All the talk in 1999 was about “The New Millennium” when the calendar would turn to the year 2000. The world’s computers had not been programmed so far ahead, and wouldn’t recognize the new year. Airplanes would fall out of the sky, electrical grids would crash, gasoline wouldn’t be available at the pumps, bank computers would die and we would all have to grow our own potatoes. Scary stuff, indeed! But quilters are an intrepid and optimistic lot, and in 1999, an international internet group decided to swap 24 2-½” squares of scraps plus a “siggie square,” a piece of plain fabric with the name, locale and date of the swapper. A quilt would be made that year in honor of Y2K, The New Millennium. I swapped with 68 people, 1700 squares, most of whom lived throughout the United States, but others as far away as New Zealand and Belgium. I began making 25-patch blocks until I was about halfway through, when we moved from Keechi, Texas, to Crossville, Tennessee. The quilt was in pieces in a bag until 2012, when two friends urged me to finish the quilt, and they offered to help. Verda Hopkins and Mary Ann Stanford and I worked an entire day, from mid-morning until late afternoon, sewing together charms until the entire top was finished! We were exhausted, but I was elated! I talked about it in my blog, “ScrapsofHappiness.blogspot.com,” and mentioned I had to find more fabric from that era to piece a backing. A generous lady in Canada sent me about five yards of fabric that had “2000” and “Millennium” on it, and a friend, Valerie Herrmann in Crossville, gave me bits and pieces of fabric from that time, as well. I quilted it and sewed the binding to one side, and Mary Ann finished the binding for me. Today is April 12, 2012, more than 13 years since the idea for a Y2K Millennium Quilt was born. But once this label is sewn on, it will be finished and will be treasured for many years to come.
This has been a busy month since I last blogged, but I'll be bringing you up to date in bits and pieces :-D
Check at Sarah's place for other wonderful accomplishments here:
ConfessionsofaFabricAddict.Blogspot.com
