Each Friday, provided someone doesn’t get sick, the machines start whirring and the iron starts heating as work continues on the 2017 Mendota Cemetery Quilt.      A few weeks ago, I posted and showed you the center of the quilt.  The colors are intense and vibrant, even though this picture doesn’t look that way.   I love these intense colors.  Can you tell who picked out the pieces?

Color and shading of the fabric are important components of quilting.  It is a combination of good fabric, math, artistry and sewing skills.  And ironing!  I included ironing because I am the “ironing person” next Friday.  I have not sewn a stitch.  I never do, but I suppose that will change at some point.  Right now, Patsy Carrier and I do the majority of the ticket selling so we get a pass.

The pieces below are softer in color than the ones that are pictured above.  They are the new “row” beyond the center section of the quilt.  The next section will even be more muted.   We haven’t got that one done yet.

I reached out to the Graphic Arts group at the Scott County Vocational School to ask if they will print our tickets.  For nonprofits, they will sometime help us out and it saves almost $50-$75.

Someone asked last week why the quilt is called the “Cemetery Quilt.”   They thought –“is it for a funeral?”    The answer is no.  It is to continued the time-honored Southern tradition of a cemetery being maintained and present for families during their time of need.   In lieu of charging for the burial, we ask that these families make donations in the future so that others can also benefit.   The reality is that many bury their family members, and we don’t hear from them again to aid monetarily or to help clean up occasionally.    Their disappearance  leaves a burden on the remaining folks who do honor their responsibility.

If you are reading this and you have family or friends buried at the Mendota Cemetery, please make a donation or buy a number of these tickets.   If you wish to participate in a clean-up day, message me and I”ll get the word to the right person.

We all have a responsibility to do what we can.