CDEI celebrates residents’ stories with community quilt

Jennie Caplain is a quilter with years of experience. She is also a member of the Canton Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (CDEI) and plans to use her talent with a needle to help local residents create the Canton Community Quilt, which will incorporate individual blocks that tell a story. The quilt will be the visual representation of those stories, which will also be collected in written form.

A block of the Canton Community Quilt made by Maureen Palermo

Caplain has been an activist throughout her life and joined the CDEI following its formation in 2020. “The whole committee formed after the death of George Floyd,” she explained. “People came together from our town. I just really felt pulled to be able to contribute somehow.”

Following a Juneteenth celebration last spring, CDEI members brainstormed ideas for projects, events, and activities that would let people come together in a meaningful way.

Creating a quilt and having residents participate in the work was one of those ideas. “I quilted for six years,” Caplain said. “It’s a passion of mine.”

The group discussed making a quilt to which an individual or a group of people could add a block that highlighted something about them: their heritage, culture, religion, or a particular affiliation or club. Caplain has been working with Nichola Gallagher, Amy Killeen, and Sarah Titus to spearhead the quilt project.

They set up parameters for the finished quilt, deciding on a maximum of 40 square blocks that measure 10 inches by 10 inches, allowing quilters to create their own design, and recommending that they use 100 percent cotton broadcloth. Caplain said that quilters may also use a fabric that has a significant meaning to them or one that has been passed down to them. Clothing that is used should be of a woven fabric.

Through conversation with others, Caplain has found that some people are moving away from focusing on their heritage or cultural background and going in other directions when creating their blocks for the quilt. “It seems like it’s turning into more personal stories,” she said.

People are using this opportunity to showcase diversity in Canton, or to memorialize a lost family member, or someone who is struggling with substance abuse.

Maureen Palermo has already submitted her quilt block. She has used several colors, starting with a warm orange color and the image of the sun at the bottom of the block and ending at the top with the moon in a black and dark blue sky filled with stars.

Caplain, who has ADHD, is also planning to make and submit a quilt block. “The direction I want to go in is mental health,” she said. “It may not sound like much, but it’s affected my whole life.”

Having ADHD has affected the relationships she’s had with people in her life: her parents, partners, friends, colleagues. She can recall people around her feeling sorry for her when she struggled with things and being teased at times.

“It made me feel like ‘less than,’” Caplain said. “It definitely interfered with my confidence.” As an adult, she is able to look back over her life and now see why something happened or why it didn’t.

The second part of the project involves having the quilters write about their block, what it represents, and what it means to them. Caplain said that asking quilters what is important to them allows them to reveal the depth of their feelings behind what they created. It also shows what people have in common.

“We are all human,” she said. “We are more similar than we are different.”

For Caplain, quilting is about more than the finished block in her hands. She puts together fabrics that have bright colors and may not seem to match, but have meaning for her. When she quilts, she tries not to think too much about it; instead she focuses on trusting herself and her instincts and feeling confident in what she is doing.

“That would be part of my story,” she said. “I can’t explain how or why I put together the things I do, but the process of creating feels cathartic.”

Caplain said that the finished quilt will measure 70 inches by 80 inches and will be in a window pane style. She will put a border between the rows of squares and along the four sides. When the quilt is finished, CDEI hopes to have it displayed in town, possibly at the Paul Revere Heritage Site, the schools, the library, and Town Hall.

CDEI can assist those who are interested in contributing to the project but may need help. For more information, contact Caplain or Gallagher at cdeicommittee@gmail.com, or visit the CDEI Facebook page. There is also a display with information about the Canton Community Quilt project in the lobby of the Canton Public Library.

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Posted by Mary Ann Price on Dec 16 2021. Filed under Features. Both comments and pings are currently closed.