Tag: prayer quilt

Prayers and Squares

I made lots of new friends at our recent guild quilt show.  Two of them, Flo and Jan, invited me to visit their Prayers and Squares group at one of their meetings.  I went this past Sunday and was touched by the love they are stitching together.

Angela and Linda are tying a nautical-themed quilt.

I had heard of Prayers and Squares before; I have a friend who is a cancer survivor.  Faye had received a loving gift of a quilt from a group during her time of healing.  I didn’t realize there was an international organization involved.

Jan is the machine stitcher today.

Prayers & Squares is an interfaith outreach organization that combines the gift of prayer with the gift of a hand-tied quilt.  That statement is from their website, here.  Begun in 1992 in California, their website now lists thousands of chapters worldwide.  I visited with the one at Hopewell United Methodist Church near Milledgeville, chapter #1241.

Grace says she doesn’t always color coordinate her wardrobe to the quilt she’s working on…but I couldn’t help but notice that she did that today.

This group of eleven women meets monthly.  On the day I visited, they were celebrating their fifth anniversary as a Prayers and Squares chapter, and they were putting finishing touches on their quilt #170.

The emphasis on these lap-sized quilts is simplicity. Members take donated fabrics and coordinate them with a theme or motif appropriate for the recipient.

The emphasis is on the prayers, not the squares.   Each of the quilts is tied, not stitched, to secure the layers of love.  “Each knot represents a prayer.”  

Jeanene works to get all the layers smooth before final stitching is done around the edge.

Not all of the members are quilters outside of this group.  Flo, who learned of the organization and started this chapter, says that some people said, “I’d like to help, but I don’t know how to sew.”  Her reply was, “can you pin, can you cut, can you tie a knot?”  All skills are welcomed.

Becki and Ginny are pinning quilts, backs, and batting together in preparation for machine closure. Becki’s recent sewing project at home was a granddaughter’s prom dress.

Especially welcomed in this group was the talent for organization possessed by Patty.  A retired helicopter pilot, Patty used her military-like precision to ensure efficient work habits.  Every quilt has a design sheet specifying each step of the project. Projects are carefully labeled with what’s to be done next.  Zippered bags hold projects at every stage of development – so when the group meets to work, each person just picks up a packet and proceeds to the next step.  Patty has since moved away, but her presence is felt with every quilt this group makes.

The bin holding projects at every stage of work to be completed…members had already pulled bags and gotten to work by the time I took this photo.
This is a quilt made by Patty in recognition of this chapter of Prayers and Squares. Charter members’ names are embroidered on the bindings of the books. The fabrics used for the books are left over from quilts the group had made and presented to people who requested prayers. The fabrics are in the order of the quilts made using them.
Embroidery on the back of Patty’s quilt pictured above.

I wrote earlier about a quilt I made for a friend, Every Stitch a Prayer.  That experience ties me to these women who meet to sew and pray for someone in need every month.

Flo with the latest prayerful quilt ready for the recipient.
A closeup of the tag that goes on every quilt. On the back are instructions for laundering the quilt.

If you want to know more about this organization, perhaps joining a chapter near you, or even starting another group, check out the website at prayerquilt.org.