A Thousand Colors

I couple of weeks ago there was a major earthquake in Italy. I heard about it on the news and immediately e-mailed my friend Roberta who lives in Italy to ask about her safety. Roberta and I became quilting friends through blogging and last summer we actually had a chance to meet and spend a day together in California. We had SO MUCH FUN!!! We got lost, we found a quilt store, we chatted constantly. Since that time, Roberta and I sometimes exchange e-mails and we pray for each other and each other's family.

I was very relieved to hear that Roberta and her family were safe and I promised to pray for Italy. Then last week I received another e-mail from Roberta, this one a general request for any quilters who might want to offer comfort to the children of Italy, specifically in Abruzzo where the earthquake hit.

I responded to Roberta and this morning received another e-mail from her with details for her project called A Thousand Colors for the Children of Abruzzo. Roberta is heading a group that she hopes can donate hundreds of quilts in bright and cheerful colors to children from between ages 3 to 5. She is asking quilters to make quilts 48" x 60" large in simple patterns. Not an heirloom quilt, not a work of art, a comforting, bright, happy quilt.

"The children of Abruzzo do not need blankets to warm them up, the italian relief corp Protezione Civile provided wool blankets for all the folks, what they need is a colorful quilt that they can hold, play with and call their own, a Linus blanket !"

I am planning to take up Roberta on her challenge of making a quilt for a child in Italy. If any other quilters have some extra time, extra fabric and feel a calling to help out please check out Roberta's blog page http://simplyninepatch.blogspot.com/ It is written both in Italian and English. She has set a deadline for June 30th for European quilters and a July 15th deadline for any other overseas participants.

I'm going to go and check out my bright colors stash!