A Rant About Excluding and Sexism

A friend posted about a quilter challenge on FaceBook this morning.  The link was to AQS (American Quilter's Society.)  It seems they were trying to offend as many people as possible in one post.  Or it could be that the author is still attempting to live in the 1950s.

The title of the post is:  A Big Girl Challenge Just for YOU!
How many of you are offended just by the title?
Dare I list some of the ways that is offensive?
1. Big Girl - implying the overweight quilters with no social life.
2. Big Girl -  you are all still just girls, not happy successful women. So here is a little project for you.
3.  Big GIRL- No men allowed, this is a girls club and you can't play.  Sorry Ricky Tims, Luke Haynes, Mark Lipinski, Raymond Houston, Joe Cunningham, Bill Volkening, Kaffe Fassett, Bill Kerr, Thomas Knauer, Scott Hansen,  John Q. Adams, Ryan Walsh, John Flynn and Doug Leko.  Whew- and I can think of many more....... And that is just the beginning of the list of male quilters. Raymond Houston has a list of more than 120 who have an online presence.  Just so you know, I am on that listing. (imagine the number who quilt quietly and don't blog or maintain that online presence.)

So tell me, how many of my wonderful readers like being called Big or Girl ?

I have walked out of quilt shops when treated as if I didn't belong in the shop.  I don't give my hard won dollars to companies that denigrate me or my friends or anyone else for that matter. I am very much of the "live and let live" mentality.  I don't believe anyone should be limited or excluded.

I posted a comment on the AQS OnPoint blog - it was deleted from moderation and not posted.  Here is what I said:
"Thanks for using your words to tell male quilters that they are NOT welcome at AQS. Sexism works both ways you know."

Please forgive my rant.  My next post will show a pretty quilt, but today, I had to get this off my chest.
Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in posts may be affiliate links for which I am compensated if you click through and purchase.

Oh, Nickita, I love you sew....

Bonus points if you know the song reference.  (Okay so they points are not worth anything, but if you know it you can feel smart.)

I made the second bag in the "Zip It Up."class on Craftsy.   This bag is called "Nickita."   It was surprisingly easy to make and I consider it a complete success. The free motion quilting was NOT in the class instructions. She explains a much easier way to stitch the layers together....but I wanted to quilt it. So, I did.

The colors are truest in this photo of my Nickita bag.

 I decided to make the handles with a completely different fabric that accentuates the blue bits in the feathers. I also added a blue pull to the lavender zipper just to add a bit of whimsy.  You can peek at the lining fabric in the open photo below.

The colors are "off" a bit in this picture. 

I am thinking I will use this one as a shave kit when I travel. However, this would be a great bag to carry some sewing supplies with you for hand work, or to a guild sewing day.

It may be a few days, but I want to make the Bendy Bag that is taught in this class too. If you click the link, you can see pictures of it.

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in posts may be affiliate links for which I am compensated if you click through and purchase.

Papa's Made a Brand New Bag

With a great discount, I could not resist taking Joan Hawley's class "Zip It Up."   Now, I am sure there is some fusible fleece hiding around here somewhere, but I couldn't find it so I improvised with some Bosal In-R-Form.  The In-R-Form is great but I think it was a tiny bit too sturdy for this bag.  Still, I got a nice looking very sturdy bag.

The front of the bag, with zipper
I improvised a scrappy strap instead of using just one of the fabrics.
I also switched out the zipper tab and used a pink one on the red zipper
for a little extra zip to my zipper.

And the back of the bag with a pocket.

 With this class, I got three patterns for fun zipper bags.  This is the Runaround Bag/ I am calling mine "Spicy Runaround."   But I also received patterns for the Nickita Bag and the Bendy Bag.  Plus once you make the Bendy Bag, there is a tutorial on Joan's blog to make a Bendy Bits zip pouch with pieces that will be left over. I am hoping to get a Nickita bag made this afternoon. These are fast and easy following Joan's tips and tricks.  One thing that I love about the class is that Joan teaches extra tips to insure a successful project.
(Links in this post are affiliate links that provide me a small stipend while you get the same great price.)
Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in posts may be affiliate links for which I am compensated if you click through and purchase.

YouTube Videos

I wanted to remind everyone that I do have a YouTube channel with a number of videos on both quilting and weaving.  I have had quite a few views on some of my videos. My most viewed videos are as shown:

The one on Cutting Bias Binding  has almost 154, 000 views.  I would love to push it over 200 thousand.
You can find my videos at  my YouTube channel: Gene Black on YouTube  If you subscribe to my YouTube channel, you will get a notification of new videos as I post them.
I also have a tab/page on my blog with many of them posted - it is Tutorial Videos.

Thanks for dropping by.  I hope your week is filled with creative delights.

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in posts may be affiliate links for which I am compensated if you click through and purchase.