Submitted by The High Prairie Needlers
The “High Prairie Challenge” under construction on February 23. This beautiful queen-size quilt will be raffled on May 15 at the High Prairie Firehouse Sale. Photo: Keiko Thornton.
“I think I have found you a real bargain on Craig’s List,” she said. “It is a complete quilt kit for only $25.00.”
The money was sent, the kit purchased, and when it arrived it was admired and greatly exclaimed over. The High Prairie Needlers were excited and eager to begin construction.
Alas, it was the Winter Holiday Season; Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year. Also, the weather seemed against allowing the construction to begin on this new dazzling quilt project.
Finally the day came. The High Prairie Needlers assembled and instructions were studied. Unfortunately, the yardages were all included (or seemed to be) but could anyone decipher what fabric was to go into which grouping?! Yardage comparisons, much discussion and close perusal of the small photo included, and a great deal of guesswork later, the hope was yardage groupings had been determined and cutting began.
The cutting and counting of cut pieces commenced only to reveal a small shortage of four different prints. Off the quilters went to the computer to inquire if the instructions were accurate, only to discover the distributing quilting company for this kit was no longer in business. An intense search began for some way to contact the designer of the kit as the center of the quilt began to take shape.
What a learning experience these instruction had become, for even the more experienced quilters among the group, as assemblers were sent from one set of instructions to another coordinating set of instructions on a new page, with still no clear indication of which color fabric was to be matched with another. At last the fabric color hurdle was passed only to find assembly diagrams were either missing or were incomplete, and still no luck on contacting the original designer for insights and tips.
The quilters of the High Prairie Needlers are nothing if not persistent. Each week the question was asked in frustration: “Do we go on or just bag it this year?” Each week the answer was: “We have gotten this far, if we can just resolve this issue, the rest should be easy to complete.” (Oh! Please send us a complete assembly diagram in color!)
They searched on internet, in every local fabric shop in the Gorge area, and in every fabric shop they knew of in Portland; but could not locate matching or similar fabrics to the four short prints. The decision was finally made to substitute with like kind. One quilter volunteered to travel to Portland and purchase fabric substitutions and fabric for borders and bindings to complete the quilt top.
Another volunteered to color sketch the quilt as best as possible from the small photo included in the kit. Detail was basically non-existant and color detail fuzzy. Finally the consensus was to “…do your best and wing it to get it done.”
The challenge was met—overcome by the cooperation of all—and a quilt was completed.
Thus, the completion of The High Prairie Challenge!