Create Peace by Piece

Sometimes you get this idea in your head that just won't leave until it comes to fruition. That is my 'Peace' quilt!

For years I toyed with plans, drew up ideas and patterns to make this quilt.

Nothing seemed to stick.

It was a bit daunting just thinking about how I would actually piece it together. I tried a couple small blocks, but they only ever made it to potholder size. They never seemed right. I had this image in my head and none of my designs quite fit.

For the past 5 years or so I have participated in a fabric challenge sponsored by a quilt shop called StitchCraft. This year, I was no longer in the area so they sent me the fabric. When it came, instead of the usual 1 piece of printed fabric, there were 3 solid pieces, bright pink, neon green and a beautiful mid blue. I was stumped. Solids were not my thing. None of my attempts to make a quilt of all solids had yet come about.

The fabric sat there. It continued to keep all creative ideas at bay. Then one day as I was working I happened to look up at my world map. The World was in chaos, the virus news had people scared and their pointing fingers. The World needed some way to come together.

I would quilt a world map !

The fabrics for the challenge would be

a perfect start. I started cutting strips and

laying out the design. Hundreds of pieces

later, I was ready to sew it together.

Well I thought I was. I added strip sections as I went to keep the design's shape. And make sure my map had enough room.

Once I had it pretty close to finished I decided on adding the 'When'.

The map quilting was the fun part. I copied my large world map. Islands and all. I outlined the quilting again so the map would show up nicely.

I had finally made my Peace quilt. Now I could move on.

In retrospect, I wish I would have said, 'Please'.