50. Wishing Well Quilt

"I wouldn't want this quilt, not my colors." So said one of the passersby to whom I was trying to sell raffle tickets for this quilt. Others bought the tickets only after telling me they cared about the cause, if not the quilt. It was yet another reminder that the objects which have been an inordinately important part of my life do not have the same significance to all people. But this particular work at least had the potential to do a bit of good. It was made--with help from my guild members--to call attention to the terrible events happening in Iraq and Afghanistan. My nephew is one of the many Americans serving in Iraq, and though I fervently hope he returns unscathed, war will always leave its mark. Funds raised by this quilt were donated to the Wounded Warrior Project, to take care of returning soldiers.

Ten t-shirts shirts, representing all branches of the military, were ordered from the "Take Pride" website to form the building blocks of this quilt. When first opening the package, it was impossible to imagine how I would ever work them into one quilt--fuschia with brown with red, white, and blue? Providentially, some of the decorator sample fabrics I'd been given just happened to include multiple colorways of beautifully embroidered designs which helped enormously with the job of coordinating and taming the riot of color. The rest of the quilt's story fell into place, and I fervently hope that some day the events about which it reminds us will be resolved as well.