Checking in

Paul's Covid recovery has been much slower than we'd like. I noticed that the cough syrup was almost gone.

Me: I can fetch you more Nyquil, babe.
Paul: Nah, I'll just use Dayquil if I need.
Me: Oh Ok.
Paul: Or I'll mix the half dose of Nyquil in the Dayquil.
Me: What? You a pharmacist now?
Paul: Pharmacist? No. Bartender.

I burst out laughing.

Paul: It has alcohol.

Me: Yes, it does.

Picnic with Paul

Staying away from restaurants/enclosed spaces, we decided to go on a picnic. It was a beautiful day.

On the quilty front, there is a lot going on. Too much, actually. But I cannot show it till next year :-( UGH.

Just the Binding 

Hope I can complete 40 out of the 80 blocks.

Blocks in Process

Ready to cut!

But they go so fast that I managed to finish all 80. Yippee! 

Here they are on my design wall, very neatly organized. 80 Twisty Blocks of 20 different fabrics, four in each stack. 

Twisties - 20 times 4 = 80

Doing a happy dance now. 

I will be sharing with all my favorite linky parties. See full list on the sidebar. 

This brings me to the end of quilty discussion today.  This being my personal blog, I will now share my thoughts on matters that concern me.  If you do not agree with my "politics", please stop reading now. 

___________________________________________________________________

This is a distressing time in our country. The monumental decision to overturn the landmark ruling Roe v. Wade is the most controversial in American history. As most of the developed world moves ahead, America is certainly retrograde.

The partisan nature of the decision is particularly distressing. There is no concern for women's health or popular opinion, or any acknowledgement of changing times. When Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973 it was a 7-2 decision, with several Conservative judges siding with the majority opinion. Not today. The decision was split along party lines. Although the conservative justices could have chosen a less extreme version (decide the current case in favor of Mississippi without overturning Roe v. Wade), they chose the one that would be the most devastating and most consequential - destroy the constitutional freedoms women have enjoyed for 49 years.

According to the dissenting justices "young women today will come of age with fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers." Indeed, they said the court's opinion means that "from the very moment of fertilization, a woman has no rights to speak of. A state can force her to bring a pregnancy to term even at the steepest personal and familial costs." "With sorrow — for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection — we dissent," they wrote.

The following image (from the New Yorker magazine) showing the burden of an unwanted pregnancy that many will be forced to carry in a post-Roe America aptly captures what is difficult to put into words.

From the New Yorker Magazine

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the decision was "a loss for women everywhere". "Watching the removal of a woman's fundamental right to make decisions over their own body is incredibly upsetting," she said in a statement.

It may take another 50 years to restore women's rights, although hundreds of thousands of lives will be adversely impacted in the process. Now, more than ever before, our lives, our liberties and our livelihoods depend on our vote.

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.

Oasis

I have a finish.

New Finish

Glimpses of Blue

Rolled Up

But first the back story.

This was the second year that I was the Block of the Month (BOM) coordinator for my quilt guild.

The concept of the BOM is simple. I share a tutorial for a quilt block (from the internet, a classic block or something that I whip up).

Two strips 2.5" by WOF

Stitched along the length

Open Seams

Cut in half 

Sew again, press seams open

Cut in half again

Cut each half into half

Rearrange and sew

Folks make that block. Every block gets them one entry in the BOM raffle
One person wins all the blocks.

Two blocks finish at 8" by 10"

This was the BOM for February 2019.
I so enjoyed making these two blocks that I made a whole quilt.

Playing with Strips

On the Design wall

Quilting

Zig Zag Quilting - Walking Foot (always)

Binding in process

And here it is - meet Oasis!!!

Oasis

Oasis finished at about 64" by 70", which is the right size for a Mercyful Quilt.

Blues on Green

Sewing up 2.5" strips is fast and fun.  After all the strips were sewn and all the blocks were cut, they were arranged on the design wall and I began playing with the layout.

I arranged them in such a way that the lighter ones were at the top, medium hues in the middle going to the navy and dark blocks at the bottom.  This created a sort of ombre effect.

Ombre Effect

Now if I had decided on the ombre effect BEFORE I made the blocks, the result would have been much more striking. Ah well, may be next time.  For now, I will settle for this gentle suggestion of Ombre Effect.  What do you think?

Paul: What happened to the hot pink and yellow block?
Me: That was for the guild. The winner took it.
Paul: And what happens to this quilt?
Me: It is going to Bernie.
Paul: Who is Bernie?
Me: My quilting, blogging buddy on the west coast who is friends with Patty
Paul: Who is Patty?
Me: Patty works at the Mercy hospital and she needs quilts
Paul: For?
Me: To comfort the terminally ill patients
Paul: Oh
Me: The family will keep the quilt in memory of the person
Paul : That is sweet of you
Me: Well, thank you, Paul.
Paul: Do you need me to hold it?
Me: Nope. Rekha already modeled it for me
Paul: Who is Rekha?
Me: She is my co-worker/quilt model.
Paul: And what am I?
Me: You are a holder-upper :-p
Paul: That sounds menial
Me: Since Rekha is leaving, I can promote you to a quilt model
Paul: Ooh a quilt model. Do I get any benefits or perks?
Me: Maybe after your 6-quilt probation period.
Paul: BRAT!!! 

Rekha the model

Rekha has found another job and she will no longer be able to model for me. At least not on regular basis. I am sure we will get together every now and then at weekends.
So we took a few extra pictures. And had a farewell picnic with more pictures.

She will be missed

We wish her well

The card

Saying good bye to Rekha was not easy.

But it is so much harder to say good bye to a dear family member who is leaving for their final journey, as is the case with the recipients of Mercyful quilts.

Celebrating the time spent together and reliving the memories can be an oasis of comfort in the desert of loss. Hence the name - Oasis.

Pieced Backing 

The backing is a big irregular four-patch, using last of the giant tulips fabrics that came to me from Mary. So generous of her. I am happy just being one small part of the giving universe.

Labelled

All the Blues - Singing Together

Here are a few more pictures. I need to drink in these blues a bit longer before I say good-bye to Oasis and send her westwards to Bernie.

I will be linking with all my favorite linky parties. See full list on the sidebar.
As usual, I'd love to hear your thoughts.  Your comments are my oasis too :-)