Quilt auction may be ticket to France

Yuma teens Tatianna and Jessica Valdez have spent countless hours quilting, and the sisters hope raffling off their award wining quilt can help send one of them on a trip to France.

Tatianna Valdez, a rising junior at Cibola High School, is trying to raise money to go on a trip this summer to France with the French Club at Cibola.

The quilt, appropriately named "Meet me in Paris" after its pattern title, will be auctioned off Saturday, May 23, at Log Cabin Quilts in the Big Curve Shopping Center. Tickets for the raffle are $1 each or six for $5 and can be purchased at the store.

The pair started working on the quilt in January for a 4-H project with their club, the Yuma Valley Achievers. The quilt won grand champion at the 2009 Yuma County Fair.

They said it was always intended as a fair project, and it's had "that Paris kind of feel" from the start.

After finding the "Meet me in Paris" pattern at Log Cabin Quilts, the sisters said they wanted a vintage look and took several hours picking out the fabric.

Kim Elrod, owner of Log Cabin Quilts and the leader of the Yuma Valley Achievers, said they didn't pick an easy pattern.

"This was a very hard pattern and it was nice to see them push themselves and each other," she said.

Their mother, Michele, said the designs the girls work on are getting more difficult.

"We've done projects before, but this is by far the most complicated and the biggest quilt we've done," said Jessica Valdez, a rising senior at Yuma Catholic.

"It was just something that looked challenging, something different," Tatianna Valdez said.

And they didn't let a technical problem at home slow them down.

When their sewing machine broke, the pair was able to continue working at the store.

"We were a little overwhelmed, but we know when we come here (to Log Cabin Quilts), that we're able to be welcomed and work on our projects," Tatianna Valdez said.

The pair, who have been quilting for three years, worked hard, spending every Wednesday after school, Saturdays, and some Thursday after-school sessions from January right up until the fair, at the end of March.

Already thinking about their next project, the sisters say that quilting is a hobby they'll keep up for the rest of their lives.

"I plan to do this when I am in my 80s, and I plan to do this in my 20s," Tatianna Valdez said.

In addition to the raffle, there is a fundraising car wash at Bill Alexander Flight-Line Mazda Cadillac from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday.

To see the quilt and purchase raffle tickets, visit Log Cabin Quilts located in the Big Curve Shopping Center.

---
Stephanie A. Wilken can be reached at swilken@yumasun.com or 539-6857.