Rainbow Around the Block Project, with Anna Maria Horner

This past month, enormous and devastating floods hit Nashville. The media didn’t give them a whole lot of attention, which made many of us think the effects were minimal.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Most of the city’s downtown was under water, and thousands of families lost their homes.  The clean-up is ongoing, and the damage is one of the worst flood events in US history.

Anna Maria Horner, one of my absolute favorite fabric designers, is a Nashville resident and has put together a project to benefit those who have lost their belongings to the flood.  She points out that while many of them have insurance and certainly FEMA will be giving assistance, nothing can really replace the feeling of having handmade crafts in your home.

The Rainbow Around the Block Project is an effort to create handmade quilts to offer to flood victims as a way to bring more warmth into their lives as they recover.  Whipstitch is acting as a drop-off point for the project in Atlanta, and we’re proud to be participating in the effort.

Details:

Create a patchwork quilt block of any style to be added to other donated blocks which will be stitched into quilts.  That’s it!  Just be sure that your quilt block measures 12.5″ x 12.5″ (it’ll be 12″ x 12″ finished), and that you choose a monochromatic color scheme.  Other than that, the sky and your skill are the limit!  This is a great chance to try out a new shape or even try your hand at quilting for the very first time.  See complete details on Anna Maria’s site.

Quilt-Ins at Whipstitch

As part of our participation in the project, we’ll be holding a series of Quilt-Ins at the shop!  Set aside an afternoon or evening to come join us in stitching together quilt blocks to send on to Nashville.  Meet us at the shop with your scraps and machine, and we’ll pitch in drinks and scraps as we work for the cause.  Participants who complete two or more blocks during one of our Quilt-In sessions will receive a 10% off coupon to use on their next visit to the shop, so bring it, y’all!

Quilt-In Dates for the Rainbow Around the Block Project:

• Sunday, June 27 from 2-4 pm
• Monday, July 19 from 7-9 pm
• Friday, August 20 from 11-2 pm

Can’t join us in person, but want to contribute to the cause?  Mail your blocks to us and we’ll add them to our shipments!  We’re shipping to Nashville on the following dates, and would be proud to include your quilt blocks when we do:

• Tuesday, June 29
• Thursday, July 29
• Monday, August 30

Quilt blocks can be shipped to: Whipstitch Fabrics, 1000 Marietta St, Suite 102, Atlanta, GA 30312.

Thanks for being part, y’all, and taking the time to give back!