Five Years Later

It's hard to believe that 5 years have already passed since 9-11. As I watched the news coverage and documentaries this week (my favorite was "The Falling Man" by 'The Passionate Eye'), I remembered how quilters around the world responded to this tragedy. In September 2001 the owners of "Little Quilts" in Georgia asked for donations of small quilts, hoping to gather enough quilts (several hundred) to give one to each of the families who lost a firefighter or police officer.
In response, I collected my bits of fabrics and began to create a quilt to contribute. I used these pieces of cloth to soothe myself, to restore my own sense of hopefulness, to calm my anxiety in this time of crisis, and to remember that peace is restored one piece at a time. I sewed a little quilt, wrote a message of condolence and love on the back, packaged it up with a postage donation and all my best wishes, and mailed it to Georgia.
The store was overwhelmed with the more than 2,300 quilts received and in 2002 published a book called "Patriotic Little Quilts" showing some of the quilts they received, including mine!
This is the postcard they sent out to quilters showing some of the quilts they received: Anne Johnson wrote: "We take the scattered pieces of fabric and create something brand new, something beautiful and uniquely ours. In a small way we feel a sense of individual empowerment and a bit less helpless in coping with greater events."