Quilts and communities share a common thread

A good community is like a good quilt, or so the saying goes…. No matter how lovely a single fabric, its beauty is unlikely to match that of an intricately interwoven quilt. This is also true when we bring organizations and people together to design and implement projects and community programs. Photo credit: Patrice Johnson

By Amy Heydlauff

A good community is like a good quilt, or so the saying goes. Every piece is critical to building a functional, durable and beautiful whole. While quilting may be considered a quaint, rather cozy endeavor, communities may learn a great deal from quilters.

For one thing, a quality quilt is well designed. Quilters borrow from the sciences of geometry, engineering and graphic arts to create some of the strongest, most functional blankets known. The more careful the upfront planning, the better the final product. The same may be said of a well-designed community project or program: Challenging, upfront work pays off.

Also important are the right materials. Expert quilters select the best (not necessarily the most expensive) fabric, batting, thread, scissors, and cutting surfaces. The same holds true for a well-constructed community project or program. Quality materials contribute to better outcomes.

Successful quilters strive for seven stitches or more per inch. They seek to align quilt pieces and corners with exactness and are open to learning new skills. Just as the strength and longevity of quilts depend on numerous factors, so too a community project or program depends on the numerous skills of those planning and implementing—and on their willingness to expand those skills.

Perhaps the most obvious and important lesson to be gleaned from quilting lies in the interaction of the fabrics and stitching. A blanket made of only one fabric or lacking the miles of requisite thread for piecing is likely to suffer a significantly shorter lifespan. Plus, no matter how lovely a single fabric, its beauty is unlikely to match that of an intricately interwoven quilt. This is also true when we bring organizations and people together to design and implement projects and community programs. Efforts by any one participant to overshadow the whole may not produce a good program, and the beauty and charm can be lost. Selfless interactions lead to the best outcomes.

While the Wellness Coalitions (one in each town) and the 5 Healthy Towns’ board of directors were hardly considering quilts when they started, the strength and beauty of their work is apparent in the positive outcomes produced from bringing people together.

Observe the increase in youth and senior programming, walk on a path, play on a playground, attend a nutrition class, join a wellness center, rifle down a sledding hill, join a community read, watch children walking to school (or walk with them), read about school gardens and the local farm produce used in our schools, buy veggies at a farmer’s market, come to the farm to table dinner, observe a special needs child learning to ride a bike, run or bike in a local race, attend a community forum, support SRSLY, be a SRSLY safe home, participate in a community health initiative, donate to project safe graduation, read Connected, thank a coalition/5HF staff/board member…and you too are contributing to the strength and beauty of the wellness work in your community.

Amy Heydlauff is CEO of the 5 Healthy Towns Foundation.