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Thousands of People Coming Together

2/8/2018

10 Comments

 
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Each year, I set goals to help me stay on track.  When I began setting the goals I wanted to accomplish this year, I knew I wanted to celebrate my loyal customers.  My overarching goal this year is to show gratitude through generosity.  By giving away the Women of the Bible quilt pattern, I realized I had the perfect opportunity to honor my resolutions.

With such a large quilt, the logistics of the giveaway had to be carefully orchestrated.  I wanted to make sure no one felt intimidated by the large project, so I chose to give away the patterns in small increments of two blocks at a time.  I hoped having just two blocks (not a daunting 40 blocks!) would encourage folks to begin right away.  It is a small challenge to complete two blocks every two weeks, and to my surprise and amazement, many of you instantly took advantage of this project and began making your blocks the very day they were released.  

When I say many folks are doing this, I mean above and beyond any number I ever dreamed possible!  Of the ones we know for certain, easily over 1,000 are taking up the challenge.  Though we can’t be sure if each quiltnow.com visitor is actually completing the quilt, we do know that over 24,000 people have visited the Women of the Bible page on our website.  In the Women of the Bible Facebook Group alone, we have over 900 members.  I am absolutely blown away by the response to this project, and I am thrilled that so many people are working together on this beautiful quilt.

With so many people participating, I really enjoy seeing the unique personality each person puts into the blocks, and I love that we are able to offer an opportunity to see and to share on the Women of the Bible Facebook group.  In this group, members share pictures of their finished blocks, ask and answer questions, receive and give encouragements, and generally, thrive in the online quilting community we’ve created.  There are many in the group who have great skill piecing and showing their blocks, but there are also many who have mentioned this is their first quilt to work on in many years or is their first quilt ever!  I have seen where groups are completing this quilt with their church, announcing it in their bulletins, and combining it with a Bible study, and I am reminded why I love this quilt so much.  With a project like the Women of the Bible quilt, I can’t help but use a biblical comparison, so in the words of David in Psalm 23, “My cup runneth over.”  I am overflowing with excitement and encouragement in hearing that young quilters and wise quilters, out-of-practice quilters and quilting addicts, experienced quilters and brand-new quilters have all taken up the challenge of learning about the inspirational women of the Bible as they work together on the Women of the Bible quilt.

The Prairie Quilt Women of the Bible Facebook group is classified as a closed group, so you will need to send us a request to join, and I highly encourage you to do so if you haven’t already.  We are receiving requests daily, and they are coming, literally, from all over the world.  We have members from Nigeria, Switzerland, and Belgium to name a few.  Again, this turnout is above and beyond what I could’ve anticipated, and I am ecstatic about the results and the reach of the program!

Continuing the goals of celebration, gratitude and generosity, there will be even more goodies for our participants later in the year on the Facebook page.  All of us at Prairie Quilt genuinely love seeing your blocks, whether they are from your scrap stash or thoughtfully coordinated.  We ask you to generously share your finished works, because it may inspire another person to begin their blocks.  Then, the generosity spreads like the ripple from a single drop of water, from each of us to another, and another, and yet another.

Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”  I think that is how God would like us to be as well.

10 Comments
Audry Sanders
2/8/2018 11:28:46 am

I have had a lot fun with this challenge and i have problems doing Triangles and this has helped me learn how to do and have them coming out looking like what it should be. After we complete are quilts we should have quit party for the ones who can make it and may do web cast or facebook live for the ones who can't make it. either way i hope you will keep the group going. I love being able to talk with other quilters and bounce ideas of each other. I know its a lot work for you and your staff. just wanted to say thank you for all your hard work and the patterns.

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Randa Parrish link
2/8/2018 11:59:50 am

Hi Audry! It is so good to hear that you are enjoying the Women of the Bible quilt and that you are improving your quilting skills with the help of the quilting community in the Facebook group! Having a post-WOTB quilt party is an excellent idea, and we will certainly discuss it in our next meeting. Thank you for your kind words and your great ideas!

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Barbara (Bobbie) Burrs
2/8/2018 01:28:08 pm

Ohhhh, Randa! Thank you so much for this fabulous quilting challenge! I’m loving it and can’t wait for each block to be posted. I especially love seeing the variety of blocks, all different YET alike! The accompanying biblical accounts of the women in the Bible make it all the more interesting, particularly, Jezebel...lol! I love the fact that there are women from all over the world joining! Oh, how I would love meeting these wonderful quilting women! One day I might find myself visiting Oklahoma, and I know your quilt shop would be my first stop. I live in Upstate NY. Thank you again, Randa, for such a generous gift to us with the free blocks!
Bobbie Burrs

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Randa Parrish link
2/12/2018 07:42:25 am

Hi Bobbie! I'm so glad you are enjoying the challenge of the Women of the Bible quilt. I also love seeing the variety and similarity of everyone's blocks on the Facebook group. I'm so glad this project gives us the unique opportunity to learn about the inspiring women of the Bible while creating a beautiful quilt with women from all over the world! I would absolutely love for you to visit if you get the chance to travel to Oklahoma someday from all the way up in New York!

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Donna Miller
2/8/2018 01:44:42 pm

Look what you started!!

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Randa Parrish link
2/12/2018 07:44:18 am

It's crazy, isn't it, Donna? I had no idea how explosive Women of the Bible would end up being, but I'm thrilled that it took off like it did!

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Kerryann Dallas
2/8/2018 05:21:07 pm

Thank you so much Randa for this awesome challenge! It’s great to see so many beautiful blocks that everyone post, they give me inspiration. I miss being a part of a group like this to learn from many talented women. I know this takes a lot of time and work for you and your awesome employees at PQ and I truly thank you for doing this! The Women in the Bible quilt is a wonderful quilt and I’m enjoying the Bible stories of these women. Each block I make, I’m using favorite colors of all of the women in my family and making a personal journal of what God has done for my family and myself. Thank you again Randa and your staff and God bless y’all!

Reply
Randa Parrish link
2/12/2018 07:49:45 am

Hi Kerryann! It is wonderful to hear that Women of the Bible has been such a blessing in your life. I love your favorite colors and journal idea; it makes the whole process so much more special to look back on. The girls here have been working hard, but it's kind words like these that make it all worthwhile!

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Sherilyn Mason
4/17/2018 12:15:41 pm

Randa,
I am so enjoying and excited to be sewing the Women of the Bible quilt! I love to read the stories of each woman. Although I've heard Bible stories all my life, some of these stories I have not heard. So I am learning somethings that I didn't know. I thought of myself as a pretty patient person, but I found something out about myself. (I'm not as patient as I thought). The reason I say that is because I can hardly wait for the next two to come out every two weeks. I want to get this done. So you are teaching me Patience! I need to put one of those smily faces here because you are probably grinning from ear to ear! Thanks again for the pattern!

Reply
Randa Parrish
4/24/2018 03:24:31 am

Oh Sherilyn, you are not the only one learning patience. I have had many ladies tell me how they anxiously wait for the 1st and 15th to come each month. It is a wonderful journey, isn't it? And I am so glad that you are enjoying it, my friend. May we make happy stitches for many years to come.

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    Randa Parrish

    Hi, I am the owner of Prairie Quilt shop in Hennessey, Oklahoma, where I am fortunate to share my passion with other sewists! 

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