The churn dash is an iconic quilt block that originated in the early 1800s, a staple block for pioneer women, it is named for the butter churn, the center square or “dash” resembles the plunger and the surrounding elements representing the churn container. A block that depicts hearth and home, it was often the first quilt block taught to young women due to its simple design. It is sometimes referred to by other names such as the monkey wrench, which is believed to be linked to a secret message in the Underground Railroad translating to a safe time to escape. Did you know that barn quilts were painted on barns along the Underground Railroad route and their hidden meanings were used to guide slaves safely along the way? That’s a subject that deserves its own post. Another day! Every month this year, our guild will be looking at a traditional quilt block and recreating it with a modern twist. Members will be making one, donating one and at the end of the year we will gather together and assemble all of those donated blocks into quilts to be gifted to the guests at Mary’s Place by the Sea in Ocean Grove. Mary’s Place by the Sea is a retreat space where women with cancer can enjoy a single or two day getaway at absolutely no cost to them. The Jersey Shore Modern Quilt Guild has long been supporting the guests at Mary’s Place with quilt donations as well as contributing quilts for their fundraising efforts. Our member, Sherre M came up with this year long challenge and if January and the churn dash block are any indication of how the year will go, then I predict a whopping success. How do I know? When we met this past Thursday, Sherre received 49 donation blocks!!! We didn’t have 49 attendees, which means either these ladies were enjoying the process or they’re just crazy generous! I’d like to think a little bit of both!! Here’s some of the submissions

The majority of our meeting was focused on community outreach this month to kick off the new year. We have a lot of new members, so to familiarize them with what Mary’s Place is all about we watched a video and then our Community Outreach co chairs, Eileen D and MaryJane P held an informational session followed by the opportunity for members to take fabric bundles that were so generously donated to us by Cloud Nine Organics, a New Jersey based fabric manufacturer, to use for their community outreach projects this year.

Next up, Deirdre D, talked to us about an upcoming community outreach opportunity with Old Spool Sewing Studio, where we meet, in support of the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a free of charge camp for children with serious medical conditions, founded by Paul Newman. Volunteers from our guild will work together to prep, assist beginning quilters at Old Spool, and assemble and quilt the finished product quilts that will then be donated to the children attending camp this summer. Challenge accepted and looking forward to seeing a whole lot of eye spy quilts for these kids!!

As always, the best part of any meeting is the oohing and aahing over show and tell.

What a way to start the new year, so much generosity and an abundance of talent! Be sure to check back in February, for some log cabin fun. Thanks for reading!