Bravery required....

The Alabama State Royal Ranger Leadership retreat was the last weekend in October; always a nice break to get away to the state AG conference center...which is a beautiful spot a couple hours south of us.

 

Every year, missionaries come in to share their ministry; this year, we had both home and foreign missions represented....including a young couple working in India.  One of the areas they are working in had a lot of women with very little opportunities, so they began a small business, employing the ladies to sew from home making Kantha quilts.  They taught the ladies how to sew the quilts and now these ladies actually have a marketable skill and can help their families.

They  had some small and medium blankets with them for sale, plus scarves and headwraps.

I got excited.  I'd seen so many GORGEOUS projects made from Kantha quilts.  It was quite a challenge to go through the pieces they'd brought to find something that I could use.  The largest blankets they  had with them were medium, which are about 40" wide and 6 feet long.  I could get a jacket front and back from one piece, but I needed another piece for the sleeves.  Finally I found a medium blanket and  a  small blanket with comparable pinks and close-enough greens.  The  larger piece is 5 saris thick (two outer ones plus three layered inside) while the smaller one is 3 saris thick (only one inner for batting).

They have a website, with quilts available, as well as a link to meet their artisans and learn their stories:

 ReMade India

The blankets have labels with the names of the ladies who made them.  Whatever I make, the labels are going to be part of the finished product.

First issue:  deciding on a pattern to use
Second issue: Placing the pattern on the quilts to best use the fabric design
Third issue:  Being brave enough to cut into it.

Not sure when this is going to happen...but I gave myself the challenge to finish it so I can wear it to next year's conference. ;-)