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Since September 11th, we've all come to newly appreciate the freedom of life in America. Last year we put our thoughts into a tee shirt that simply said "We are all a part of the American quilt." The profits from the tee shirts were sent to a September 11th fund, and each person who bought a shirt was given a fabric strip to sign. Quilters from all over the country signed their strips and sent them to our New York offices.

One year later, with the expert craftsmanship of Gayle Camargo, we have pieced all the strips together and created TWO queen size quilts in commemoration of September 11th. The quilts are hanging in our office lobby. They will be sent to Quilt Festival in Houston where they will be raffled off in the Benartex booth. The monies from the raffle will once again be donated to the NYC Fire Department.

It is wonderful to see all the messages and names from around the country, and the quilt is sure to become an important heirloom for some lucky quilter. Thank you, quilters, for your generous spirit and your kind thoughts for New York. You are truly all a part of the American quilt.

Gayle pieced the strips into blocks and alternated the strip blocks with star blocks.

Each strip has a message or signature. Strips arrived from all corners of the country.