Louise Chisholm- Kids Quilting For Playground Improvements on Long Island, N.S

These young quilt people often stop in for a visit—we sit around, eat cookies, and talk. Just now they are excited about proposed improvements to the school playground, but after years of fundraising the Home and School Association has raised $l0,000. With grants that is only enough for l piece of equipment. Most of the stuff in the playground is rusted, rotten and broken. So the children thought we could make a series of quilts to sell and give the money to the Home and School.

I put up posters and we had a meeting at my house. Helen Ivens gave me a stock of small cloth squares with names of island people written on them in indelible inks. She has collected these since 1991. These squares are the main element in our quilts. Our theme is : Our people, our strength—a tribute to the glory, resilience and strength of the island people. The children who attended were: Carter Thurber, Molly Graham, Claudia Crocker, Maeve Dixon, Jesse Burns, Sawyer Burns, and Adam Desmarais. We met, ate cookies, drew designs, ate cookies, chose fabric and drank juice. Then we went down to the pond and fed the goldfish. Carter fell in, but only at the edge.

Now we meet one by one to cut and sew each design. Others are helping too, Will Dixon, Caleb Stark. Stephanie Smith, Lorena Howard, Hannah Outhouse, and virtually everyone who comes to the house are making squares or designs for a square, involving more and more people in this project

We plan to have ten 40 inch by 40 inch quilts completed by September 09. These quilts will be knotted of quilted, fully functional, machine wash and dry. Each quilt will have l blank square amongst the names, so the purchaser may add any name they wish. The Home and School will exhibit and sell them (auction??). The contact person is Helen Ivens, 839-2996 (home), 839-6300 (work). As each quilt is completed it will be photographed and put on this site so you can preview it before the exhibit in the fall.