Project Guatemala Quilt: Creating Patchwork for a Good Cause

The goal: To create a quilt with designs related to Guatemala to raffle with all proceeds going to a designated charity in that country. “It is quite clear that there are many creative people who will be involved,” said Diane, an adoptive mom who came up with Project Guatemala Quilt. “I was thinking that creating a quilt would be a fun, constructive use of the focus we all have on Guatemala right now. There would be many ways to contribute to the project. All input is welcome.”

Volunteers are needed to make blocks used from white cotton muslin for the background, keeping two inches of white around all sides of the design so the block can be cut to fit. The blocks can be square or rectangle and all designs will be related to Guatemala such as the name of a place there, lizards, iguanas, birds, Mayan hieroglyphics, or a flag. Volunteers may embroider, cross-stitch, appliqu�©, patch-work; whatever sparks their creativity, says Diane. You can make as many blocks as you want.

“We can make more than one quilt and/or make pillows,” Diane suggested to her group on adoption.com. Volunteers are also needed to piece the blocks together, quilt the top to the batting and backing, handle the raffle process, and a committee of a few people will be formed to decide on a charity. Another adoptive mom said she loved the idea of using “some authentic material from Guatemala to make some patchwork blocks.”

“Personally I feel like we are fortunate to have Guatemala as our theme,” she said. “Vibrant colors are a common part of the culture throughout the country and it is easy to come up with some great ideas simply by doing image searches on Google.” A suggestion offered was that if everyone uses white cotton for the background of their blocks and allows about a 2″ area on all four sides that is free of design, then the pieces can be cut as needed to be pieced together.

“I’m sort of picturing a colorful fabric to be used as pieces between the decorative blocks to tie it all together,” one adoptive mom suggested. “From there, I think a potluck approach will make the quilt fun and special! You can use bold colors, do something that inspires you, do patchwork, do embroidery, whatever you enjoy.” This particular mom said, for instance, that Puerto Iztapa is special to her and it is a popular area for sail fishing.

“I am thinking I might embroider a sailfish with the name of the area,” she said. “Coffee beans are another easy idea that could be done as an appliquÃ?© or embroidery. Some of the Mayan textile designs would be fun to use or copy. Hieroglyphics would look great and could even be done in just black and white.” This adoptive mom said she thought she saw a site with pictures of coats of arms from the different departments of Guatemala that were quite colorful and would make great blocks.

“I really believe the beauty will be in the variety of the designs,” she said. “There is bound to be some part of this quilt that will have meaning to everyone involved. Maybe some people have artistic talents and can make some designs and perhaps others would like to do the ‘needle and thread’ parts and not create the designs.”

Sonya, a mom to Mary and Guatemala Program Coordinator, said she loves to quilt. “I will probably use some authentic material from Guatemala to make some patchwork blocks,” she said. Sonya adopted her son who was born Nov. 29, 2002, bringing him home Dec. 18, 2003. Stephanie, adoptive mom of Kiran Tomas, 2, born in Mazatenango, Guatemala, said the idea sounded like “a lovely project.”

“I have never quilted but would love to add a few blocks to this quilt,” she said. “This would be a fun gifting giving idea for those that you only spend a few bucks onâÂ?¦inside a card you can say, ‘a quilt block was donated in your nameâÂ?¦.;etc’. My family is really getting into the spirit of donating instead of exchanging gifts this year and this is another excellent idea that the family can actually work on together.”

Another adoptive mom who is going to be involved in the project said she was glad to see that others were interested. “I have a feeling the finished piece will be beautiful,” she said. “I can’t wait to start seeing some finished blocks. This will be fun.” This mom’s adoptive son was born Oct. 3rd. Catherine, adoptive parent of Nicho, said her daughter was just learning to quilt.

“The organizers can count us in. It’s a great idea!” she said. Becky, a Guatemala Program Coordinator and mother of five including Isabella Grace who was born in Guatemala City in March 2002, said she loved the project idea. She brought her adopted daughter home in July 2002. “I haven’t quilted in a long time but this might inspire me to do a block or two, “she said.