Island Batik Marvelous Mini Challenge

Island Batik's August Challenge is Marvelous Minis.

The guidelines are simple. 

Any technique, any pattern and size between 12" square and 24" square.

With such broad and open ended requirements, my mind went in many different directions... 

Improv Piecing because that is my favorite technique

Playing with Scraps

Rainbow theme because I could not pick just one color

Island Batik Rainbow

A Landscape Mini using gradations because they are just so beautiful

Gradations

International Sisters because it made me slightly famous(scroll down)

But I kept coming back to the recent Supreme Court decision leaving us 

with fewer freedoms now than 49 years ago. 

That while the world moves ahead, America slips into the middle ages, 

is indeed a marvel.

What color am I?

Petite Sisters

What can we do? 

We fight for our rights, just like before, just like similar fights in other parts of the world. 

We persist. We persevere. We shall prevail.

Staying under 24"

"Nevertheless she persisted" is the slogan of choice, for obvious reasons. 

But I wanted to make sure it was more inclusive than just women. 

To include the queer community, I chose "Nevertheless, we persist".

I firmly believe that we are together in this fight for bodily autonomy.

Persist, we must

Coming together

Here is the finish!!!

The mini quilt with three sisters, all wearing green.

Finished 21" by 19"

Applique Letter Detail

For the slogan, I used Arial Bold Font in 225 point size. 

Yellow letters seemed to pale on a white background. 

So I used a permanent fabric ink marker to outline the yellow letters. It helps.

What do you think?

I used Island Batik White Solid for background and binding.

Aurifil Thread 50wt was used for piecing and 40 wt for quilting.

Quilting Thread

The batting is Hobbs Cotton.

I used Schmetz Needle 70/12 for piecing and 80/12 for quilting, using a walking foot.

Quilting Detail

These three sisters are a reminder that our battles for bodily autonomy unite us 

even if we have different complexions or come from different backgrounds.  

Together we will persist.

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

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.