Fredericka Manor Quilt
When I was asked to coordinate an art project for the Front Porch Gallery, I said yes, because I knew people at Frederika would want to be involved in a project. My friend Lynne Prince and I decided to ask artists to decorate a 10” square of fabric which we would sew into a “quilt”. We chose “butterflies” as our theme because of our very successful Monarch butterfly project, headed by Hoppy Weise.
We asked the artists we knew to create a square of some kind. We stressed any type of media would do; paint, photography, embroidery, needlepoint, quilting…anything. Most wanted to be a part of the project. They took squares and started figuring out what they could do. We handed out 27 squares of fabric! A few people found working on fabric too unfamiliar and decided not to participate.
One 100-year-old resident wanted to create a square but wasn’t sure what she could do. I offered to remind her how to embroider and she sewed a beautiful square. Another resident, we knew to be a fabulous quilter, had recently moved to Summer House and did not remember how to sew any more, but we contacted her daughter and she brought us a square for the “quilt”. One woman whose hands are very gnarled by arthritis brought two counted cross-stitch pieces that she had stitched many years ago. She said, “I can’t do this kind of work anymore, but I used to love cross-stitch” …we were able to incorporate her work into the quilt!
We had the great privilege of experiencing many heartwarming and meaningful stories as people worked on their squares. In the end we had 26 finished squares. We recruited another of people to sew them together and we created and a meaningful work of art for all the residents to enjoy!
This project was important to me personally and to the residents of Frederika because we are all looking for ways to connect with our friends. People we used to see every day in the dining room or in exercise class are not a part of our lives, now. So, having a creative reason to talk to people and work together was very uplifting. Everyone felt engaged and excited to be creating a work of art with other residents. It was very gratifying as all the people working on the quilt thanked me for giving them work to do and friends to see.
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