donation quilt question
 

Every year I make a quilt for our church's dinner to raffle off. I am working on this years and I have a question about the backing.... this is a catholic church and there is some fabric that has the prayer hail mary on it.

The color of the hail mary fabric matches the colors on the front of the quilt great.... i would probably have to piece the backing and so it would only be half of the back hail mary and the other half something matching but solid

would that be a turn off having the prayer on the back of the quilt? what do you think? I know some of the church members would love it but I just don't know because I don't know who will actually win it.

any thoughts?

IMHO, if someone is donating money to a church raffle, the likelihood that they would be offended by anything religious would be a bit odd. I think your safe on this one!

........... and if they were offended, then it would prove that would be odd!! :)

Chances are anyone buying the raffle ticket will not see the back.
Only the winner will.

Seriously, if you are concerned, and having second thoughts, the maybe you should not include it.
Otherwise, speak with some of the others involved in this event.
However ....... you know how that may go, and just be opening a big can of worms.

Might be best to make your own decision ...... and go ahead, with or without Hail Mary included!

"It is better to seek forgiveness than to ask permission first....." or something like that - there's a famous quote which I'm only partially remembering....

If you use it on the back, center it and add fabric around it if possible. should look fine.

thanks for your replies.... sometimes I worry too much. in this case not so much about offending the winner as much as the quilt that I spent time and money on not be used/loved because of the prayer fabric.

You nailed it GemRM .... ITA!

These days anything could offend somebody, but it would be a really odd person to be offended by the backing of a quilt such as you are planning ... to be raffled off in your church!

Is the front overtly Catholic ? If so, then a hail Mary backing would be just fine. But if the front is "neutral" in theme, I would think a neutral-themed backing would appeal to a far larger crowd. You want to appeal to the masses (no pun intended).

Wait a minute. The quote is 'It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission'.

Consider your potential raffle buyer. Limited to your church? Use it. Larger audience. Don't.

If those purchasing chances on the quilt are Catholic, I think you are fine but, if you have potential for others outside of that faith, you are limiting the opportunity. Consider your "market".

I agree with you nativetexan on this idea. You could cut out the hail Mary prayer and center it on the back with your other backing fabric around it as if you were framing in the prayer. I feel that whoever wins the quilt might find this really neat to them.

Most thoughtful people would focus on your generosity in making this quilt and not question any of your choices. On the other hand, I am not catholic, and perhaps I don't know what I'm talking about. Could one of your church leaders weigh in on this so you'd have the weight of authority behind you?

It really limits the audience. Maybe the winner would want to give it as a gift to a non-Catholic? If you are feeling any reservations, don't do it. I wouldn't want my quilt stuck away in a closet, either....

Any sports fan will enjoy it. We've all heard of the 'Hail Mary' play that saves the game...:D

Seriously, I agree with Illinois. Consider the entire audience of ticket buyers.

Why not cut it into squares and alternate with the plain, thus making a reversable quilt ( l have done many similar) . The lettering would 't be as noticable...just the checkered pattern.

If yhr winner doesn't like the quilt, that person doesn't have to take it.

I love the idea of having the "Hail Mary" prayer fabric on the back. Have fun and go for it.

I think you will sell more tickets, if you don't use the Hail Mary fabric for the backing, not everyone taking a chance on a quilt will be Catholic. Just my 2 cents worth.

I ask forgiveness if I offend anyone by my post, but if someone takes offense to a fabric with a Hail Mary on the back of a quilt, they would probably also be offended by The Lord's Prayer. There is more to life that looking for something to offend one. It is more than generous of you to make and donate the quilt. By the way, I am not Catholic: I am a southern Baptist, but I expect to see all denominations in Heaven.

think the big picture here is that you are Donating a beautiful quilt! If others don't want to buy a ticket...they won't. If they don't like the Hail Mary on the back, they will give it away...You are doing this with love...You also need to get joy from the gift!

To me it’s not about being offended as much as it may be meaningless for some people . It’s not something that everyone would want to have on a quilt so it may limit ticket sales.

I don’t think we get to tell other people what offends them.

Think of it this way: you are giving your time and effort to provide this quilt. You have no control over who wins it, but you do have control over making the quilt. Do what You want to do. If you place the hail Mary fabric with solid color borders, you, in effect, have two quilts, as it could be reversible. If the winner doesn't like it, then it will stay hidden on the back side of the quilt. If the winner loves it, he/she has gotten two quilts for the price of one.
In my opinion, it is somewhat unlikely that anyone who would be offended is not likely to even be at the *church* dinner, anyway.

My watchwords in life! Personally, I think it will be fine. The Catholics I know aren't easily offended by things like that. I was at a rescue event at Halloween. Everyone had their dogs dressed in Halloween costumes. One person dressed her dog like the Pope. I asked my Catholic friend if that bothered her. She said "Doesn't bother me. In fact, I think she should have had him in a Popemobile" :D

Since you are not entirely sure about what to do, and don't have a lot of the Hail Mary fabric, I have another possible suggestion. I'd do the back of the original quilt in something neutral that would be acceptable to any denomination or religion. After all, you want to make the most money you can off of this raffle, and not deter any perspective buyers. If you have the time or are inclined to do so, how about using the Hail Mary fabric for a baby quilt or for a youth size suitable for a first communion gift? I am sure it would sell and you'd know that the buyer and/or recipient would appreciate the text. Just a thought.

Would the potential buyers/winners be able to see both sides of the quilt before spending any money on it?

Or at least a picture of " the other side"?

Especially if you use the Hail Mary fabric - it could be a plus or a minus - but I think i would want to know about it ahead of time.

thank you for all of your thoughts and suggestions. There are usually 2 quilts (and many other things) that are on the raffle. The church doesn't really put pictures of the quilts out anywhere to advertise the raffle. The quilts have often been hung in the church hall to display them for a couple of weeks prior to the raffle.

Perhaps I could suggest that on the raffle tickets they name quilt as something to indicate the hail mary on the back (in the past they have put "flower power scrappy" as the name of one of my quilts.)

I have not handed the quilt to the long armer yet... so I am still trying to decide ha ha

I think It would be perfectly appropriate and beautiful. If someone finds it to be a ( turn off) they just won’t buy a raffle ticket. Go ahead and use it.

As a Catholic I would love it!