I have always adored quilts. My grandmother Dorothy Mae Johnson Gartin crocheted many beautiful quilts that later inspired my own wire sculpture quilts and wall hangings. While I was in Haiti with the Heart of Haiti Campaign on February 26, I witnessed the creative quilting power of Haitian women who work with PeaceQuilts, an organization co-founded by Jeanne Staples that teaches Haitian women quilting skills at the College Marie Reine Immaculee, a convent operated by a soulful order of nuns called Les Filles de
Reine Marie Immaculee d’Haiti. PeaceQuilts launched a Haitian national initiative to translate Haiti’s long tradition of fine needlework into quilting right after the January 2010 earthquake. Macy’s created a Heart of Haiti partnership with PeaceQuilts to produce a line of handmade quilted pot holders, pillows, and similar items. Click here to learn more about PeaceQuilts. Check out more of my Flickr photos here from the convent visit.
Ananda Leeke 