Perhaps you’re like me and have a lot of thoughts about what’s going on in our nation right now. Perhaps you feel a bit helpless. Perhaps you feel angry. Perhaps you feel unheard. Well, I’m thrilled to share about a project that means a lot to me and I have a feeling it will hit home to a lot of you fellow makers as well. I’ve teamed up with Women Building Peace to share about their first nationwide event, Quilting for the Constitution: Peace by Piece.
The idea is to write powerful and peaceful messages to our nation’s leaders on 10×10″ fabric squares that will be sewn into quilts and given to our representatives. The U.S. constitutional system is built on the principles of separation of powers, ensuring that no branch of government can dominate the others. This protects citizens, preserving their access to both representative government and redress through the courts. They are our voice and we’re here to remind them of that!
I was thrilled to be a part of a Quilt-in in my city of Provo, Utah. Over 120 women showed up on a crisp winter day in February in front of our county building with energy and excitement. A lot of us were feeling the same way. What can we do to express what’s going on right now? To let our leaders know what we’re feeling? We each wrote on a quilt square that was taken to a sewist, who shipped up a quilt to give to our Utah senators, Senator Lee and Senator Curtis. But friends, this was just the first of many!
Quilting has long been a means for women to express their voices and unite for social change, dating back to the quilts created for the suffrage movement that called for women’s rights and beyond. This project carries on the same tradition in a few different ways and here’s how you can get involved!
1. Print, color and write a message to your congressional leaders on the digital square at http://womenbuildingpeace.us/, then share it using the hashtag #PeaceByPiece.
2. Cut out fabric squares, write a message on them (with a black Sharpie on a 10” x 10” fabric square – keep a clear border of ½ inch), and send them to Women Building Peace, PO Box 2129, Arlington VA 22202 or 6211 S. Highland Dr. #4020, Salt Lake City, UT 84121 by April 21st to be quilted.
3. Host a quilting gathering where women can come together to create and send their quilts to us for deliver to congressional leaders in DC.
4. Send a DM to @WomenBuildingPeace with your message and they will write it on a fabric square to be sewn into a quilt. #PeaceByPiece
Women have long had a history of speaking up in creative ways to see true change. I hope you will join me in this!
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