Pride - a WIP

Text from the Rev  "Do we have some rainbow fabric that we could loan to Rose City Park Presbyterian for Sunday?"

Obviously the question was about the loaning cause you KNOW we have rainbows.

Take all of it.   Represent!  I'll bring rainbows from home for the Bridgeport sanctuary.

I wish this quilt was finished.  It's close - pieced, sandwiched, & mostly quilted. Just a few more seams & a binding

Then again, maybe it's ok the way it is?  Beautiful.  Vibrant.  Incomplete.

Artistic vision realized (with work still to come).

Over time, without the rest of the quilting, the quilt would get all lumpy.  Some places would be thin & unsupported.  Other places would be thick & bunch up - putting strain on the whole piece.

And binding.  That's the worst part of quilting.  I like designing, picking fabric, piecing it together.  Binding is like hemming jeans or patching socks.  Boring.

But without wrapping this thing up & taking care of the edges, the seams that hold the beautiful pieces together will ravel.  The whole piece will be weak. Water & dirt will get into the rainbow & my creation will sour & rot from the inside.

Block 04854

(I'm not into subtle metaphors.)

  
Like The Names Project, quilt as metaphor in the queer community isn't about subtle.  Giving names & faces to those lost.  Laying all those feels out there for those who thought their lives were complete separate from homosexuality.  


Quilts may be soft & comforting, but a 54-TON Quilt is not subtle.

So I proudly place my WIP* on the altar: 

I'm really pleased with this quilt top.  PROUD of it, in fact.

It's important to feel PRIDE.  About who we are.  About all that we've done.

Then it's important to remember that this is a work in process.

• For the dark spaces like Orlando.  
• For the vulnerable edges like our transgender brothers & sisters.  
• For those seams that aren't yet reinforced & secure like our queer children & youth.  
• And for all of us - feeling safe & strong in the center of this beautiful patchwork - to guard against clumping ourselves up, lumping others away from us, & allowing the dirt & damp of prejudice & complacency to rot away at the center of our rainbow.

Happy Pride!  Have Fun!  Be Safe!  Be Bold!

Then let's get to work.  Writing letters, Reaching out to those on the edges, Fighting for our kids, Evening out the lumps & bumps that distort our center. 

We have built something beautiful & our work is not yet done.

xoxo

auntie sash

Hey - I see you.  I love you.  I need you to stick around.