The inspiration for this quilt came to me a long time ago and has been evolving in the back of my brain ever since. It seems to me that we (and by we, I mean all of us humans, most recently the Modern Quilt Guild) talk A LOT about our differences. Diversity conversations feel more divisive to me than inclusive (and I do believe they are MEANT to be inclusive). When I saw the prompts for this year's QuiltCon charity quilts, I knew that "The Writing on the Wall" was meant to be a collaborative effort among our guild members. Fortunately, the board agreed with me!
Using fabrics donated by local quilt shops, Stitched With Love and Not Your Mama's Quilt Store, guild members were asked to stitch one positive word in response to the prompt "I am...". Seventeen different members created words. I'm sure every member (and everyone else on the planet for that matter!) can relate to one or more of the words made. It doesn't matter how old you are, what gender, sexuality, nationality..... certainly you can connect to the words presented here.
After the words were completed, various members gathered on sew days to assemble the brick wall with our words on it. So many hands touched this quilt in it's making. Truly a group effort.
When the quilt top was finished, member Diann Loper and her husband Jeff of Happy Quilts worked their magic with an overall quilt motif that mimicked our bricks theme.
And now our quilt is ready to head to Austin. If you are attending QuiltCon, please snap a picture of you and your friends in front of our quilt and use the hashtag #mckmqg. Maybe tell us what word you would add to the wall! See you at QuiltCon!