WE BEGAN TO SEARCH EVERYWHERE
What would I want to say?
Once we knew the direction we wanted to go we began to look for our product already in the market.
We began to search everywhere. We started on-line. But we found nothing there. We checked with church organizations and found nothing there. We checked with funeral homes to see if they had seen anything like it. None had, but they were all very encouraging saying this could have a very positive and peaceful impact on families.
We began to pursue it diligently. Everyone we shared our ideas with told us that we had discovered something that was vitally needed and would be a blessing to so many. Our first step was to design it. Once we had the design finished we focused on the message with this thought in mind, “What would I want to say to my family, future great, great, great-grandchildren and to future generations?” (See THE DESIGN and THE MESSAGE sections.)
We had roadblocks.
Once we had settled on Design and the Message we began the task of putting the manufacturing team together. We immediately ran into road blocks. The state-of-the-art equipment in the quilting industry was insufficient to handle our project. It just couldn’t produce what we needed. We had to work with it and get it to do things it was never intended to do. We’ve had to design and build our own templates, production systems, storage boxes, etc. to guarantee the integrity of the quality of the quilts for 50 years or more.
We needed many skills.
Every section of fabric to cut, sew and assemble required a different skill set. Just our cross is a good example. People think, “How hard can that be? Take two pieces of cloth, cross over the other and sew it to the quilt!” Sure, you could do that but that’s exactly what you would have.
We wanted to make our cross be special, one-of-a-kind and effectively deliver the message we feel inspired to share. We knew that if we could grab the attention of the people and they would read the message, we would have competed our mandate. While we can’t make people follow Christ, we believe by giving the believer who is passing on a voice to share their testimony, many will.
What your eyes see vs. what your brain says
Our cross is unique. When you look at it, your brain tells you that our cross is lying flat against the quilt and your brain would be right. But your eyes tell you that the cross is 4 inches thick because we completely designed our own 3D cross, using different fabrics, shades and textures. We even altered our cutting angles to achieve this effect. It’s totally awesome!!!!
Once we had the prototype designed and finished we ran into a major problem. We couldn’t find any skilled craftsmen that could duplicate our prototype design and quality. Old-world quality artisans simply don’t exist in large numbers in the United States anymore. It was discouraging because it seemed hopeless. But we kept searching and praying.
One day, I was talking on the phone with my brother, who lives in northern Michigan, and told him about the problem we were having finding someone who could duplicate the cross. He told us he had some friends who could make quilts and they were pretty good at it. He said he would take the project to them and see if they would be interested if we wanted him to. So, we gathered the supplies together and send the patterns, fabrics and instructions to him. After only a few attempts they had our system down perfectly and agreed to help us on our new design.
Are you familiar with the Amish?
I don’t know if you know about the Amish community in the USA or not, but they are known for their superior old-world craftsmanship. They use no electrical power tools, but make tools, furniture, barns, and yes, quilts, by hand. The cross on each of our quilts was hand-made by a group of Amish women in northern Michigan, and they pray over each one of them for you and your family.
Our search continued for every aspect of MY LEGACY QUILT project. And you can read more about our states of development in the DESIGN section.
Just a Note: Isn’t it amazing how that when the Holy Spirit is leading you to do something He already knows the obstacles you are going to face and puts the solutions in place before you even know you need them? But I’m sure all of you already knew this.
