Beaded Quilts

I've been working on my next Inspiration for the Beadfx website and it involves little one inch squares made out of delicas, which has reminded me of the beaded quilts I saw at the Bead & Button show. They had been donated for the silent auction to raise money for breast cancer research (this year, they raised $14,000 !) and they were made up of 100 squares, each about 1.5 inches square in size. I think, but I'm not sure, they might have been made by a bead society with various members each making one square.

Nope, I was wrong (although I have read about bead societies making quilts for fundraising as well). I just Googled it and found out that a woman named Jeanette Shanigan asks beaders from around the world to make the squares and then she puts them together and donates them to the B&B show. That is just totally amazing. Way to go, Jeanette! And of course, everyone else who contributes!!

This year's theme was hearts, as you can see from the photos. Last year's theme was roses and the year before was butterflies. You can see more photos and find instructions to make your own square on Janette's website: http://shanigansbeadshenanigans.com/

BTW, Janette hails from Wasilla, Alaska, the same town where Sarah Palin is from - is there only one town in Alaska?? ;)