Ski Village quilt
Fellow Quilters,
The quilt I am about to share with you started so nonchalantly.
Quilter’s World editor Carolyn Beam sent out a call for quilts showcasing the theme “It takes a village” as a way to connect quilters during the pandemic. I had just seen the sample yardage of FIGO Fabrics’ Winter Frost by Sara Boccaccini – so fun with its quirky head shots and snow-peaked chalet village.
Swatches of Winter Frost by Sara Boccaccini for FIGO Fabrics
I quickly set about designing a simple throw-size quilt to snuggle under on a winter day après ski in front of a roaring fire. The pieced rows of chalets have warm rust-colored doors to welcome inhabitants and visitors alike. And I quilted “windows” and roof peaks on each home, set against a dark starry sky. I called it Ski Village. The quilt was shipped off to the magazine and was just delivered back to me, having been published in the Autumn 2021 issue of Quilter’s World, on newsstands now.
Ski Village quilt
As I sit now, looking at it, I am reminded of the villages that I am part of. I live in a ski community and this quilt depicts perfectly the winter months of the year for me. Such fun I have with my fellow snowboarding buds – we’re a small minority on the slopes so we work hard to encourage and support each other – and the people I’ve met through our ski club. Many of them have become dear friends.
I am also reminded of another “village”. Last September, No. 1 Son started his 2nd cancer journey and lived with Hubby and I for 8 months while we cared for him and nursed him back to health. This quilt was completed a week before his epic surgery, during which he had a world-class team of 14 specialists working on him. He was so fortunate to have an incredible community of health care providers to treat and care for him. We are indebted to his cancer village – the state-of-the-art facility and the skilled, compassionate staff that operate it.
This evening brought to mind another village, and that is you, fellow quilters. My quilting community has been the glue to hold me together this past year of isolation. My local guild had their first meeting of the year tonight. We have been meeting over Zoom for the past year and will continue this practice for the foreseeable future. Still, how wonderful it was to see everyone after our summer break! We freely chatted in breakout rooms and shared the projects we’d completed over the summer while camping or hosting the grands. Quilting is indeed the thread that binds us.
What about you? Who is your village? I’d love to hear your story. Please leave a note in the comments below.
Leave a comment below for a chance to win this bundle
I have a giveaway! A copy of the Autumn issue of Quilter’s World was sent with my returned Ski Village quilt. I also have some fat 1/8’s of Winter Frost, and one commenter will receive this magazine & fabric bundle. Please leave a comment by midnight September 9 for a chance to win.
Coming up next: Next week is the monthly Quilt Block Mania post, with links to 16 free blocks that incorporate the “traditional with a twist” theme. I think you’ll really like my block! Two weeks later is my turn to blog for the annual Seams to be Sew Row-along that runs from September 7 through October 25, with links to 20 terrific rows with a “Seaside” theme (see my website for details). And if you’re starting your holiday/winter quilting, I have 4 new patterns to inspire you! Visit my website for details.
Stay safe, villagers, and thanks for being there😊
Patti
pattispatchwork-blog.com 
First off, Congratulations on your new pattern publication!! I love the colour theme and your story. Like you I recieve such great emotional and quilting support from a terrific guild village. However, I also have several villages in my life. My family village of 5 siblings,2 children and 5 grandchildren who give so much love and support and of course our village of friends local and back in NB. My small group of friends, my Material Girls Village. I count my blessings for all my Villages that give so much love.
Your quilt is beautiful? My quilt guild really supports one another, however; we have only met three times since February 2020 due to Covid. My brothers and sisters, my daughter, my three grandchildren, my grand daughter in-law, my four great grandsons, and Tuesday, September 7, my first great granddaughter will be born. My many nieces and nephews. My brothers and sister-in-laws. Many many cousins on both sides of our family. I am blessed!
My village is strange these days. I have a few close friends from my Guild and a couple from church. My daughter and grandsons are quite a distance from me. I must be careful with my husband’s poor health. My son is close. All in all, I am blessed. I have donated almost 40 quilts so far this year. Your quilt is wonderful. Congratulations.
I must admit that connection to my quilting friends has been a bit inadequate. A few of us have kept together through email and phone calls but my quilt guild is in Florida and I am in Canada. I am missing my in-person time and am especially missing the inspiration and enthusiasm that is hard to get without being together across a table. Hopefully, this winter will be different because of masks, vaccines and if the border opens between our two countries.
I love quilts with houses and the theme of a village is such an appropriate one for these crazy times! Quilting has been such a help getting through the last couple years of adjustments to my life. My village has been mainly family. My husband’s mom has some health issues, so we have kept our circle small to be able to help her without risk of exposure. Through all the isolation we were able to do lots of outdoor activities like kayaking and biking, so thank goodness for that.
A beautiful village quilt! As a two-time cancer survivor, I am so glad for the village of specialists and all health care workers. I wish your son all the best.
Patti, this quilt is wonderful! Hopefully we all have a village, large or small to support each other, especially during difficult times. Best wishes to your son, and keep up designing wonderful projects for us to share with our villages!
I enjoyed reading of your villages. My very best wishes for good health to your son.
Northcott has such great designers and pattern makers…..always current! Love this quilt
So wonderful seeing your quilt, and it is lovely that it is published where many people can see it. It is a fun quilt. I wish your son good health on his journey in life and no more cancer. My own village includes my family (daughter, son, sisters and cousins) and my neighbors. We don’t see each other daily, but we do communicate through phone and text. I also have a village of girlfriends from high school (class of ’78 and ’79) and we keep in touch through e-mail or Facebook, sometimes texting. It’s hard as I live in an area with the Delta Variant rampaging through the population, so I try to limit face to face contact.
I do have a village of quilting friends and I feel blessed to have them to share with
Congratulations on getting your Ski Village pattern published. The story behind the quilt sure touched my heart. We all have our community. Like you, Patti, my online community is dear to my heart. For almost 22 months now I have not seen face to face, or hugged any of my children, grands or great grands. Instead we have had video visits, texts and phone calls. My Guild has also been meeting via Zoom. The only real face to face contact I have had since the pandemic began is with my best friend at the studio we share. I occasionally get to visit my longarm and my BFF and her DH. He keeps us fed and hydrated while we are busy playing with fabric and finishing quilts on the times I get to visit. I consider myself lucky since my DH, myself and my friends have all stay safe and Covid free.
It’s important for us all to have several villages – and I think covid has made us appreciate those connections even more. When we finally get back to normal I hope we continue to treasure our communities. All the best to your son!
Congratulations on your quilt publication! I am blessed to have my family village , a sewing village of an active guild and a personal group of Material Girls and a friends village.
Thank you Patti for everything you do for S2S Guild. When covid hit and everyone required to stay at home we were lucky to have a number of quilt tops to be quilted on the long arm. As they were completed ladies did a porch pick up and dropped off more tops. We sent pictures of our suggestions for backing, thread color and quilting pattern via email or text and continued with with the process. Our quilting village kept us busy and the ladies were able to continue using their fabric stash. We are very lucky to have such a wonderful village of not only friends but a second family to get us through this time. Keep smiling Patti as you always do!