The Banned Books Project

You know usually when I open my big mouth I either know exactly what I'm going to say, or I say something that gets me into "trouble." Not the kind of trouble I got into when I couldn't wait to raise my hand in class before being called on, and told the teacher and my parents, "It's not my fault if the other kids are too slow or dumb to know the answer right away." And not the kind of trouble I got into one night in my early 20s when I said, "Sure, I'll do some tequila shots with you!" Thankfully, those days are long....long...past me now.

I knew exactly what I was saying and doing when I Tweeted earlier this week about my 110% support of Banned Books Week. It is one of the few "political" topics I feel very strongly about. What can I say, I'm a book nerd and quilter, not a Poli Sci professor folks! And when Sandy from Quilting for the Rest of Us chimed in with her fabulous Tweetments about Banned Books (follow her on Twitter if you aren't already!) I couldn't help but say, "Sure!" when she suggested a quilt challenge: make a quilt about your favorite banned book. Sounds fantastic to me! A "book" quilt is something I've been playing around with in my head and on paper for a very long time now. I've seen some excellent examples of book-related quilts on blogs too.

Like this:

Kitten's First Full Moon book quilt

And this:

Bookcase Quilt from Sew it Seams blog

Or this one:

For Mrs Z Book Club quilt from Urban Patchwork blog

And this little one with a tutorial!

Mini Bookshelf Quilt + tutorial on Don't Call Me Betsy blog

There Will Be Prizes!
In the month of October, in honor of Banned Books Week which is going on right now (9/30-10/6), Sandy and I are challenging our podcast listeners and blog followers, many of whom are also book lovers, to make a project based on your favorite Banned Book. For a list of the Banned Books from the last decade visit this link. For a list of Banned Classic Books visit this link.

Make your project this month and post a picture of it in our Banned Books Project Flickr Group: here. We will both draw a name and award a prize at the end of the month! There are no rules on size of the quilt (it can be anything from a mug rug to a King Size quilt) or style you use to make it. It just needs to be clearly identified as related to a Banned Book.

Have fun with this! I will be posting updates on my BB Project throughout the month, as well as let you know what I decide on as my prize to a lucky winner. Head on over to Sandy's blog and podcast for updates too!

CGM