Quilting as Service

The radical nature of stitching it all together

Photo by Cody Sells

Dear reader,

This week I got not one but TWO emails from quilt class alumni who are using their new skills as quilters to create raffle quilts for families and relief efforts in Gaza. Nothing delights me more than seeing artists use their skills and practice to bring awareness and resources to the most vulnerable and marginalized people of the world.

Raffles and group quilts have a long and varied history - from Civil War raffle quilts to the AIDS Memorial Quilt, to the trans and queer group quilts of today, there is no shortage of examples of quilts bringing people together.

I want to share more about these two quilts in today’s newsletter and also invite you to join me this weekend for QUILT IN A WEEKEND - A two day zoom workshop where we make a whole quilt in a weekend! Especially if you are looking for a place to put your post election grief, your everyday grief, your joy, your curiosity, this is the place for you. Sat Nov 23 + Sun Nov 24 12-4pm EST :)

I am also curious : Would a video of me teaching you to thread your sewing machine help you be able to take class? This often seems like the block for most people.

Bound Together: a Palestine Solidarity Quilt

This one comes from Blair Newman and fellows from the Bay Area JVP group who raised funds for MECA's Gaza Emergency Fund. They stitched together over 40(!!!) squares from community members (I love group quilts!)

From Blair on how this experience was transformative :

This quilt has morphed into something so much bigger than anything I could have imagined when we started this project 5 months ago. I have met so many people, neighbors, community members, Palestinians, Jews, and allies, who I never would have met otherwise. Through the quilt, I got connected to the owner of my fav local Palestinian owned coffee shop. He has been getting harassed by zionists, and accepted support from me, and by extension JVP. I just got home from the community event we organized at his cafe in solidarity. The quilt was there, but the event was so much more than just a chance to see the quilt. And, it wouldn't have happened without the quilt facilitating that connection. I continue to be blown away by all this quilt magic!

They are so close to their $10,000 goal - consider sharing or redistributing here

Quilt Raffle for Gazan Families

This one was sent to me from Meghan Bohardt

From Meghan :

I've been active with a group called @be.the.change_vie that does cute things like giving away free food in front of McDonalds and free coffee in front of Starbucks. We are raising money for two families in Gaza who have relatives in Vienna. We are trying to use the quilt I made to do a raffle (I've called it a donation-based contest for legal reasons) to direct more attention to the families' Gofundme pages.

You can enter this raffle and read more about where the funds are going here

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In these times of continued political and personal struggle we must remain steadfast with art making, with generosity, with telling the truth and telling our stories. By using our work to story tell we are saying to the world : We want a different way.

Our art and activism do not need to be separate - we can integrate them seamlessly in a way that brings light to what is so often hidden away.

If you want to work in a new medium, or you are a seasoned quilter looking to weave activism into your sewing practice, I would really love to see you at quilt class this weekend. I am open to trades for services as well if you want to suggest a trade just respond to this email. Payment plans for all and BIPOC scholarships available.

1. My dear friend, residency alumni, and magic creature of darkness and light Nicole France Coe is stepping out on her own and needs our financial support. Nicole trusted me in the early days of Have Company, selling her handmade clothes in the shop. Their work continues to impact me and I had the pleasure of hosting them here in Cedar this summer. Lets lift her up in this time of great transition.

2. In

   Brandi Cheyenne Harper
   amazing workshop in Landscapes on Saturday I discovered the Lesbian Peoples : Material for a Dictionary which you can find and read with a free account at archive.org, which I had also never heard of and am now obsessed with. Also it isn’t too late to join us for 5:30am EST writing time all week. We had a lovely morning!
   
   Brandi’s workshop recording is also now up in the Landscapes digital headquarters!

   

3. Beautiful episode of Off The Grid with Podge Thomas

4. Absolutely loved hearing Beth Pickens talk about art and money with Paco de Leon

5. Really enjoying The Money with Katie show :)

6. Ok I am clearly deep in my money world. I also read Playing with Fire (Financial Independence Retire Early): How Far Would You Go for Financial Freedom?
   
   The “FIRE movement” definitely requires many grains of salts, but as I tend to my spending ban and radically changing my money habits I am finding it really inspiring to dig in.

7. TOMORROW IS LOOK ABOUT YOU’S OFFICIAL RELEASE DATE

   

8. Another beautiful newsletter from

   Anna Fusco
   who is one of the guest teachers for Writing the Personal starting December 8

   Let Feathers Ruffle

9. I am loving how many audiobooks are included in Spotify premium - huge! I loved this book. Truly amazed how many books I can read in a week without Instagram.

10. This beautiful essay from

    Anna
    Maynard of
    H O M E B O D Y
    on Resonance in Movement : Mutuality as Collective Power in Non-Hierarchical Communities in regards to organizing relief efforts after Hurricane Helene

    Resonance in Movement

Website

info@codycookparrott.com

PO Box 252 Cedar, MI 49621

Landscapes : A writing group for all genres

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I go over my new money containers and how they are changing my life as well as talk about my spending ban :)