What did I miss?

Hello quiltmakers,

I am back from my trip to India. Mom's surgery went well and she is on the road to recovery. I appreciate your kind thoughts and warm wishes. 

Although my visit wasn't a vacation and I stayed home (near the A/C) due to the heat, my friends (Ruby and Savita) visited me. I felt spoiled with spicy food and sweet mangoes. 

Happy to see you :-)

Veggie Delight (Don't ask me the English name)

Vanilla icecream with fresh mangoes

The Indian street food that I loved would most certainly kill me now. So Meetu recreated it for me at home. Pizzas in India are tiny but loaded with tandoori flavors. 

Street Food, made at home :-)

Regular Phone, Tiny Pizza

My drive home

As much I enjoyed spending time with mom and being there for her, I am thrilled to return home. When I left on May 1, I was still smarting from the all the anti-LGBTQ legislations attacking already marginalized groups.  As soon as I landed in India, I heard the terrible news about the Supreme Court's stance on reproductive rights. While most of the world progresses, America slides into the dark ages. 

According to the current (conservative leaning) Supreme Court, reproductive rights are not included in the Constitution and therefore should be left up to the individual states.  Although this argument may seem simple and straightforward, it sets a chilling precedent. Do you know what else is NOT included in the Constitution? The right to privacy and therefore by extension the right to contraception, the right to same sex marriage and the right to interracial marriage.  Imagine a scenario where my marriage to Paul is deemed illegal.

"Undoing Roe v. Wade and eliminating the right to abortion access opens up the door to dismantling other rights that have previously been protected under that implied right to privacy. That can include the right to same-sex marriage and interracial marriage..." Jean Bae, visiting associate professor of public health policy and management at NYU School of Global Public Health.

Of course, these Supreme Court justices would assure us that this (overturning) is limited to Roe v. Wade but then these are the same people who said (in their confirmation hearings) that Roe v. Wade is the law of the land and that they respect the laws of the land. Their partisan slips are showing. I do not trust them.

If a Positivity QAL was a good idea in 2021, it is an absolute must in 2022. 

Positivity QAL begins May 29, 2022

Our reproductive rights are on the chopping block. America refuses to acknowledge her racist past and the growing threat of white supremacy threatens our communities, or peace and our sanity, while the Supreme Court has washed its hands of most responsibility. 

So we will do what we have always done - sew and quilt, support and vote, protest and march. With renewed fervor!!!

There is much to do after a long trip - unpacking, laundry, groceries etc.  But I am ignoring all those pesky tasks and working frantically to set up the Positivity 2022 Quilt Along. Bernie is spearheading the effort to get sponsors and prizes, while I write the tutorial and calculate fabric requirements.

To avoid confusion, I will take down the posts from last year's QAL, with one exception.  I will compile the 2021 block tutorials, layout options and fabric requirements into a PDF and make it available separately. 

Coming soon - Positivity QAL 2022 - Sponsors and Prizes and Positivity QAL 2022 - Complete Schedule.

In the mean time, please read this article https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/17/opinions/buffalo-shooting-letter-to-white-male-teens-magee/index.html

Also gathering my green scraps for the RSC color for May is Bright Green. 

May is Green!

I will be sharing with all my favorite linky parties, including Angela's RSC Linky.