Hello readers,
I’m excited today to announce a new idea afoot and to request any feedback you may have to share about the “Respect” quilt project which was inspired by the many beautiful fabrics I’ve purchased from Black-owned businesses around the USA this week (above):
The “Respect” quilt project: allies at work
The “Respect” quilt is a result of Black and white creators working together to honor Black women’s beauty, history, and resilience.
The first one, underway, is being created by a former teacher, a white woman, for a former student of hers, a Black woman in South Bend, Indiana. When in her class at age 15, the young woman wrote and illustrated a short story, Overcoming Adversity, which stayed in the mind of her teacher all these years. (Discussions are afoot about revising it and publishing it with Honey Girl Books and Gifts LLC.)
The “Respect” quilt features African fabrics (waxes and Ankara cottons), Afrocentric fabrics, such as Harlem Toile de Jouy designed by Sheila Bridges (NYC), and other fabrics purchased from African-American business women across the USA. It is the intention to celebrate and honor black womanhood that we all share.
Ideas? email: juliawsea@gmail.com
And yesterdays’ face mask production fyi, the final batch for North Seattle College! (if you look carefully, you’ll see that all 45 masks made over the past days are uniquely different, to honor the diverse identities of the No. Sea. College faculty, staff and students!):
Daily Joy with Honey Girl 
4 replies on “day 78, a way forward: the Respect quilt”
Just learned about the exciting “We Are the Story” initiative launched by Carolyn Mazloomi: a quilt competition for two juried shows that capture this moment, with “symbols of liberation, resistance and empowerment, offering a visually compelling account of the breadth of experiences and struggles that comprise Black history in an honest and critical way.” Deadline 7/31/20. Perfect timing for my first “Respect” quilt! more to come…
for more info: https://textilecentermn.org/wearethestory/
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[…] any rate, the face mask sewing continues, as does my desire to start producing the Respect Quilts announced some days ago! Some progress has been made, as you’ll see in the pics below. They […]
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Well, it’s July 30 and I have come to the awkward realization that 1) the “Respect Quilts” are still in-progress so there will be no contest entry from me, and 2) it would be inappropriate to compete for that recognition. My prize lies in becoming a good ally, as awkward as it might be. I plan to follow the tips in the Happiness Lab episode on being an ally: https://www.happinesslab.fm/season-2-episodes/episode-10-how-to-be-a-better-ally
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Since September 2020, I’ve made eight “Respect” quilts and two “Respect” wall-hangings. Recipients include author-quilt genius Faith Ringgold, poet Nikki Giovanni, art historian Samantha Noël, Haitian historian Marlene Daut, essayist Kenneth A. McClane, Jr., and Anyjah Perkins, age 23, my original inspiration. “Respect” quilt no. 10 is already promised; it will go to Michele Harper, M.D., author of The Beauty in Breaking.
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