Blog

October 2022

The 2022 mid-term election is just over a week away as I write this, and I have never felt the level of anxiety over any election, let alone a mid-term, that I am feeling as this one approaches, and I know I am not alone. I will be a poll worker on November 8^th so the day will pass quickly, and I will not be subjected to endless media speculation and exit polls. I voted early. I have written postcards to voters, donated to campaigns I support, and encouraged friends and family to vote.

So, I thought this would be a good time to update you on one of the Incredible Humans I wrote about in the book, Phoenix textile artist Ann Morton, founder of the Violet Protest. This project was a “call for national unity.” An important message in our current political climate.

Morton sent out a request in 2020 for participants to take part in this “physical message of friendly protest” to Congress. Two years later, the result was 2,000 makers throughout the US and Canada completing 13,500 crafted 8”x 8” squares made up of equal parts red and blue – hence the violet, representing unity. The intention was to focus “on the values we hold dear as Americans, rather than any political beliefs,” while sending the message to members of the Senate and the House of Representatives that we expect them to work together to accomplish the work of and for the people who elected them.

Morton partnered with The Phoenix Art Museum, receiving a Scult Artist Award to help fund the project. The museum presented a stunning display from March through September, 2021 which you can view on the Violet Protest website or read about on pages 101-103 in A Call to Needles. I recommend taking a look at some of the beautifully made, cleverly designed squares, created using a variety of fibers, fabrics, and techniques. It always gives me pause at how many ways people can find to speak through textiles.

I was a […]

September 2022

The title of my new book is A Call to Needles. The subtitle is more informing – Acts of Craftivism and Crafted Kindness in the Age of Trump.

From the time Donald Trump sailed down the gold elevator in Trump Tower to announce his run for president, many of us sensed a disturbance in the force, even if we were convinced he would not win the presidency. In this context, think of the word force as the aura surrounding every woman.

To be clear, I am quite sure the Age of Trump began long before that descent on the escalator (ooh – I never noticed the irony in that “descent”) and even though he is no longer occupying the oval office, we have not yet safely navigated into a new Age, and it is too soon to predict when that will happen. The Age of Trump marches on.

x x x x x x x x x x

I was encouraged and taught to love various forms of needlework by two grandmothers, and I share part of my backstory in the book because I believe it is not at all unique. Like many of you, I always have multiple works in progress and a long list of things I want to knit, sew, quilt, crochet, or embroider.

My Call to Needles came soon after the 2016 election when I began knitting Pussyhats for the Women’s March in DC, held the day after the 45^th president was inaugurated into office. It became an act of craftivism when I participated in the march, part of that sea of pink hats. I honestly don’t remember if I signed up for the march first or discovered the call for hat-making first. The two have become so intertwined in my mind.

I began to research and look for other ways to use the skills I possess to participate in protecting democracy. My skill […]