Back to Friends@Festival

Well, dear readers, let’s start with the obvious. Quite a bit has changed in the world since our last issue came out in January.

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has seemingly touched all of us in terms of our daily lives, our outlooks, and our interactions with people and the world around us. Our hearts go out to everyone who has personally suffered in any way from the disease, as well as our front line workers who are battling it every day. And each morning seems to bring a new twist or shift to the story. We know the phrase “these are unprecedented times” gets thrown around a lot. But in this case – it’s actually true!

In our own little corner of the world, we know firsthand that quilters and sewists have responded, pivoting their home studios and sewing rooms for stitching their creative works to making masks and PPE. At perhaps no time in history have so many sewing machines been whirring and stitching so much and at the same time. And whether you’ve made them en masse to donate to a group or hospital, give to family and friends, or use as a source of extra income, you’ve helped to keep people safe and protected.

You may notice that there is a picture missing from this page. This issue of Friends@Festival marks the first since the departure of our longtime editor, Rhianna Griffin. She has decided to pursue a new path in her life and career, and we wish her the very best and thank her for building and guiding Friends@Festival into what it is today.

In this issue, we begin with a heartfelt letter from Festival Founder and Director Emeritus Karey Bresenhan with a regretted, but necessary announcement concerning the planned upcoming International Quilt Festival in Houston. And while the in-person show has been cancelled, we are busily working on putting together our first Virtual Quilt Festival! There will be more details in the fall issue.

We also tell the story of married couple Jason and Cinnamon Miles, and how their Sew Powerful organization is making a real difference in the lives of students at a school in the African country of Zambia. And how quilters and sewists from all over the world are involved in a program that’s growing every year.

Kaffe Fassett is a well-known name in the quilting and sewing world. But did you know he was also a painter? We check in with Kaffe and his niece, Erin Lee Gafill, about their unique collaborative art project and the new book that chronicles their journey.

And finally, visitors to the Quilts.com website have known about Suzanne Labry and her “Suzy’s Fancy” column for years. She scours the world of quilting past and present for stories about interesting artists, groups, history, and movements.

Her columns are great, that we’re going to hand-pick a recent one to feature again here. In this column, she write about a unique partnership between and group of quilters and the League of Women Voters to create a work celebrating the 100th anniversary of ratification of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote.

We hope that you enjoy this issue of Friends@Festival, and hope that by the time we “meet” again, things will have improved in the world. We hope that all of you stay safe, stay healthy, and of course…
keep on quilting!