Disclaimer:  political content…all of it!  Indulging for just a moment, then back to our regularly scheduled blogging ….

It is time for a change.

And the times HAVE changed.

A while back I wrote this story here, but it is time to repeat myself….  in 1975 I began college at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.  I used to fly into Dulles Airport, which is some distance from  DC, so you had to take a shuttle bus into the city (and then a cab to the university). The old downtown core still had buildings burned out from the riots and fires of 1968, the year of so many race riots and Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King’s assassinations.   It wasn’t long after I arrived that I realized I was — despite being in a relatively progressive city — two states south of the Mason-Dixon line (for my non-US readers, that is where the Northern and Southern states divided during our Civil War, 1861-65).

I think it was when I arrived for September…either in ’75 or ’76…the bus driver on the shuttle from Duller to DC (he was an African American) announced “now all you smokers, you gots to sit in the back o’ the bus, where I used to have to sit.”

I was dumbfounded.  I had grown up in California (and a sheltered middle-class white girl, at that).  There was very little discrimination there, and at least in the lamentably lily-white county where my family lived, few African Americans.  There were the Chinese (who were brought in to build the railroads in the mid 1800s during the Gold Rush), the Spaniards and Mexicans (Mission San Rafael was in the next town over, and the northernmost of the Spanish missions is in Sonoma, 32 miles north of our house), and of course the Anglos.  Even the Russians came to California, to Fort Ross, 62 miles north….the Mexicans and the Russians nearly met! So it was a shock for me to come face to face with someone who had grown up with the oppression of racial discrimination, and yet could joke about it (it’s that wonderful Freedom of Speech thing! and a good sense of humor on his part).

On November 4th, our nation elected Barack Obama as its next President…..   one of the joys is that his daughters don’t really yet understand that it is so remarkable for a man of  Caucasian and African parents to be moving into the White House.   A mere 44 years ago, Lyndon Baines Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act (if you haven’t read Johnson’s speech, it is really amazing…Wikipedia must have it), to protect the rights of ALL Americans, not just the white ones.  It was a law that was needed because discrimination was rampant….lynchings still happened, race was still a significant factor.  It is a factor still, but nowhere near what it was–and we’re doing better.  The Civil Rights Act outlawed segregation in schools, public places, and employment; it protected all races, and before passage they added women, too, from discrimination …the impact was HUGE and remains so to this day.

I am SO PROUD of what our nation has done…on November 4th, 2008, and over the past 45 years.  I am just as proud that so many people registered, voted, that this was one of the most widely anticipated elections, that so many who had never voted before were moved to become part of our right and responsibility to vote.   I heard that in one of the Carolinas, more African Americans had voted….on MONDAY, the day before official election day (via absentee or early balloting) than in the entire 2004 election…way cool!

Perhaps because I’ve lived overseas and in the third world, I appreciate a bit more easily how astonishing it is to live in a democracy and be able to vote… that the culture of democracy is so ingrained that even kids on a playground will take a vote to see what game to play at recess.

I am proud.  And I am REALLY happy!  It is time for a new era, and it has begun…..

Anyone want to join me in a rousing chorus of God Bless America?!!!!

Addendum, Weds. morning,  Nov. 5th…. they are reporting a turnout of 64 percent of the population…that is the second highest in history (usually I think elections are in the 25-50 percent range)… apparently 100 years ago, in 1908, 66 percent voted.  With the larger population, tho, the turnout is by FAR the largest number of citizens who have voted.   WAY COOL!   I hope the enthusiasm for being part of the process holds…..

On Saturday, October 18th, I was fortunate to be able to teach Hawaiian Quilting by Machine to the Backroads Quilters in Gardiner, Maine.  The Backroads Quilters are a wonderful, active and experienced group of quilters.  Similar to my local chapter, the Coastal Quilters, Backroads is a chapter of the Pine Tree Quilt Guild, Maine’s state-wide guild (which rocks!).

I taught my paper-snowflake variation on the theme of Hawaiian quilting.  It is easier on the hands when cutting, lets you get stems and narrow bits that are equal (or nearly) in size (if you do the traditional fold the cloth into eighths the stems can range from narrow to blobby), and–if you do fusible applique and satin stitch–gives you two blocks from one fused-up square of cloth.  For this class, I did up a new 6-inch block.  Students get two choices of small blocks, turtle or taro plant, plus they can also select one of the five designs from Nourish the Body, Nourish the Soul–you can see that quilt here. Here is the taro block with two colors of satin stitching and assorted outlining stiches:

I always love to see students take my patterns then reinterpret them in their own color choices.  The small blocks are offered because it allows a student to apply the adhesive web, cut the pattern, cut out the motifs, fuse and sew a block in one class.  Other students prefer to dive right in with a full size block, but often don’t get a lot of the satin stitching done during class because the larger blocks take more time to  pre

pare and cut.  Here is a lot of eye candy!

Ann’s block being cut out:

and fused and ready for checking out thread choices:

Nena used a contrasting lavender thread for a nice bold outline on her taro block:

At first, this student wanted to use orange thread, but after doing several stitchouts, decided she liked the soft look of the navy.  By using the navy thread, she “popped” the small sprigged flowers in her print fabric and still gave a subtle framing to the edges of the pattern.  I LOVE this one! (OK..I love ALL of them….)

Here’s how that block looks straight on, before stitching–compare with the upper left pineapple in the photo above:

Another small taro block ready to be stitched…this is reverse applique.  I like to fuse dark on top of light so the lighter fabrics keep their light, clear tones.  Her other block has a navy taro leaf on the aqua print.

Sometimes busy prints can be challenging in Hawaiian quilts, but this one works so well… the Wedgwood  blue  thread picks up the lighter color in the print, yet provides a solid line to separate the print from the background.  AND she managed a few PERFECTLY mitered points!

Another pineapple block…this is the reverse applique…the bright blue is fused onto the white:

Often variegated thread doesn’t work so well for satin stitching unless you WANT a really striped look.  But this thread, Blendables by YLI, is a heavy cotton with longer, and more gradually blended, color changes.  I really like how it stitched out:

I hope you enjoyed the class as much as I did!  Thanks to the ladies of Backroads Quilters, and to Ann and Nena who invited me up to teach and made all the arrangements.