Carrollton quilt project stitches community together

There are so many ways of forging the communities to come together for the well being of itself, and the Carrollton quilt project stitches community together and will go down in the history as a record of doing it.

The idea is brilliant and the focus is right. This is one simple way to bring the communities together.

I pray every community and every city starts working on it... it is in our interest to understand each other, live as a cohesive community and contribute towards the wellbeing of community life.

Thanks Bonnie for this initiative

Mike Ghouse
Carrollton


Carrollton quilt project aims to stitch together migration to city over century
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Bonnie Kaplan says she wants to put the unity back in community.

The former Carrollton city councilmember leads a move to stitch the city's various narratives together in a community quilt--a signature quilt--that will be displayed in the city's historical museum. The quilt started as a fundraising project to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the A.W. Perry Homestead. A museum bears that homestead's name.

But constructing the narrative of the city became something deeper as Kaplan reached out to different niches in this city of 124,000. Others have had a similar experience with quilts that chronicle life--and death. Think of the AIDs memorial quilt and how it grew, or the history recorded in the fabric and appliqués in African-American quilts from slave days. Or maybe think of your mother's block quilt, stitched together from scraps of fabric used for the dresses and blouses of your youth.

For Kaplan, the fund-raiser's morphed into an exercise in demography. She realized how much change had swept through Carrollton.

And she'd like signatures from those with long-time roots and those among the many immigrant communities. About a fourth of the city is foreign-born.

Kaplan's reaching out to Muslims, to the Vietnamese, Korean, and Mexican and Salvadoran immigrant communities, as well as long established black and Latino residents.

Tuesday, she was collecting autographs at the City Council meeting, including the signature of new politicos like Jeff Andonian. Josh Potter, an Eagle Scout, led the Pledge of Allegiance, and then he got courted by Kaplan, who soon had him signing a fabric ribbon for the quilt.

Anyone who wants to be stitched up should contact Kaplan at be.kaplan@verizon.net. She'd like to get signatures together and delivered by mid-June to a veteran quilter.

Also in Carrollton Leader:
http://www.planostar.com/articles/2009/06/04/carrollton_leader/news/53.txt