Hello friends, family, fellow travelers,
Image: Latte in a cup on a saucer and a vegan peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie on a plate.
I don't usually miss taking a summer vacation. July and August are the busiest months in the MHS research library and neither Hanna, nor I, are sunbathing beachgoers. We're happy to defer our vacations for the cooler times of year when hunkering down at home involves hot chocolate and knitting rather than sweating in front of the window fans and taking multiple showers to keep ourselves cool. But this summer has felt hard and boy am I looking forward to our October vacation. There hasn't been any single source of stress ... just everything seeming a little bit harder than normal. Some of it's particular to our own contexts: workplace change, some medication adjustments, a rent hike, the disruption of house painters. And then the underlying exhaustion of political horrors we're living with these days. Gosh, I remember when I had the ability to listen to Morning Edition without descending into a well of useless despair for the rest of the day. But I've been doing my best to put one foot in front of the other and continue to act in the spirit of hope and solidarity even if I can't stay abreast of the day-to-day headlines.
Image: An open two-page spread from the exhibition catalog of Crafting Democracy featuring my work, Persistent Stitches I.
On August 1st the Crafting Democracy: Fiber Arts and Activism exhibition opened in the Central Library of Rochester, New York. I have a piece featured in the exhibit, Persistent Stitches I, that I previewed in the August 2018 newsletter. This is my first juried art show and an opportunity to introduce the Persistent Stitches concept to a new audience! The exhibition curators also edited an exhibition catalog that features essays as well as each of the pieces included in the exhibition. There is already talk of taking the exhibition on tour to other cities, so stay tuned! The show may someday turn up in a city near you.
Image: Persistent Stitches banner designed by crafter Jaydot.
Speaking of Persistent Stitches, we have had an anonymous donor come forward with a $250 match offer for the month of August! Any donation made for a current Persistent Stitches listing in August will be matched dollar for dollar with a donation to RAICES, a legal advocacy group that has been on the front lines giving aid to migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border. As of this writing we've had $180.00 in donations and there is $70.00 in match funds left on the table! If you have any cash to spare this month, you can double the power of your donation! Hop on over to Persistent Stitches to check out our listings.
Image: 7" embroidery hoop featuring a floral design and the text "do the work and get out of the way".
My project this weekend is to finish a trio of activist cross stitch hoops with a gorgeous little floral motif designed by StitchBitchDarling. I've also taken up knitting again to have something more portable and am working on a lacey scarf using variegated sock yarn which I'm enjoying a lot -- it's a simple two row chevron pattern -- and as a bonus of knitting on my lunch break, someone at work has already spoken up to claim it in exchange for a donation to No More Deaths.
Joyfully, Hanna and I have both been happily participating in the resurgence of Good Omens fandom activity that has accompanied the new mini-series that dropped earlier this summer. On August 15th we participated in a fanworks exchange where we were given story prompts to "fill" for the prompters (and gave our own prompts in return). One of the prompts I put up for the exchange was kittens and the artist who got assigned the prompt drew this utterly delightful picture for me (below). I AM IN LOVE.
Image: Illustration of Crowley and Aziraphale sitting next to a cardboard box holding a litter of kittens.
I'm also slowly turning toward the more focused research of the Ida B. Wells book project and you can read the first update on that over at the feminist librarian. Apart from Good Omens fic and Ida B. Wells reading I've also enjoyed some original romance over the past few weeks -- particularly Olivia Waite's The Ladies Guide to Celestial Mechanics, Cat Sebastian's A Little Light Mischief, and Cari Z.'s Off the Beaten Path. And I had the privilege of reviewing I Bring the Voices of My People: A Womanist Vision for Racial Reconciliation by Chanequa Walker-Barnes (forthcoming in October). For anyone -- particularly white folks -- engaged in anti-racist work from a Christian perspective, this title should be required reading.
Image: Christopher huddled on the edge of the sofa looking up at the camera.
Image: Teazel sitting on the back of the sofa looking at the camera with judgement.
I hope for those of you who are embarking on new projects this autumn, September feels like a fresh and welcome beginning to the season.
Let's keep on moving forward,
Anna
Image: Latte in a cup on a saucer and a vegan peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie on a plate.I don't usually miss taking a summer vacation. July and August are the busiest months in the MHS research library and neither Hanna, nor I, are sunbathing beachgoers. We're happy to defer our vacations for the cooler times of year when hunkering down at home involves hot chocolate and knitting rather than sweating in front of the window fans and taking multiple showers to keep ourselves cool. But this summer has felt hard and boy am I looking forward to our October vacation. There hasn't been any single source of stress ... just everything seeming a little bit harder than normal. Some of it's particular to our own contexts: workplace change, some medication adjustments, a rent hike, the disruption of house painters. And then the underlying exhaustion of political horrors we're living with these days. Gosh, I remember when I had the ability to listen to Morning Edition without descending into a well of useless despair for the rest of the day. But I've been doing my best to put one foot in front of the other and continue to act in the spirit of hope and solidarity even if I can't stay abreast of the day-to-day headlines.
Image: An open two-page spread from the exhibition catalog of Crafting Democracy featuring my work, Persistent Stitches I. On August 1st the Crafting Democracy: Fiber Arts and Activism exhibition opened in the Central Library of Rochester, New York. I have a piece featured in the exhibit, Persistent Stitches I, that I previewed in the August 2018 newsletter. This is my first juried art show and an opportunity to introduce the Persistent Stitches concept to a new audience! The exhibition curators also edited an exhibition catalog that features essays as well as each of the pieces included in the exhibition. There is already talk of taking the exhibition on tour to other cities, so stay tuned! The show may someday turn up in a city near you.
Image: Persistent Stitches banner designed by crafter Jaydot. Speaking of Persistent Stitches, we have had an anonymous donor come forward with a $250 match offer for the month of August! Any donation made for a current Persistent Stitches listing in August will be matched dollar for dollar with a donation to RAICES, a legal advocacy group that has been on the front lines giving aid to migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border. As of this writing we've had $180.00 in donations and there is $70.00 in match funds left on the table! If you have any cash to spare this month, you can double the power of your donation! Hop on over to Persistent Stitches to check out our listings.
Image: 7" embroidery hoop featuring a floral design and the text "do the work and get out of the way". My project this weekend is to finish a trio of activist cross stitch hoops with a gorgeous little floral motif designed by StitchBitchDarling. I've also taken up knitting again to have something more portable and am working on a lacey scarf using variegated sock yarn which I'm enjoying a lot -- it's a simple two row chevron pattern -- and as a bonus of knitting on my lunch break, someone at work has already spoken up to claim it in exchange for a donation to No More Deaths.
Joyfully, Hanna and I have both been happily participating in the resurgence of Good Omens fandom activity that has accompanied the new mini-series that dropped earlier this summer. On August 15th we participated in a fanworks exchange where we were given story prompts to "fill" for the prompters (and gave our own prompts in return). One of the prompts I put up for the exchange was kittens and the artist who got assigned the prompt drew this utterly delightful picture for me (below). I AM IN LOVE.
Image: Illustration of Crowley and Aziraphale sitting next to a cardboard box holding a litter of kittens.I'm also slowly turning toward the more focused research of the Ida B. Wells book project and you can read the first update on that over at the feminist librarian. Apart from Good Omens fic and Ida B. Wells reading I've also enjoyed some original romance over the past few weeks -- particularly Olivia Waite's The Ladies Guide to Celestial Mechanics, Cat Sebastian's A Little Light Mischief, and Cari Z.'s Off the Beaten Path. And I had the privilege of reviewing I Bring the Voices of My People: A Womanist Vision for Racial Reconciliation by Chanequa Walker-Barnes (forthcoming in October). For anyone -- particularly white folks -- engaged in anti-racist work from a Christian perspective, this title should be required reading.
Image: Christopher huddled on the edge of the sofa looking up at the camera. Image: Teazel sitting on the back of the sofa looking at the camera with judgement. I hope for those of you who are embarking on new projects this autumn, September feels like a fresh and welcome beginning to the season.
Let's keep on moving forward,
Anna