Ladies working to complete a quilting project for the Weber County Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum are (left to right) Debbie LeBaron, of the Clearfield/Davis company; Barbara East, of the Weber County Far South West company, and Darlene Wade, of Washington Terrace, who is a prospective member of the Weber County Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
JANAE FRANCIS, Standard-Examiner Staff
“When the world says, ‘Give up,’ hope whispers, ‘Try it one more time.’”
This saying — sometimes attributed to “The Little Mermaid” and sometimes to an anonymous source — I believe is brought to life by a local “orphan square” project.
Started by volunteers at the Weber County Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum during a summer quilting class, the “orphan square” project is taking quilt squares created but never used in finished quilts and putting them to good use.
Some of the squares may be leftovers and some may be projects created to test an idea that perhaps didn’t pan out the way a seamstress envisioned.
However they came to be, this project is giving life to quilt squares that otherwise might have stayed in a box for years. One of the project’s supporters, Brenda Rector, believes some of the squares she has collected already have lived in tucked away corners of supply cabinets for decades.
This quilt square is an "orphan" block collected by women associated with the Weber County Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum. During a weekly four-month class about quilting, the women undertook a project to rescue quilt squares that were extras in quilting projects or otherwise rejected by their creators.
The project fascinated me because I believe rescuing handiwork otherwise forgotten demonstrates a universal theme of faith found in religions and spiritual practices I have come to know.
The English Standard version of James 1:12 in the New Testament of the Bible reads: “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”
Those who visit the upcoming Weber County Daughters of Utah Pioneers Ole Fashion Christmas Bazaar from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dec. 1 and 2 will be able to see some of the quilts made from the “orphan squares.” The museum is at 2104 Lincoln Ave. in Ogden.
If you’d like to donate your own “orphan squares,” you can do so by leaving a message on the museum’s voicemail at 801-393-4460. Besides the bazaar, the museum is closed for the winter, with plans to reopen in the spring.
This quilt, made of "orphan" squares was sewn together by Deanna Child. It will be a featured item at an upcoming Weber County Daughters of Utah Pioneers "Ole Fashion Christmas Bazaar" from 11 a.m to 6 p.m. Dec. 1 and 2. The museum is located at 2104 Lincoln Ave. in Ogden.
