Hey Friend!
Guess who finally got Covid? This girl. It has been a brutal two weeks (and I’m still testing positive and am so fatigued and foggy). Not since having dengue fever have I spent this much time sleeping and watching endless hours of television. I took the paxlovid which absolutely helped kill off the flu-like symptoms quickly but damn did it come at a cost. The worst metalic taste filled my mouth for a full 6 days. I probably went through a hundred Listerine strips. I decided that I would wake up today with enough energy to get this week’s #YearOfStitch tutorial done and this newsletter. So far so good.
I hope all of you are healthy and thriving.
There’s lots of fun stuff to cover so let’s dive in…
Do you remember Rita’s Quilt? Over 130 artists came together from across the country to finish a massive quilt that I found at an estate sale to honor Rita Smith who had passed.
Well, some lovely humans have created a site/project to connect unfinished projects from folks who have passed, with makers who would like to finish them in tribute!
It’s called Loose Ends. You can learn more here:
https://www.looseendsproject.org/
Obviously I love this.
UPCOMING EVENTS
March 12th - Intro to Embroidery // Zoom // 3-4:30pm ET
This month I am only teaching one Zoom - Intro to Embroidery class. Don’t sleep on this. Join me for an hour and a half of so much fun. You will learn everything you need to know to start creating embroidery masterpieces and meet some rad people from around the world. As always, the workshop is pay-what-you-can.
March 22nd - Craftivism 101 // Zoom // Canton Public Library // 6:30 - 8:30pm ET
March 26th - Art Activism Lecture // Cambridge Modern Quilt Guild Meeting, MA // 2-4pm ET
Check out this MASTERPIECE that a 6 year old student made after my workshop. If this doesn’t convince you to join us, I don’t know what will!
CRAFTIVISM SHOW
If you happen to be around West Chester, PA over the next month, you should check the Craftivism exhibit at the Knauer Gallery on the West Chester University Campus.
I am honored to have my piece, Child of God, included in the exhibition. (back left)
ABORTION ACCESS FRONT - PATTERN OF THE MONTH CLUB
An interesting thing happened on Instagram this week. I posted a silly stitch that was, admittedly, very funny. It got over 15,000 likes in two days. Then I posted this month’s Abortion Access Front fundraising pattern and it mysteriously got under 600 likes. I do not believe for a second that it was not the result of the algorithm punishing both a post about abortion and a post about Black Lives Matter.
If you have a second today, it would be great if you could give a like to this amazing pattern because Instagram should know that the shadow bans (that they deny exist) are unacceptable.
Now you know how this works. Anyone who donates over $10 to Abortion Access Front via this link during the month of March will get this amazing quilt block pattern as a thank you.
This month’s pattern is a collaboration between Libs Elliott and Social Justice Sewing Academy.
If you want to take it one step further, it would be WONDERFUL if you would share the block and fundraising link with your digital community!
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
I read two really interesting books this month that I would recommend if you are looking for a new read.
Invisible Boy is a brilliantly penned memoir about a Black boy who was adopted into a white Christian fundamentalist family and his journey to self-liberation. This is storytelling at its best. I haven’t stopped thinking about it for weeks. If you are an audiobook kind of person, the author reads this one. I don’t know about you that matters deeply to me. I came across this book thanks to a tweet by the amazing Lina Vanegas.
Stolen Focus was a recommendation from my friend Rebecca Loebe and I thoroughly enjoyed the perspectives and research in this book. I think this book is particularly interesting for folks who are interested in Tech Activism or folks looking to understand how social media is intentionally designed to turn us into zombies.
THE YEAR OF STITCH
Just a reminder that there is a tremendous amount of learning and fun happening in my Patreon community. We are ten weeks into the year and learning so many new stitches! This is the sampler we are currently working on. You can join in the fun at any time.
All donation levels get access to everything we do. If you pay for a year you get a discount.
Well I’m officially exhausted. I think I will head to the couch for a rest and see if I can muster some stitching later. I appreciate you!
Love,
Shannon