Among a tight-knit group of friends in the Chimayó area, celebrating newborn babies is a work of art.
For more than three decades a group of women have marked the birth of each of their children — and now, for some of them, grandchildren — by collaborating to make a single quilt to give to the child. Each member of the group, which has naturally grown as quilt recipients age and become quilt-makers, contributes a self-designed square to the project.
“It really makes the love tangible,” said La Puebla resident Joan Logghe, a member of what she calls the first generation of quilters. “When you look at it you really think of who made each square.”
Members agree the tradition began sometime in the mid- to late-1970s, although no one seems sure of when exactly the first quilt was made. There were seven women at first, according to Logghe’s count, but she said that number has grown to at least 15 or 20.
“The tradition fell out for a while when we finished reproducing,” she said. “Then we started having grandchildren.”
Quilters use different methods to make the fabric squares, spending anywhere from a couple hours to a few weeks on the designs, Logghe said. Then they pick a day to meet and put it all together, she said.
The daylong process has become more streamlined over the years, Logghe said. After more than 30 quilts, it takes only a matter of hours to attach the squares, which vary in number depending on how many women participate, she said.
The couple whose child is receiving the quilt typically lets the rest of the group do the last of the work, she said.
“They eat and everybody holds the baby,” Logghe said.
Chimayó resident Robin Reider, a weaving teacher who is also a member of the first generation, said the quilts are given to families with newborns as a form of congratulations. At one time the quilts were used, but in recent years they’ve been treated more like works of art and displayed on walls, she said.
Considering the group, the motley collection of designs seems like a natural way to welcome new members of the community, she said.
“Many of us are artists and it’s just a beautiful thing to do,” she said.
Two of Reider’s grandchildren, twins Avery and Justin Knight, by her son Jacob and daughter-in-law Aurora Knight, were the most recent recipients of two of the quilts Oct. 18.
Aurora Knight said she has participated in the tradition for the past six years, since after she had her first child. She said she had no experience sewing before then, but she’s now helped with 12 of the projects.
“I think it’s just a fabulous way of introducing our babies to such a nice community,” Knight said.