One of our members, Kim Gros, works for Rob Arnold at Prudential One Realtors in Beavercreek.  When she found out that “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” was coming to town and that Rob was going to be the builder, she wanted to look into the possibility of creating custom quilts for the chosen family.  At the suggestion of one of the managers involved in planning the project, she decided to see if there was enough interest in the project before trying to contact the design team.

            At the July meeting of the guild, Kim brought the idea before the membership.  The group was so excited at the idea.  Then we started wondering if we could get quilts for each member of the selected family done in so little time.  One lady stood up and said, "If they can build a house in a week, we can make these quilts in a week."

            Kim started trying to reach the designers to offer our help, but since she was on vacation during the designers’ weekend planning meetings we never did get in direct contact.  Kim was given the e-mail address of one of the designers, but we later found out that she gets 2,000-3,000 e-mails at a time and we never heard back from her.  After several other attempts to contact someone from “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”, Kim was told by her supervisor (on the evening of July 30th) that he wanted us to go ahead and create the quilts to be presented to your family after the “reveal” when the family first saw its new home. 

            We started Friday morning, July 31st and finished Tuesday evening, August 4. It was exciting and so much fun to work together as a group on this project.

            The Guild makes quilts for many different community outreaches but this was one of the few times that we did so much work as a large group rather then as individuals.  We felt the Home Makeover was important opportunity for us to contribute to the community.

            In addition to the individuals and businesses listed in the slide presentation, many others volunteered to participate but were not available during the short term of the project. 

Susan Hill, President

Miami Valley Quilters’ Guild

About the Extreme Makeover Quilts

Joshua's Quilt – “Yellow Brick Road”

            We thought a one-year-old would like something bright and colorful, and were hoping the baby would be able to use the quilt in front of the TV or while playing during the day.

            The member who quilted this quilt added waves and ocean animals (whales, jelly fish, sea horses, crabs, etc.) into the design which employed blue and yellow fabrics.

Justin and Jacob's Quilts – “I-Spy”

            We thought the two-year-old twins would like quilts that could also be a game.  Several of our Guild members have made these for their children.  They collected novelty fabrics and we cut them into squares.  Then we placed them randomly with purple sashing for one and green for the other. It's a fun quilt for children because it's also a game.  If Mom wants to sit and rest a few minutes, she can play I-Spy.  “I-Spy a plane” and the kids can search their quilts for a plane.  It can keep them busy for awhile.

            The lady who quilted them wanted to use a neat quilt pattern on the back and did interlocking puzzle pieces.  We were hoping the twins would appreciate a quilt that could be used all the time.

Josselyn's Quilt – “Uncommon Beauty”

            We thought since six-year-old Josselyn was a little older she might want something for a bigger girl.  We selected pinks and lavenders as the fabrics, not knowing that these were also the colors used by the designers.

Peter's Quilt – “Rail Fence”

            For James’ adopted adult brother, one of our male quilters suggested the pattern and we chose a more masculine fabric in bold bright colors.  The “Rail Fence” pattern also reflects the country theme of the family’s new home. 

James’ and Shannon’s Quilt – “Boston Commons”

            We wanted to do something special for the parents and chose red, white and blue fabrics since the Air Force is such an important part of  part of the family’s lives and service. The traditional “Boston Commons” pattern fits the traditional country feel of the home.

Portrait Wallhanging

            Guild member Maria Elkins is a national award winning quilt artist, designer and teacher and was at the meeting when the project was mentioned.  She volunteered to do a seventh “quilt”. Using one of the photos taken of James and Shannon at the July 30th announcement of the family’s selection, she used her unique “Making Faces” technique of to create a special portrait wallhanging.