Blush

Have you seen my Blush?

Paul the model

I made the flimsy as a part of the Pantone Color Quilt Challenge which included three categories - mini quilt, not a mini quilt, and flimsy. The extremely limited guidelines are a double-edge sword. As participants we can make anything we want - no limits to creativity. Since we don't know the judging criteria we cannot make a quilt to win the challenge. 

All the peaches

I chose to participate because I had plenty of gorgeous peachy goodness in my stash. I was in between projects. But most importantly, I wanted to play with peachy fabrics, which turned out to be a nice change of pace from Island Batik fabrics, which I absolutely love.

Making the Blocks

The block is super simple. One 2.5" square framed by 2.5" strips for a finished block of 6" square. But Blush isn't about block construction or piecing details.

Peach by Peach

Blush is about having a single-minded commitment to one color. Choosing one hue and giving it your all. Blush is about gathering every single fabric (in your stash) in one color and arranging them by value.

Value Gradation

Even if it requires you to use the same fabric from both sides, wrong side up for a slightly lighter value, as in the picture below. I did that more than once :-)

Two different blocks from one fabric - can you spot them?

Cute fabrics

Lots of arranging and rearranging.

It was a laborious task, getting that gradation from "caught in the act crimson" in the center to "the thought makes me blush" at the corners. I could not have done it without my design wall.

Design Wall

Oh, but when she was done, she took my breath away...

Blush is beautiful and she is gorgeous. Blush is my love letter to Peach Fuzz, the Pantone Color of the Year. 

Completed Flimsy

Such a show-off!

Blush makes me very happy. It was time to turn the flimsy into a quilt.

Basting

The truth is this - I LOVE to play with value.  I love gradation quilts. So who cares if Blush did not make it to the winning circle in the Peach Buzz Pantomime Challenge Whatever...

I am in love with Blush!

Reflection!

And also with Paul. 

Blush finished at 60" square and she happily rode the wooden horse.

Happiness

For backing I chose this cute cat print.  I quilted using my walking foot with my usual squiggly stitch. The binding is peach.

Labelled

From one childless lady who cannot have enough fabric cats, I wish you happy stitching!

Never too many cats :-)

And one last look. 

Bob and Blush

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Angela chose Orange as the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for August.  I had a difficult time finding orange in nature, until I looked closely.

Not quite the orange I was hoping to find...

Wait a minute...

Blanketflower

Marigold

Moss-rose Purslane

I had no problem finding orange in my stash. Here are my sunshine blocks.

Sunny Vibes

Feeling the Burn yet?

All fabric scraps came from Island Batik. It is good to be an ambassador :-)

I have now completed 63 Hexie Blocks, which will make a 70" by 90" quilt. I am contemplating 5" borders to get to a final size of 80" by 100" although that quilt may not happen for a while. 

I am working on a new quilt pattern. That blogpost is next!

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

Tampon Tim

It is possible (even likely) that you have not heard the term - Tampon Tim.  I only heard the term last week when conservative (right wing) media starting calling Tim Walz by the nickname Tampon Tim.

Red Fabrics 

According to the NPR article,  "The moniker refers to a law that Walz, the governor of Minnesota, signed last year, requiring public schools to provide menstrual products — including pads and tampons — to students in 4th through 12th grades. The products are free for students, with the state paying about $2 per pupil to keep them stocked throughout the school year.

The law, which was the result of years of advocacy by students and their allies, took effect on January 1, 2024, though students say the rollout has so far been smoother in some school districts than others.

It makes Minnesota one of 28 states (and Washington D.C.) that have passed laws aimed at giving students access to menstrual products in schools, according to the Alliance for Period Supplies. The issue enjoys broad popular support: 30 states have eliminated state sales tax on menstrual products, and Trump himself signed a 2018 package that requires federal prisons to provide them."

Value Variation

Here is the link to the actual policy document if you wish to read it. I did. Unlike the misinformation/disinformation being doled out by the bucketful, it says nothing about "tampons in boys bathroom". The law leaves it up to the schools to decide how best to meet the needs of their students.

I was disgusted by the right wing media but not surprised.

Applique Letters

I was 11 years old when my friend got her period. She told me about it including the pain in her belly and lower back. She also showed me what a sanitary napkin looked like. Why can't you just go to the toilet and pee it out, I had wondered. Since it hadn't happened to me, I could not realize the involuntary nature of the flow.

Few months later, there was a "huge incident" in our all girls convent school. Some girl came running out of the bathroom, screaming, "there is a ghost in the bathroom." Someone had discarded a bloody sanitary napkin and there were bloodstains on the bathroom wall. Ten and 11-year olds in the pre-computer era were panic-stricken.

Next week, Sister Principal came to our classroom and gave us the Puberty Talk. Not a lot of biology but enough that we knew what to expect and not panic when it did.

Next year when I got my period, I quietly went to my mom and asked for a sanitary pad. 

How many of us have found ourselves in the absolute horrific situation when the period came early or caught us unawares two days after we thought we were done? 

I remember staining my white skirt (I was in the 13) and tying my sweater around my waist to hide it. 

When I came to the US and saw the vending machines in our college campus bathrooms, where you had to insert a quarter to get a sanitary pad/tampon, it blew me away. So simple and so useful.

Work in Progress

It is natural to bleed. Half the world does. So why the taboo? Why the shame? 

Because it makes men in patriarchal societies uncomfortable. Because it isn't about making women/girls comfortable. It is about preventing any discomfort to men.

So when Tim Walz ensures that girls (and transgender boys) have access to hygiene products, I am overcome with gratitude. Thank you, Coach. You got my vote!

Looking good

The idea for the quilt came last week. I was listening to this episode of Pod Save America, when Melissa Murray mentioned the Menstrual Equity Bill (26:40 - 26:52). She added that if she were Tim Walz, she would wear a t-shirt saying "I am Tampon Tim and I am here to stop the red wave."

That is when I had to drop everything and make this quilt. 

Completed Quilt, 26" by 29"

Here are a few more pictures.

Walking Foot Quilting

Labelled

Red Fabrics with Value Gradation

I will be sharing with all my favorite linky parties. See full list on the sidebar. Should you wish to share your experiences or express solidarity with the girls/women who benefit from menstrual equity, you are welcome. I will delete negative comments.

Marvelous Mini Challenge

Island Batik's August Challenge is simple. Make a mini quilt using the fabrics and techniques of your choice in a size not to exceed 24" on any side.

Here is my response #1

Goddess Lakshmi's Feet

It is a simple response to a simple challenge. If you are familiar with Hindu culture, this image needs no explanation. But I want to explain so please humor me.

Goddess Lakshmi is often called the Goddess of Wealth, but that is not entirely correct. She is the Goddess of Prosperity. The difference may seem subtle, but Prosperity includes well-being and happiness, whereas wealth is just riches. And although it is not bad to be wealthy, it is pointless if you don't have health and happiness to enjoy your good fortune.

During Diwali celebrations, Hindus draw Rangoli patterns that sometimes include Goddess Lakshmi's Feet pointing towards the front door of the house, as if She is entering your home.

The following pictures show my process.

Repurposing Scraps

Scrappy Borders Added

I improv pieced bright fabrics from Juicy Mosaics, Celebrate, Lace and Grace, and Flutter Wings collections to make strata which I then cut into feet shapes. The toes were tricky since they are tiny and not much room for stabilizing. I used Steam A Seam 2, purchased from Missouri Star Quilt Company.

Appliqued and Layered

I used Hobbs Cotton Batting and Schmetz 90/14 Needles.

Quilted and Trimmed

At this point, I could add binding and call it done. But there has to be more to the Goddess than just a pretty picture. I love this mini quilt and it would be absolutely lovely as a wall-hanging but I wanted to add more meaning. So I used a zipper and leftover vinyl (from Rooms with a View Bags) to make a see-through bag.

Zippered Vinyl Bag

Project Bag

I was so happy with my finish that I decided to make a second one :-D Here is my response #2.

Kalpataru (Tree of Life)

I followed the same construction process. 

Neutral Background, Scrappy Borders

Tree Trunk and Branches

Adding Foliage

Ready to Quilt

See-Through Zippered Bag

What do you think about making Mini Quilts? How do you use them? Do you like my twist to the mini quilt challenge? Do share your thoughts.

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

Family Values

Born and raised in India, I was 32 when I came to the US. India is a strongly patriarchal society. Most adults accept arranged marriages. It is a cultural thing and is unlikely to change in any significant way.  

Most Indian marriages "work", by which I mean the divorce rate is low. What happens inside a marriage, we don't know.  Is there respect and love or is there abuse? Even when the situation is less than ideal, many couples stay together for the sake of their children. Others don't want to deal with family pressures, something I know firsthand. Many women stay in unhappy loveless marriages because they believe they don't have an option. They are homemakers while the husband is the breadwinner and in that role they are completely dependent on him. Even seemingly loving and supportive parents will encourage their married daughters to "adjust" and "forgive" and return to her marital home.  The word of choice is "sahansheel" which translates into patient and tolerant. Things are rarely smooth in the beginning, they are told.  Learn to manage and focus on fulfilling your duties, they are advised.

My mom was still in school when her marriage was arranged. Although she went on to get her Masters in Economics, thanks to dad's support and encouragement, seeking employment was unthinkable to her. Dad encouraged her to get a job. She flatly refused. In her opinion, her job was to take care of her husband, children and the household. That is what girls did, most of them, at least. Her mother, her cousins, her neighbors and most of her fellow students were or became homemakers. Me and my siblings benefited from her undivided attention, I am sure. But that doesn't have to be the only way.

When I was ten, one of my classmate's mom was a schoolteacher in our school. Her dad was a college professor. We were family friends too, because my dad knew her dad. I remember visiting her house and reading. She had so many storybooks, I could stay there forever. Come rainy season, we got cheap raincoats. They would tear easily, from the slightest pressure, and rarely lasted the season. Why can't we get Duckback raincoats (the holy grail of raincoats, as I remember), I asked mom in frustration. Because they are expensive, she replied. But Hema has a Duckback raincoat, I argued. They are a two-salary household, mom explained. I  understood.

There are no solutions. Only trade-offs. The important thing is that women who choose to work should not be shamed for their choices, just like women who choose to be stay at home moms. A spouse and a family that supports their choices would be the Duckback of happy relationships. 

Now that I have explained my origin story, let's look at the current situation.

A certain prominent major party candidate has lamented the fact that getting a divorce is so easy these days. Easy divorces, he went on to say, make a mockery of marriage and scar children forever. His statement claimed that people now “shift spouses like they change their underwear,” and that it had done long-term damage to a generation of children. There is another very well-known person of the same party who has famously changed spouses and cheated on each one them. I would go as far as to say that he went on to put a new underwear before he even removed the previous one. Gross? Exactly. But I digress.

On the face of it, the "childless cat ladies" comment, opposition to reproductive choice, and the desire for women to stay in difficult or even abusive marriages for the sake of children, may be family-friendly. In actuality it is anti-women.

When a man says that women should bear children, even the ones she cannot afford, stay at home to take care of those children, endure a bad marriage for the sake of those children, he reduces women to incubators and caretakers at most. I am sure he does not realize how Taliban-like he sounds when advocating such anti-women viewpoints? 

Clearly, this whole marriage-divorce-family-children saga is nothing more than a talking point to attack their opponents and wrest power away from people who are different. If his party really cared about families and the well-being of children, they would support family friendly policies such as Paid Family Leave, Childcare Assistance, Free/Subsidized Primary Education. If his party wanted to keep children from harm, they would support sensible gun laws that could prevent school shootings. 

The US presidential election is weeks away. Our vote will determine the safety of our families and the future of our children. Choose wisely.

This is my blog and I get to write whatever I want. You are welcome to read (and share), if you like. Skip if you don't. I am disabling comments to avoid the hate speech. 

Fireworks and more!

Have you seen my newest finish? Fireworks was published in Make Modern Issue 59.

Published in MM#59

Fireworks was designed in EQ8 and made using Fire and Ice, an original collection designed by Claudia Pfeil. 

I love this pattern because it is not paper-pieced and requires no special rulers, making it very accessible to quilters of all skill-levels.  

I like big blocks :-)

Made of 12 large blocks, Fireworks finished at 60" by 79". The background and binding is Egg White, an Island Batik Neutral available all year round. The backing is Dove, an Island Batik Basic from the Bodacious Blacks.

Bold and Beautiful

I used variegated thread and my walking foot to quilt squiggly lines in a 2" grid.

Walking Foot Quilting

And one last picture!

Fireworks!

Issue 59 of Make Modern has several other fabulous patterns and articles. Do check it out.

In other news, I have completed my Aquamarine (Teals and Turquoises too) Hexie Blocks for July's Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Here they parade for your approval :-) 

Light 

Dark

All scraps are Island Batik fabric. It is good to be an ambassador :-)  

Speaking of ambassadorship, I just received the Summer precut (10" squares) and matching yardage. 

Paradise Palms with 4 yards of matching yardage

I will be sharing with Angela's and all my other favorite linky parties, see full list on the sidebar. 

I will return next week with the Island Batik August Challenge - Marvelous Minis!

Please stay cool and hydrated.