What's Up

What have I been up to besides working on my 94 Quilt? Well, a few things, though none of them have given me any finishes for a while.

You know that I've decided to hop on Leanne's @devotedquilter Instagram bandwagon of finishing WIPs during the final 100 days of 2021.

I started with the biggest most time-consuming goal of the three, but tbh, all three are pretty big, time-consuming goals. In for a penny...

94Quilt: Blocks 88 - 94 and the Flimsy

I acknowledge that I am living on unceded territory of Anishinaabeg (Source: Canadian Encyclopedia) on the shore of erielhonan, (Iroquoian word meaning 'long tail') now called Lake Erie.

The post that explains my 94Quilt project is here.  Since July 1 I've been making a flying geese block a day as I read one of the 94 Calls to Action, its accompanying explanations and progress report, and links that go with each one. I made my last geese block on October 2. On October 3 I made the final heart block. The Calls are divided into six major sections, and so at the end of each one, I have made a heart block. Reconciliation has the most Calls within it, though there are several sub-sections. The hearts inadvertently led to me having a nice number of 100 blocks. Some of the blocks are set in the Dutchman's Puzzle setting; others are interrupted by a heart. When I saw this happening, I decided to 'interrupt' the blocks with two columns of geese going in random directions. I wanted lots of movement across the quilt, and a more modern feel to it. All of the hearts are the same fabric (a great one by Benartex, Marbella), and almost all of the reds and oranges are  repeated twice, some three times. The Moda I used for the background is gone but for a couple of small scraps, so that feels good to move yardage off the shelf. 

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation is the main website with a wealth of information.

Beyond 94 is the CBC-created site that is an ongoing report card monitoring how we are doing with the calls.

Reconciliation

88. Continued support for the North American Indigenous Games.

Complete. 

• In April 2017 the federal government committed ongoing funding ($18.9 million over five years, and ongoing funding of $5.5 million every four years thereafter) both at the community level and to support the Games.
• Dale Tamara Plett of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation in Ontario, was elected the first Indigenous woman president of the 2020 Games which were to be in Halifax, but have now been rescheduled to 2023.

94Quilt: Blocks 80 - 87

Today is Canada's first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. I waited one day to post my regular Wednesday 94 Quilt post for that reason. I am hopeful, so hopeful, that we have truly begun the journey to understanding our Indigenous hosts, (because this is their land) and repairing the centuries of wrongs we have inflicted upon them. Lots and lots of small steps have been taken, but many many more are needed to get to the stage where they are not the highest percentage of incarcerated men and women, they are not the highest percentage of children in foster care, no longer a major number of humans dealing with addiction, homelessness, mental illness... 

I continue to learn. Making this quilt while I read, reflect upon, and research each Call and its progress has been another step for me on my journey to truth and reconciliation. The truth. The truth is not pretty, and shying away from it, saying you can't handle it, you don't want to talk or read or hear about anymore of it because it's too upsetting is another act of white privilege. So I urge you to do the right thing: #dosomething @decolonizemyself @pam-palmater Any of those accounts or the hashtag will lead you to educating yourself. Education is the key to understanding our sister and brother humans.

I acknowledge that I am living on unceded territory of Anishinaabeg (Source: Canadian Encyclopedia) on the shore of erielhonan, (Iroquoian word meaning 'long tail') now called Lake Erie.

The post that explains my 94Quilt project is here.  Since July 1 I've been making a flying geese block a day as I read one of the 94 Calls to Action, its accompanying explanations and progress report, and links that go with each one.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation is the main website with a wealth of information.

Beyond 94 is the CBC-created site that is an ongoing report card monitoring how we are doing with the calls.

Reconciliation

80. Establish a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a statutory holiday.

Complete.

• I did not plan this to be the first Call nor that our actual Truth and Reconciliation Day would be the day after I normally have been posting these posts. How very fitting. Higher forces at work.
• In August 2018, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the Liberals were going to declare a federal statutory holiday and that the process was undeway.
• A previous private member's bill had been passed in the House in March 2019, but had only passed first reading in the Senate when the 42nd Parliament ended.
• Two dates had been considered: June 21, which is National Indigenous Peoples Day, and September 30, which is Orange Shirt Day. This day of remembrance was started in 2013 by residential school survivor Phyllis Webstad. Ry Moran, director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation said, "It's not just about creating another day off from work or from school. We have to remember and we can even borrow the phrase from Remembrance Day, 'Lest we forget.' If we forget what has happened in the past, just how low we can sink, we are at serious risk of recreating those same issues again in the future.”

DrEAMi! #56

Welcome to another edition of Drop Everything And Make it! Sarah of Confessions of a Fabric Addict sent me this amazing video. Squirrels are so very smart; we don't give them enough credit.

Isn't that just the best squirrel video yet? Bahaha. Well, let's see what we've all been up to over the past month.

Gratitude #56

Welcome to my monthly post of gratitude. I try and mostly succeed, to practise gratitude each and every day. It genuinely lifts my spirit, and I've found that it has become a habit. Here are a few from the past month. If you'd like to read more uplifting posts from around the globe, head to LeeAnna's blog, Not Afraid of Color where she writes a weekly post, and others link up theirs.

1. I'm grateful for our Mother Earth. Despite the horrific mistreatment and disrespect for her these past 70 years especially, she provides. I grew beets this summer, and besides cooking, and pickling a few, I used a couple to make my own beet hummus. Yum!

94Quilt: Blocks 72 - 79

I acknowledge that I am living on unceded territory of Anishinaabeg (Source: Canadian Encyclopedia) on the shore of erielhonan, (Iroquoian word meaning 'long tail') now called Lake Erie.

The post that explains my 94Quilt project is here.  Since July 1 I've been making a flying geese block a day as I read one of the 94 Calls to Action, its accompanying explanations and progress report, and links that go with each one.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation is the main website with a wealth of information.

Beyond 94 is the CBC-created site that is an ongoing report card monitoring how we are doing with the calls.

Trigger Warning: some of the content in today's post can be disturbing for some readers.

Reconciliation

72. Develop and maintain the National Residential School Student Death Register created by the TRC.

In progress. Projects underway.

• In March 2018, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) received funding to support the implementation of this.
• In the 2019 budget $33.8 million over three years was committed, beginning in 2019, to establish and maintain this, and provide opportunities for commemoration.
• worth noting this was done prior to the discoveries of several mass graves at these 'schools' in 2021.

Orange You Glad You Did?

Orange is the September colour, and I got my orange 9-patch block done and the entire quilt is now a flimsy! 'Orange I glad I did indeed! I had the orange block on Instagram, but here, dear readers, is the entire top upon which your eyes may feast!

This is from the book by Jenifer Dick, Nine-Patch Revolution. It is an excellent book. Last year's RSC was also from it, 9-Patch Spectrum.