They were made for the 70273 Project which was set up by writer Jeanne Hewell-Chambers, of North Carolina, who says on her website that between January 1940 and August 1941 (before the Holocaust began), 70,273 physically and mentally disabled people – men, women and children – were murdered by the Nazis. She started the project to commemorate those who died and the quilts are being made from 70,273 individual blocks of white fabric, each bearing two red crosses with each block representing one person who died. Jersey’s contribution comprises 1,583 blocks which have been made into 26 quilts.
Gisèle Thérézien and Kim Monins have organised Jersey’s contribution to the 70273 Project and were very happy with the contributions from Islanders.
‘The response was very good once people knew what it was all about. Some ladies embraced the project wholeheartedly, so much so that we ended up having to make separate quilts for some parishes made solely from their blocks,’ said Gisèle. People also donated old white cotton sheets as the base for the blocks which make up the quilts. ‘The red crosses were made from all sorts of scraps of cotton, felt, ribbon and cord, as well as beautifully embroidered ones.
‘One lady we met at the Jersey Eisteddfod even made her red crosses using handmade bobbin lace.’
Gisèle and Kim, who are members of the Jersey Modern Quilt Guild, initially aimed to involve all the parishes and to have at least one individual quilt per parish plus one made by the guild. But the results far exceeded their expectations.
‘The response was so good we have ended up making 26 quilts in total and Kim did an amazing job measuring and planning the layout in order that we could fit all the quilts in the Link Gallery space available,’ said Gisèle. ‘And we are both very happy with the result, especially now we can see them all displayed together. The exhibition makes quite an impact.’
After the exhibition, the quilts will remain the property of The 70273 Project.
‘They will be sent wherever in the world they are needed for the next exhibition to help commemorate the lives lost and promote disability awareness,’ said Gisèle. ‘We’re thrilled that out little Island will be well represented in this international project. And we hope our exhibition will educate and make people think about what has happened in the past and raise disability awareness. We would love visitors to write down their thoughts or feelings or even their own relevant personal stories in the visitor book provided.’
Gisèle and Kim would like to thank the people who contributed; the parish Constables for the free use of their parish halls for the block stitching days; Jersey Heritage for the donation of the Link Gallery for the exhibition and Rachel’s Textile Studio and The Log Kabin for donating wadding for making the quilts.
The exhibition runs until Saturday 27 January.
