Pride Quilt - Now More Than Ever

Pride Quilt

78'' x78''

Finished in time for the Pride Parade in Calgary. Finished to celebrate, to share, to show love, to be supportive, to care.

Every year we take our family to the Pride Parade. My kids love it, we love it. Sure, it is a lot of fun. There is dancing and candy and dogs and loads of free trinkets. But it is also about showing the kids that we love no matter what, we support with love, we respect, we talk. This quilt is no different. Wrap more love around the world.

(See the whole story behind the quilt.)

I worked hard to get this quilt done in time. It's been a while since I finished a quilt! But I really wanted to share it there so I worked feverishly. It's a small, tiny thing in the world but if it makes one person smile, shows one person they are not alone then it is worth it. If it reminds my kids that we look out for others, no matter what then it is worth it.

Statement quilts have a place in quilting, Pride has a place in our life.

Now for the quilt details.

In the rainbow section I quilted is the words Love is Love is Love is Love over and over again. I did this on my domestic Bernina with an orange Aurifil thread. Let me tell you, it felt great to be stitching these words!

The backing has another rainbow. I made one large rainbow that spreads across the back of the quilt, with some of my Tag fabric from Connecting Threads on either side. Simple and effective. And if you don't mind the words of the quilting being backwards you could use this quilt from either side.

Finally, I finished off the quilt with a rainbow binding. All the colours wrapped around. It ties the center portion of the quilt together. 

There are rainbow quilts, and then there are Pride quilts.

Pride Quilt - Compelled to Make

Two weeks ago I got it in my head that I simply had to finish this quilt top. I couldn't put my finger on why I was so fixated on getting it done Right. Now. I eventually assumed it was because June is Pride month in many cities (but not mine). And I have been calling this my Pride Quilt. The rainbow portion was started a year ago. It was my way of processing the Pulse shooting in Orlando. What I didn't fully realize that today is the anniversary of that horrific attack. No wonder the quilt was front of mind.

So the top is done, the back is actually nearly done, and the quilting plan fixed and determined in my brain. If all goes well I hope to be at the long arm in a week or two so I can finish it up. 

This is what I call a Statement Quilt. You may say it is political, and I am okay with that. I welcome that. I call it a Statement because it is a quilt that has something to say. Sure it is pretty and I hope it snuggles many in its lifetime. It will hold secrets and have stories to tell. But right now, as I am making it, it has something to say.

Love is Love is Love is Love. Period. And I will support, defend, and celebrate the right of all to that exact sentiment. I will mourn when people are attacked for simply being themselves. I will talk to my kids about sex and love and companionship and respect. I will embrace every single member of my family, and yours. I will not tolerate hate in my life or yours.

Yes, a quilt really can say all that. It isn't the only way I communicate.  But, as a quilter and writer and a human I can choose how I make my public statements. This is merely one of them. 

Pride.

Rainbow Blocks for Pride, for Orlando

Because I am a quilter, because I think in fabric, because I didn't know what to say. Frankly, because I still don't know what to say.

In the wake of the mass shooting in Orlando this week I felt compelled to sew in that most symbolic of ways. The rainbow flag has been a part of my life for over twenty years, when I learned of it's history and became part of the LBGT community in university. I learned far more than my suburban upbringing showed me. I felt love and developed friendships with some amazing people from all walks of life. Whereas I'm not sure I'd heard the word gay before other than as a thing you called someone you didn't like, I learned that love is love is love.

So, on Sunday, I sewed. I hugged my kids and did some yardwork. I sewed. I talked to my husband. We reminisced about gay bars we'd been to together and separately. We spoke of friends, of family, who could have easily been at Pulse that night. I sewed. I sewed rainbows. I want to keep sewing rainbows. 

See, as a quilter, one of the ways we share love is through quilts. (I'm also Ukrainian and so I show it through food, but that's another story.) I'm putting all the extra love into these blocks. I have a plan for them. Then my daughter gave me a really good idea after I explained the symbolism of the rainbow. Either way, this quilt is going to have so much love.

You too can sew these rainbow blocks. They are very easy and I did all the math (it was so hard) for you.

You will need:

• 6 fabrics: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.
• Neutral thread
• Rotary cutter, ruler, and mat
• Sewing Machine and Iron

For a 6 1/2'' x 6 1/2'' block:

• Cut a 1 1/2'' x 6 1/2'' strip of each colour.
• Sew together and press.

For a 12 1/2'' x 12 1/2'' block:

• Cut a 2 1/2'' x 12 1/2'' strip of each colour.
• Sew together and press.

For a 18 1/2'' x 18/12'' block:

• Cut a 3 1/2'' x 18 1/2'' strip of each colour.
• Sew together and press.

For my blocks I am playing around with colour and value. I dug into the scrap bins and the stash. I'm trying not to repeat a fabric. Because no two rainbows, like snowflakes, are alike.

If the rainbow blocks aren't up your alley or you want to do something directly for Orlando, check out the actions of the Orlando Modern Quilt Guild. They are collecting blocks and completed rainbow quilts to distribute to families and survivors of the Pulse shooting. They ask contributors to use this tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew to make heart blocks in all the colours. Keep posted on their blog or social media for donation details. 

Maybe making rainbow blocks isn't your thing. Just remember that love is love is love. And frankly, I believe the best way to counter any hate, any fear, is to spread love. So if you are a quilter or a maker or a creator, spread the love the way you know best.