A story.....Una storia....

When i sent out " A Thousand Colors " i received many enthusiastic answers, one of them came from Switzerland from C. and her daughter S. who is fifteen years old. C. told me she already belonged to a guild that sewed very small quilts for premies and told me what a comfort is for mothers to bring home their little ones in a colorful and warm blanket made with care and love.

Quando ho mandato Mille Colori in giro per il mondo, ho ricevuto molte risposte entusiaste. Una di queste e' arrivata dalla Svizzera da C. e sua figlia quindicenne S.

C. fa parte di una associazione che cuce quiltini per neonati prematuri e mi ha raccontato che conforto e' per la mamma sapere che qualcuno ha cucito con amore una calda copertina per il suo bimbo.

C. wrote me that she and her daughter wanted to contribute to the project by sewing at least 8 quilts! To me it was so much, but i have learn in life not to question generosity ( among other things ) and i thanked her. This was back in april.

C. mi scrisse che lei e sua figlia desideravano contribuire al progetto con 8 quilts! Mi sembrava moltissimo, al momento le adesioni erano alla fase iniziale quindi aggiungerne otto mi sembrava un sogno, cosi' le scrissi per ringraziarla della sua generosita'. Questo era in aprile.

In late may C. wrote me telling that she and S. had sewn 18 quilts! Wrote again thanking her for her generosity and hard work on the project.

I asked for pictures, it is a beautiful thing that a mother and daughter work on a common project, at times i did that with my daughter Gioia and it was great time spent together ( i miss those times Cookie! ). So pictures came.

A maggio inoltrato C. scrive dicendo che lei e S. avevano terminato 18 quilts! Risposi ringraziandole per la loro continua generosita' e impegno nel progetto.

Chiesi delle foto. E' una cosa bellissima quando mamma e figlia lavorano ad un progetto comune, a volte l'ho fatto con mia figlia Gioia ed e' il tempo meglio speso ( mi mancano quei momenti Cookie! ). Cosi' arrivarono le foto.

Here is S. happily sewing! Ecco S. che cuce felicemente!

Ed ecco alcuni quilts ultimati sul prato di casa!
Here are some finished quilts on the lawn!

Arriva giugno e C. mi scrive che ha terminato 30 quilts e che si spostera' a trovare i suoi genitori in Ticino per poter spedire i pacchi dall'Italia!

June arrives and C. writes that she will travel in Ticino ( very close to the border of Italy ) to visit her parents and mail the large package containing 30 quilts!

La storia non finisce qui...... The story does not end here....

Thirty quilts arrived last week in two very large packages, it took the official Unpacker some time to open them... La settimana scorsa sono arrivati i 30 quilts in due pacchi enormi, ci e' voluto un po' di tempo allo Spacchettatore ufficiale per aprirli...

We curiously begin looking at the quilts by displaying them on our living room carpet and lo and behold i turn one of them on the back....than another one, then another one....i went on like that 30 times.....the backings were made with another quilt!!!!

Iniziamo ad aprire i quilts ansiosi di vederli, come del resto facciamo io e Vincent con tutti i pacchi che arrivano.....ne giro uno....poi un altro....poi un altro....questo per 30 volte.....tutti i retro dei quilts erano altri quilts!!!

Needless to say we were amazed at the work and when i called C. and again thanked her for her work and asked her why she decided to put another quilt instead of the usual plain backing ( by the way, many of you pieced their backing making the quilt more interesting!!!! ) she answered sweetly with her musical french accent: " Because it was more fun to do it like that!"

Mio marito ed io siamo rimasti di sasso al lavoro incredibile che contenevano i quilts e quando ho telefonato a C. per ringraziarla per l'ennesima vola e chiederle perche' ha messo un altro quilt sul retro lei, con il suo accento francese cosi' musicale , mi ha risposto: " Perche' e' piu' divertente cosi! "

Ho imparato molto tramite il lavoro di C. e S. .....il tempo donato per gli altri ritorna prima o poi, un giorno C. e S. forse saranno le beneficiarie del lavoro di altri che nemmeno conoscono proprio come io lo sono stata del loro lavoro che passero' ai bimbi abruzzesi. Sono certa che lavorare insieme le ha avvicinate l'una all'altra e il loro rapporto mamma figlia e' diventato piu' forte. Ho anche imparato che si puo' essere molto piu' '' libere'' nella realizzazione di un quilt e divertirsi a mescolare tessuti diversi fra loro anche in genere ed usare il loro colore. Il modo in cui sono compost i loro quilts, a fascioni, intercalati da pannelli a tema e assemblati liberamente ed istintivamente hanno portato aria fresca nella mia stanza lavoro, la mia Officina Patch.

I learned a lot through C. and S. ' s work.....time given to others does come back to you, i' m sure one day C. and S. will be the recipients of love from someone they do not even know, just like i have been with their work and i will pass it on to the kids in Abruzzo. I'm sure also that they grew closer by working together with a common goal and that will result in a deeper relationship mother and daughter. I also learned that you can make a quilt in a freer way by putting very different fabrics together and only looking at their color, the simple yet very pleasing compositions are a breath of fresh air to the way i approach quilting.....i could go on....

Grazie a tutte per il vostro lavoro per i bimbi d' Abruzzo....Una Persona a me molto cara ha detto due millenni fa : " Vi e' piu' gioia nel dare che nel ricevere.'' Gesu'

Thank you all for your work for the children of Abruzzo....A Person very dear to my heart two thousand years said: " There is more joy to give than to receive." Jesus

Questa e' una delle storie, ce ne saranno altre.....continuate a venire, siete sempre benvenute.

This is just one story, there will be others.....keep on visiting, you are always welcome.

Roberta

altre foto...more pictures

a little math

Today was a long and hot day here in Italy and on top of that i had to do a little math.... not my favorite subject! Maybe you can help.... one pile says 81......The new one says 41.....

81 plus 41 makes 122, And that's quilts for a thousand colors!!!!!!!!

some work

Last spring Bernina friends were invited to celebrate the newest series 800, by entering their work in a contest. The rules were simple, one could enter any textile work: a quilt, a garment, a bag ect., the number 8 used for the 800 series was to be present in the work, the colors were to be black, white with a touch of red and silver, the work had to be sewn on a Bernina sewing machine ( how do they figure that out i do not know :))! ). Only one winner, only one prize: an Aurora 440 sewing machine or a coupon of the amount of the Aurora to be placed toward the purchase of a 800 series. I was really enticed by it so i participated. The piece i made is very detailed and it was a challenge, i learned every day things about design, color and composition. I used most of the functions of my sewing machine ( an Aurora 440, i love it! ) and i got to know her much better.
I did not win the prize, but i won because i learned so much in the process. Every day was a new discovery, working in ways i never worked before and getting out of my comfort zone.

Stretch yourself today and learn new things, you'll love it!

Roberta

more pictures!

how higher will it get?

This is the beginning of the " Pile ", that's how it's called in our house. It sits very visibly in the open foyer of our home and if the door is open anyone passing by can see it. I enjoy it constantly since our home is sort of open and i pass by it very often to go in the kitchen or any other place in the house. Quilts are now coming every day and here is the new Pile: 59 quilts! We will see how high it will get.... I want you to meet the official " Unpacker ", I had to create the position since he claimed it as soon as the first quilt arrived: my husband Vincent. He loves to open packages that come our way.... so it was natural for him to do it for a thousand colors.

Here he is opening the large box that came today containing four quilts, he is aided by my darling dog Vera, our italian hound, she loves to inspect the quilts by sniffing them!

Don't they look like experts in checking out the quilts?

Yesterday we marked the record of number of quilts received in one day: 8!!! Assan came over with a smile as big as his face telling me: " Roberta you have four boxes today! " Later the mailperson stopped by giving us notices for three more packages to be picked up at the post office. Four quilts were from Switzeland, one from my Italia, one from Germany and two from Japan from my friend Tanya Watanabe. Aren't they all beautiful? You all have and are working so hard to make this project possible, every day i learn of new quilts in the making and i really do not know when it's going to stop!!! Thank you all from my heart, i knew quilters were special, but i was not ready to be so overwhelmed by all the love and generosity. Life in Abruzzo right now is really hard, 20'000 people still live in tents, many in hotels along the coast and yesterdy they had a "shake" of 5,4. I'm glad we will all be able to bring a smile to many children's faces when school starts with our quilts!

A big hug to all of you

Roberta

Quanto alta diventera'?

Ecco la " Pila " al suo umile inizio quando i primi quilts arrivavano. La foto vicina e' la Pila oggi,

ben 59 quilts ! Ogni giorno ormai ne arrivano, irei e' stata la giornata record, otto in un giorno.

Assan ormai mi da del tu e mi chiama per nome, ieri e' arrivato con un sorriso che gli occupava l'intera faccia dicendo: " Oggi ci sono quattro colli per te! E sono grandi! " Sono tutti in bella mostra nella spaziosa entrata di casa nostra e siccome casa e' tutta aperta, ogni volta che passo li ammiro felice. Nella terza foto, vi presento lo " Spacchettatore" ufficiale di Mille Colori, mio marito Vincent, aiutato dalla sua ombra, la nostra cagnetta Vera che essendo un segugio italiano, il suo contributo e' quello di annusare tutti i quilts. Non sembrano due esperti giudici di quilts? La sola differenza e' che in questo concorso vincono tutti il primo premio perche' sono gesti d'amore e di generosita'.

Chi e' gia' stato in Abruzzo personalmente, riporta che la vita di ogni giorno e' durissima, specie per chi e' in tenda e specie per le donne. Il nostro pensiero vada a loro stasera insieme ad una preghiera.

Vi abbraccio tutte

Roberta

Two years today!

It's been two years already! So many miles between us, and believe me i can get pretty emotional about it. Today my daughter Gioia and her husband Patrick celebrate their second wedding anniversary. They live at the other side of the world near LA., i cannot hop over and bring them a gift or invite them over for dinner, but i can rejoice with them that they are together and where God wants them.

Have a wonderful day Patrick and Gioia, I love you!

Sono gia' due anni

Sono gia' due anni! Tantissimi chilometri ci separano e posso proprio commuovermi al solo pensiero, oggi mia figlia Gioia e suo marito Partick celebrano il loro secondo anniversario di nozze. Vivono dall'altra parte del mondo, vicino a Los Angeles. Non posso fare un salto a fare loro gli auguri, o invitarli a cena da noi, ma posso essere felice insieme a loro perche' sono insieme dopo aver vissuto il loro amore con un oceano di mezzo e sono dove Dio li vuole.

Godetevi la giornata Patrick e Gioia, I love you.

Mamma

quilts from beautiful islands

I wish i could go and meet these quilters.... they live in the Canary Islands! My long time friend Blanche teaches quilting there and like me she is pioneering the art. This year she taught a few beginners classes and just before they were done they received the project " A thousand colours ".

Many of them had not even completed their first sampler that they set out, under Blanche guidance, to sew not one, but four quilts! Muchas gracias quiltistas de Gran Tarajal! Muchas gracias Blanche!

Quilts dalle Canarie

Come vorrei andare a conoscere queste quiltiste! Vivono alle Isole Canarie dove la mia cara Blanche insegna patchwork, e' una vera pioniera, proprio come me. Quest'anno ha insegnato alcuni corsi per principianti a Fuerteventura e le quiltiste di Gran Tarajal non avevano ancora terminato il loro primo sampler quando hanno ricevuto il progetto " Mille Colori ". Sotto la guida di Blanche hanno portato tutte le stoffe che avevano ed hanno cucito non uno, ma ben quattro quilts! Muchas gracias quiltistas de Gran Tarajal, muchas gracias Blanche!

Buona settimana a tutte,

Roberta

more visits and more quilts

Some quilters have decided to come personally and bring me their quilt. I'm very pleased when this happens and i wish all of you could do it so i can meet you and thank you in person. Gaia from Triest came last saturday and yesterday Elena and Chiara came with their daughters. It is always a great reunion when quilters get together, we never run out of things to say or share.

We looked at all the quilts that have arrived and they listened to what i had to share about Thousand Colors and the way things are developing. Italian women have not discovered how fun it is to work with bright colors and very few use them, but when they see quilts made in hot pink or turquoise or yellow, they like them and Thousand Colors is encouraging them to be more adventurous in their color choices. Yesterday two quilts came from England, two from Sweden and two from my Italia. I am thankful.

Till next time

Roberta

Altre visite e altri quilts

Alcune quilters hanno piacere di portarmi i loro quilts personalmente ed io sono felice di accoglierle a casa mia e di guardare insieme a loro tutti quelli che sono arrivati. Sabato e' venuta Gaia da Trieste e ieri mi hanno fatto visita Elena e Chiara con le loro bimbe. I loro quilts sono bellissimi e sono rimaste molto colpite da come le quiltiste estere abbiano il coraggio di lavorare con tessuti dai colori forti e vivaci, cosa che noi ancora non abbiamo scoperto. La cosa interessante pero' e' che quando li osservano, commentano che sono belli e allegri. A chi ancora non ha deciso che colori usare, usate i piu' vivaci che avete!

Ieri sono arrivati due quilts dall'Inghilterra, due dalla Svezia e due dalla mia Italia. Sono riconoscente.

A presto

Roberta

Visits

Today my friend Assan came to visit. He delivered a large package containing two quilts for a thousand colours. He visits often and his visits are always welcomed! I have received many quilts from Italy, England, Switzerland and the United States. The number of quilts promised to this date is more than 100 ( maybe 150....i lost count! ) and almost every day i receive word that a quilt or more than one are being sewn from quilters that just heard of the project and wanted to participate. I cannot stop the flow, so if you are reading this and want to joying in , there is still time, just e-mail me. Never in my hopeful imagination i would have thought of such generosity, thank you all! Quilts have been promised from Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, Spain, England, Holland, Sweden, Japan, Australia, Canada, United States and Malaysia. I would love to add other countries!

Visite

Oggi ho ricevuto una visita dal mio nuovo amico Assan. Viene spesso a trovarmi e porta con se dei pacchi voluminosi e leggeri....sono quilts per mille colori! Ne ho ricevuti dall'Italia, Svizzera, Inghilterra e Stati Uniti. Ancora quasi ogni giorno ricevo adesioni al progetto e ad oggi sono stati promessi piu' di 100 quilts ( forse 150, ho perso il conto!!! ) e se leggi questo post e desideri partecipare, c'e' ancora tempo, mandami una mail. Mai avrei immaginato di ricevere una risposta cosi' entusiasta e ne sono molto felice. Un grazie a tutte quelle che hanno gia' mandato il loro quilt, sono tutti bellissimi e coloratissimi, proprio dei Mille Colori!

Vorrei tanto aggiungere altre nazioni a quelle che gia' partecipano che sono oltre alla mia cara Italia, Svizzera, Germania, Spagna, Francia, Olanda, Svezia, Inghilterra, Canada, Australia, Giappone, Stati Uniti e Malesia.