The Sunbonnet Sue Quilt Club has donated a quilt to the Sequim City Council to be presented as a gift to Sister City Shiso, Japan. The quilt was presented to the Sequim City Council at their meeting on Monday, October 13, 2014.
The quilt will travel with a delegation of students from Sequim High School, along with chaperones Eric Lewis, Sequim Mayor Candace Pratt, and former Mayor Laura Dubois to Shiso, Japan on October 20, 2014.
The wall quilt was designed and created by Sunbonnet Sue Club members Stephanie Swensson and Merrie Jo Schroeder. The center block, titled “The Blue Hole,” was designed and created by Swensson. Schroeder designed and created the area surrounding the center block and machine quilted the piece. In addition to Swensson and Schroeder’s contributions, club member Robin Leja donated fabric for the project.
In September, a delegation of ten students and three chaperones visited Sequim from Shiso, Japan. The students experienced American life by staying with host families, attending classes at Sequim High School and visiting Sequim area attractions. The chaperones visited the Shiso City Friendship Garden at Carrie Blake Park, the Sequim Farmer’s Market, the Museum & Arts Center, Hurricane Ridge, Lake Crescent, local medical facilities and a retirement community.
The cities of Yamasaki, Hyogo Prefecture in Japan and Sequim, Washington signed a Memorandum of Understanding on October 31, 1992. In 2004, Yamasaki merged with four other cities to form the present day city of Shiso. The Sister City Association was formed to:
• Promote friendship and mutual understanding between our communities
• Coordinate student educational exchanges
• Support the Friendship Garden located at the entrance to Carrie Blake Park.