Wednesday, September 30, 2009

What it Takes

I'm going to admit that while I dreamed of documenting quiltmakers who were in prison, I never thought much beyond the mission. Now I'm learning just how tough it is to have a quilt program in a prison. I'm learning a new way of thinking and looking. There are reasons that things like needles and fabric pose a threat. Let's start with needles. Needles are used for tattooing. You might think this is no big deal except there is a lot of Hepatitis C in prison which can be spread easily by sharing needles. Fabric can be used to make clothing to be worn after escaping or used as a means of escaping. The Ohio Reformatory for Women only allows inmates to have fabric that is 10 inches square or less. I'm not discouraged. Just learning the ropes and thinking, thinking, thinking.

1 comment:

  1. My fiberarts guild has an outreach program to a women's detention center here in Portland, OR. We have had some of those same problems. Each tool has to be tagged and signed out when the members are there. Each tool has to be checked back in when the quilting time is over. We are a very naive bunch! The quilting results are worth it.

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