I recently had the pleasure of attending the third annual Wrapped Up in Sports, Inc. quilt-a-thon held in the EMC Club at Fenway Park. As a long-time Red Sox fan and quilter, it was the perfect blend of two passions. During the course of the day, volunteer quilters made over 100 quilt tops. The quilts all began with Boston team t-shirts and were perfectly suited to our historic surroundings. The quilts, when complete, will be given to Children’s Hospital Boston, Hospitality Homes, Room to Grow and/or Home for Little Wanderers. The sight and sounds of sewing machines whirring at Fenway was surreal even though I had seen it before.

Wally made an appearance, delighting visiting children and making grown women squeal like little girls as only a furry, green mascot (and Jacoby Ellsbury) could do. When Wally came by to visit, I inquired as to why he was not in Ft. Myers with the rest of the team. Wally, usually the strong silent type, bent down and whispered in my ear, “I leave next week!” The highlight of my day was hearing Wally speak and then raise his finger to his mouth in a conspiratorial gesture. It’s our little secret, Wally!

Also in attendance was my favorite quiltmaker, Rosemary Bawn. Rosemary makes spectacular quilts and many of them are in tribute to her favorite subjects — Fenway Park and the Red Sox. Some of Rosemary’s Fenway Park quilts will be featured at an upcoming exhibit at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts. The exhibit is called “Fenway Park Centennial” and runs from March 29 to July 8, 2012. I highly recommend that anyone remotely interested in quilts and/or baseball go to see these quilts. They are unforgettable. Visit www.nequiltmuseum.org for more information.

Thanks to local t-shirt company, Chowdaheadz, for generously donating several t-shirts to me for use in these quilts. Shirts that my friends and I did not use were donated to Wrapped Up in Sports for future quilts. Visit Wrapped Up in Sports, Inc. at www.wrappedupinsports.org