Some thing start small but continue to grow in ways you never expect. Mine began with a simple quilt block swap. A handful of quilters, designing and making 50 quilt blocks to represent their state, the idea that fabric could travel across the country and come back as something more than thread and cotton. That was over 10 years ago. Since then, we've swapped more than 70,000 blocks-all fifty states and 40 international countries. There were hundreds of quilters involved, and charity qilts sewn from every single swap to support breast cancer research.
The Nifty Fifty community grew because quilters are generous, caring and full of compassion. Quilters created works of art to represent their state, sewing 50 of these quilt blocks and trustingly mailing them to a stranger in another state. Before long, a surprise package would arrive in their mailbox containing 50 different and unique quilt blocks from quilters across the country.
Each participant in the swap was able to create their own 50-state quilt--something truly special. But even more meaningful were the friendships that grew along the way. Nifty Fifty quilters were connected through fabric, creativity, and trust. My hope is that those connections will continue to grow thoruhg the launch of our new site and many successful swaps to come.
Not only will we be bringing back the large Nifty Fifty swaps, but we also plan to offer small more manageable swaps with a variety of fun and creative themes. We also plan to continue our charity work by creating quilts to support breast cancer--combining our love of quilting with a purpose that reaches far beyond our community.
Our new Nifty Fifty Quilting site is where that community continues----a place to swap blocks/fabric, use helpful quilting tools, find inspiration, share support, connect with quilters state by state, and keep this special tradition alive for those who are just discovering us and for those who have been part of it before.
Look around our new website at www.niftyfiftyquilting.com
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