Every Stitch A Story

The 80 Candles Quilt is Unveiled!

January 24, 2025 everystitchastory

Saturday was a big day for the 80 candles quilt project as participants from across the East Midlands came together to unveil the completed quilt. It was an absolutely beautiful afternoon of sharing research, connecting and celebrating what we have achieved together.

Through 9 workshops, supported by The Multi Faith Centre, The National Holocaust Centre & Museum, Ashbourne Methodist Craft & Chat Group and Brailsford Methodist church, and 9 postal packs, 76 individuals have participated in the project. People joined the project from across Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and even as far as London and the South West. The stories documented range from very personal stories of family members to well-known survivors and lesser-known individuals selected because of a shared name, hobby or job, or because of the very absence of their stories from traditional Holocaust narratives. The body of research created is impressive, and the Unveiling Event provided a wonderful opportunity for individuals to share details about the person they have honored.

Thoughts now naturally move to how do we share the 80 Candles Quilt and the stories it contains? Over the coming months the quilt will be on display at various location across the East Midlands, starting at the Multi Faith Centre on 27th January, moving to the Derby Cathedral, Swadlincote Tourist Information, Ashbourne Cornerstone Cafe, Queen Elizabeths Grammar School, Nottingham Liberal Synagogue and the National Holocaust Centre and Museum. We are also in the early stages of creating a book! The book will share the making of the quilt, and the research carried out by participants. Fundraising to support publication has already begun with the sale of postcards and printed booklets which will be for sale at £2 each at exhibitions.

Tikkun Olam – healing for a broken world

November 18, 2024November 18, 2024 everystitchastory

Over the past week or so I have been ‘gifted’ a number of remarkable contributions to the 80 Candles Quilt. Beautiful, thoughtful and carefully crafted squares each representing a life affected by the Holocaust and the Nazi regime. These squares act as a recognition and celebration of a life lived. They also depict the horror of lives taken, lives brutally altered and subsequently lives impacted for generations to follow.

Participant contributions – Every Stitch A Story

The weight of these personal stories has at times in recent weeks felt heavy to carry. When mentioning this to a truly wonderful participant at workshop last week they offered me the gift of the Hebrew phase to help me in the weeks to come, ‘Tikkun Olam’. ‘Tikkun Olam’ is the Jewish concept of the importance of social action and carrying out acts of kindness in the pursuit of improving, repairing and healing a broken world. The 80 Candles Quilt Project was referred to as the act of ‘a peace maker’.

When I began this project, the key aims were education, memorialisation and honoring those affected. What I never anticipated was that this project would, so long after the events, offer a sense of comfort to those personally affected. That sharing and honoring would help people feel seen, heard and acknowledged and that the project would provide space for healing and repair. Every contributor to this project has carried out an act of Tikkun Olam – together we are carrying out small acts of healing for a broken world. So, whilst this weight is at times heavy, it is worth carrying and it feels lighter when we carry it together.

Welcome to the project team!

November 11, 2024 everystitchastory

Support for the Holocaust Memorial Day: 80 Candles Quilt project has been amazing! Organisations including The Multi Faith Centre, Ashbourne Methodist Church Craft & Chat Group and the National Holocaust Centre & Museum have provided workshop space; a steady stream of financial donations have been trickling in via the crowdfunding page (please keep donating) and participants have been incredibly generous with their time, creating beautiful, meaningful dedications. I am delighted to share that the project is also benefiting from research support as Yael Sacker has joined the Project Team.

Yael is an International Relations master’s graduate from University of Birmingham and has been beavering away behind the scenes working on research to help shape the project. Researching a broad spectrum of individuals affected by the holocaust, Yael has created a selection of easy-to-read profiles so that participants who don’t have the skills or time to do their own research can still take part.

I have a passion for research which I am excited to apply to this project. The HMD project is one close to my heart as many of my ancestors perished in the Holocaust, and this project is wonderful chance to amplify their and other victims’ stories and voices.

Participants have been enjoying reading the profiles and a number have been selected as the focus of their creative contributions. These will be available at the last remaining workshops at The Multi Faith Centre on Tuesday 12th November, The National Holocaust Centre and Museum on Thursday 14th November and to student Art Ambassadors at Queen Elizabeths Grammar School who are taking part in the project in the coming weeks.

Narrative threads of a bigger story…

October 30, 2024October 30, 2024 everystitchastory

The Holocaust Memorial Day: 80 Candles Quilt Project is well under way; gently gathering people and stories, building learning, understanding and connections. No two workshops have been the same, some vibrant spaces of research and tradition sharing, others more gentle quiet spaces of reflection and creativity.

Participants at the Cornerstone Cafe, Ashbourne in a workshop sponsored by Ashbourne Methodists Craft & Chat Group.

21 participants have taken part so far in the 3 workshops and 21 more are signed up to workshops over the coming weeks. We also have 7 postal packs out in the wild. Contributions have begun to be delivered, it’s so exciting to see what participants have created and fascinating to get an insight into their research.

There is a clear sense from participants that this project is broadening understanding and knowledge. By stitching together, we are all benefiting from each other’s research. Our small contributions are narrative threads in a much bigger story. “I never leaned any of this in school” has been a common workshop comment. With participants of all ages, social and religious backgrounds taking part, it is really starting to feel like an important piece of work with agency to keep the conversation going well after its completion.

Mother and daughter stitching at the Cornerstone Cafe Workshop, Ashbourne. Irene is a GCSE Textiles Student and Beth is a member of the Ashbourne Creative Stitchers group.

Crowdfunding Page LIVE!

October 24, 2024October 24, 2024 everystitchastory

At the risk of being crass, running community projects takes money; workshop space, fabric, threads and of course my time as a professional Textile Artist & Community Arts Practitioner. Funding for projects can be tricky to come by, but the 80 Candles Memorial Quilt Project was something I really wanted to do. It feels important and timely.

Determined not to let the lack of funding out there deter me, I have forged ahead and ‘trusted the process’. Previous projects have taught me that if you have vision, passion and determination, and you can share that with others, it really does all work out in the end. This project is proving no different, not only have the Multi Faith Centre, Ashbourne Methodist Craft & Chat Group, Brailsford Methodist Church and the National Holocaust Centre & Museum supported the project by donating venue space to host workshops, participants have been asking how they can donate towards costs too.

I am incredibly grateful to everyone who has donated so far, with a final quilt measuring nearly 1.5 meters by 2 meters it’s a costly piece to create. To honour those who had everything taken from them, right down to their clothes and shoes, I have strayed from my usual practice of utlising vintage and reclaimed fabrics and opted instead for beautiful linens and organic cottons.

The results so far are truly inspiring. The workshops have been beautiful spaces for storytelling, connection and creativity. The first squares finished are wonderful miniature visual narratives or people’s lives and have offered the time for contributors to really connect with the experience of others and share that story more widely. If you’d like to get involved with or support this project there are three ways to get involved:

Take part in a workshop, dates and links here and make a donation towards costs.

Order a postal pack and complete your contribution from the comfort of your own home.

Donate to the project and have your name embroidered on the back of the quilt.

We currently have 30 participants and nearly 40 squares in progress, please help us create this beautiful memorial and join the team!