. A lot of the survivors have lost their homes, their livelihood and loved ones.
The Japanese have given us so much inspiration with their wonderful aesthetics and incredible talent for creating beautiful handmade items. We for sure have been tremendously inspired by Japanese culture in our private and professional lives and Susan and I were both lucky enough to have traveled to Japan several times and it was always the most refreshing experience.
This is why we are launching big craft events her in Portland, OR to bring crafters together and create Quilts for those in Japan who have lost everything.
Why Quilts you ask? Because quilts stand for love, warmth, and comfort. Log Cabin quilting is probably the easiest quilting method, extremely economical and yields beautiful results. It also symbolizes the heart of the home – the center square represents the lamplight or fire in the hearth, surrounded by the “logs” or walls of the log cabin. We’d like to share this feeling of friendship, home and warmth with those who need it most.
So the idea is to get all of you involved by donating some time and some of your scraps. We’d ask you to cut from your stash 2″ wide fabric strips. You can either send those in or – even better – assemble some of those strips in simple log cabin quilt squares. More on how to easily piece and assemble quilt squares later this week in simple tutorials.
Once we get some inventory, we will organize quilting bees, where volunteers come together to sew quilt squares, create beautiful color combinations with existing squares, sash them and then quilt them together with simple methods, like hand tying or machine quilting. Whatever is best suitable for the designs. We could even machine embroider a personal message….
We have created a separate site for this event for information, updates, tutorials and what we need. As we go, we’ll also upload photos to the flickr pool to see the process, progress and maybe even spot the fabrics that you have sent in.
But there are also other ways you can help!
We will need yardage of solids or sheeting for sashing and backing, batting, threads and needles. If you have old sheets or unused fabrics – that is something we will need a lot off!
If you are a shop owner and would like to host a QfQ Event in your area, we’d love to help you!
Besides that, we will need ample of sewing help! It doesn’t matter weather you are an experienced quilter, sewer or just a beginner. There will be lots of simple and more complex tasks to do – and the best is, you’ll get free sewing lessons!
There are two possible end results: We make baby, children and lap sized quilts (and hopefully many of them) or we can possibly create one big one that can be auctioned off at the end. Or maybe both, we’ll see where this thing could go. Thoughts?
Please spread the word!!!
This is not intended for immediate help but we would think a 1-2 month timeline. So when all the media frenzy is calming down, this is when we would be able to give those gifts. We know it doesn’t change the world but it’s a symbol of hope and knowing that we care…
