Marblehead teen forms organization to sew environment-themed quilts

MARBLEHEAD – A Marblehead teen is garnering international attention with simple scraps of cloth, a few decorations and lots of networking.Casey Ehrlich, 16, is founder of the non-profit Blanket the Globe Inc., an organization that sews quilt panels out of squares with environmentally conscious themes submitted by children across the nation.Ehrlich, who The Item first profiled in August 2007, was recently a guest speaker at the City Year event in Charlestown, which was attended by 100 teens from Massachusetts. The theme for the event was “City Heroes” and Ehrlich talked about her project and how it has grown since its inception. She said much of the growth is due to the Internet. She told the teens a class in Peru is working on the project and she is corresponding with a girl in Indonesia.Ehrlich, who described herself as an environmentally sensitive artist, said she came up with the concept of making a quilt less than a year ago.”It’s a way to raise awareness about the environment and give kids a voice even though we can’t vote yet,” she said. “Square by square, voice by voice, we can build a beautiful blanket that will express our concern that our environment needs care and attention.”Ehrlich said kids 18 years old or younger send in fabric quilt squares that she sews into a panel and each panel is made up of 50 squares.Each quilt square is 12″ by 12″ and Ehrlich said the squares could be made from used clothing or any kind of fabric. She said kids have been decorating the fabric and writing environmental messages with felt markers, buttons and other materials.The messages on the squares range from saving the whales to using alternative energy sources, but the one thing all the squares have in common is a desire to help the environment and save the earth for future generations.”Each person makes only one square,” Ehrlich said. “I only made one square because it is one child, one voice.”In less than a year, Ehrlich has received more than 1,100 squares from around the world and right here on the North Shore. She initially worked on the project on the dining room table, but has since moved it to a larger room in the home.”The blanket has a couch now,” she quipped. “I have already sewed 500 squares together into panels of 50 squares each. I have about 600 more panels to sew together. I just got a box from Pennsylvania and I just got some great squares from the kids at Ford School in Lynn.”The recent City Year event is not the first notable invitation Ehrlich has received for her project.In January, she was honored by the international organization, Facing History and Ourselves Choosing to Participate program, where she received an “Upstander: Portraits of Courage Award” presented by Mayor Thomas Menino. Ehrlich is the youngest of the 25 award winners this year and her work is on display at the Boston Public Library through May.Anyone who would like more information on the project or would like to make a square, is encouraged to visit Ehrlich’s Web site at www.blankettheglobe.com.