Death Penalty, RIP Quilt

I made this quilt a few weeks ago as a small protest against the death penalty.  The current news is full of the executions here in Arkansas as the state is trying to conduct multiple executions before the end of April.  I am not for the death penalty.  I came to this conclusion many years ago.  My decision is mostly based on the commandment “thou shalt not kill.”  I rarely go to Church anymore but cling to the 10 commandments as a good foundation for living.  I admit I would probably fight to the death to protect myself or a loved one if we were in imminent danger (thereby breaking the commandment). However, the death penalty does not protect anyone in imminent danger.  The prisoner is already behind bars.  Life without parole seems like a better choice to me.  My husband disagrees with me.  I do have compassion for the families of the victims (and the prisoner).  I would love to see a system that would provide them with free (or low cost) counseling. 

I designed the headstone on my laptop and then printed it onto fabric.  The quilt is machine pieced and quilted.  The quilt measures 15.25 in X 18 in.

 Here is a close up of the headstone.

 This is the back.  I like the way the quilting shows.

On (the) Line Quilt

This year's theme for the Quilt Alliance (https://quiltalliance.org/) yearly contest is "voices."  This is my entry.  I designed it with phone calls to/from my mother (She died almost 8 yrs ago and I still miss hearing her voice.  I really miss the phone call on my birthday each July.), the party lines from my youth (you would sometimes have to tell someone who picked up their phone to use the line, "hey, I'm on the line."), and today's on line conversations (ie Twitter) all in mine.  The words are machine embroidered into the telephone lines. The quilt is 16 in sq.  It is machine appliqued and quilted. 

 I tried to choose the words to reflect a "catching up" conversation.

 

I added the "cubs won!" as a nod to my grandmother who loved baseball.

This last photo is of the label on the back.  I added the phrase "a little bird told me" as it again makes me think of my mother (and also of twitter).

Please, don't litter Quilt

This quilt was made as a nod to the continued need for EPA and environmental protection.  Clean air, water, and land is important to human, wildlife, and plant health. The scene is mostly pristine with the exception of the deformed turtle in the foreground.  The background is strip pieced.  I printed the canoe, the birds, the turtle, and the sign onto fabric using my home printer.  The waves are made from plastic bag strips.  I hand sewed beads to look like small pebbles. The piece measures 21.25 in X 21.5 in.  Like the one last week I submitted it to Threads of Resistance and hope it will become part of their exhibit (http://threadsofresistance.blogspot.com/).            

Wall of Resistance Quilt

This quilt is machine pieced with machine appliqued stars (13 of them).  There are also statements (printed on fabric, then appliqued onto the wall) regarding issues that are important to me. The quilt measures 23 in X 23 in.  I have submitted it to Threads of Resistance and hope it will become part of their exhibit (http://threadsofresistance.blogspot.com/). 

The statements:

1,439 officers have been killed in the line of duty over the past 10 years — that’s an average of 144 deaths per year.  51 law enforcement officers were maliciously killed in 2015, 41 in 2015, and 64 in 2016.

In 2013 in the U.S., there were 73,505 nonfatal firearm injuries and 33,636 accidental firearm deaths.

Shooting: 

Sandy Hook School (2012) – 28 dead

San Bernardino (2015) – 14 dead, 22 injured

Orlando Nightclub (2016) – 49 dead, 53 injured

Sikh Temple (2016) –  7 dead, 4 injured

Free press is important to democracy.

The ocean is rising at a rate of about a foot per century causing severe coastline erosion.

 

Avoidable healthcare.  Coverage of preexisting conditions.

I approve of DACA -- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was created by President Obama via an executive order in 2012.   Only eligible for “Dreamers” who arrived in the US before age 16, have lived there since June 15, 2007, and were less than 30 yrs old when Obama signed the 2012 executive order.

The Day of Remembrance (DOR) is a day commemorating the Japanese American internment during World War II. Events in numerous U.S. states are held on or near February 19, the day in 1942 that Executive Order 9066 was signed, requiring internment of all Americans of Japanese ancestry.  Let’s not let something like this Internment happen again.

Immigrants should be vetted but should not be barred.  Refuges should be welcomed.  

One in 5 women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college.One in five women and one in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives. 

Sexual harassment continues to be work place issue.

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was originally written by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman in 1923.  The proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal rights for women. Passed by Congress on March 22, 1972. Never ratified.