Northborough Ward Relief Society: We love Connie!

Connie, a dear sister in our RS who has given so much & meant so much to scores of women who have come through our ward over the years, recently lost her husband to a sudden heart attack. A couple weeks after his passing, the quilt idea was born. I had a stack of 40 Moda's Simplicity 10" quilt squares called a "cake layer" sitting on my sewing shelf waiting for a very special project. Sara M. sent an E-vite out and we spread the word that all of the sisters were invited to take a quilt square and decorate it any which way they wanted to express their love for Connie. Women who have moved out of our ward participated as well, and the response was so great that I raided my fabric stash for coordinating fabric to cut 25 more squares. The response was a testament to the friend Connie has always been. We gave these women 10 DAYS to return the squares so that I could sew the quilt top together during General Conference weekend and then we could start tying the quilt during April's enrichment gathering. Meanwhile this was to be kept secret! Yes, miracles DO happen in this Relief Society! :D

The quilt squares came in from near and far and it was really remarkable to see the thought and love put into each square. There were scripture verses, poems, a birdhouse, handprints, embroidery, genealogy, references to fond shared memories, and on and on. I sewed 1 1/2" strips of white fabric to the right hand side of each square (with the exception of the squares on the far right column of the quilt). Each of those blocks sewn in order made up the horizontal rows of the quilt. Next I sewed a 1 1/2" white strip of fabric in between each horizontal row, followed by the white border. ...and the quilt top was DONE!

At April enrichment we started tying the quilt. We used all different colors of embroidery floss...colors that complimented the color scheme of the quilt fabric, and a white flannel flat sheet for the backing. A week or so after enrichment, we had a girls' night out at Charlene's and made big progress tying Connie's quilt. Next, we handed the quilt over to the Young Women who came oh, so close to finishing it at their activity. I finished up tying the border. On to the binding...

The binding is made up of coordinating Moda Simplicity fabric that was pre-cut into a 5" squares (the "charm pack"). Kathe took care of the binding and did a beautiful job hand-stitching the binding to the backing...100's of stitches.

Miraculously we all kept this beautiful project a secret from Connie. On Mother's Day we even had it on the RS room table for last minute signatures and notes of love...from Connie's former Sunbeams (can you find their "sunny" block?) and her current CTR 7 class. The children adore Connie.

Toward the end of our VTing conference, Jan read a poem about Connie written by Sheryl, and Tammy and I held up the quilt. The future may mean a change of scenery for Connie and we were glad to offer her a constant warm reminder that she has touched so many lives and we each love her right back, and pray for her daily comfort. Connie admired the quilt for the rest of RS. We talked about all of the different quilt blocks and it was fun for her to see the names of women who have moved away, but still contributed. Connie was overwhelmed with gratitude.

Amy had the foresight to bring a camera. These are photos of Connie receiving her quilt. There were a few cameras there. If you have photos you want to add, please let me know.

I'm pointing to a block that Jan machine embroidered with the RS emblem that they used on small bags when Connie was RS president years ago. "Charity Never Faileth."