The Lynch Quilts Project: FINAL Call for Participation!!!

I hope this finds you in good health and happiness. That you and your circle are safe and have what you need!

It is spring. I am in my VERY HAPPY place. We have chickens and bees and gardening oh my. So, despite all that is going on, I find myself content. This weekend was exciting when the weather clocked in at near 80 degrees with blue skies and a light breeze.

Because The Pestilence has turned the world topsy-turvy for many weeks now, I have received several emails concerning deadlines for Quilt VIII, Lawrence and His Sisters. As such, I want to ensure that everyone that wants to and is able to participate in this quilt can.

Please consider this the official last call for participation in Quilt VIII, Lawrence and His Sisters. We will begin sewing this quilt in two weeks. All submissions will need to arrive no later than, Saturday, May 23, 2020. After this date, the final pattern will be set with the submissions on hand. Thanks again to Bib & Tucker Sew-op for sponsoring the sewing day down in Birmingham, a lifetime ago, where dozens showed up to make panels for Quilt VIII. Below is a reminder about the themes explored in this quilt and how to participate.

All sewn panels and/or fabric donations should be mailed to:

LaShawnda Crowe Storm
The Lynch Quilts Project
PO Box 90348
Indianapolis, IN 46290

In addition, we have finished dyeing fabric for Quilt V, The Making Quilt. As soon as the top is pieced for Quilt VIII, we will launch directly into Quilt V. Based on current speed, I am assuming this will be around late July / early August 2020. Keep your fingers crossed as Quilt V is fairly large and I need space to spread out to start cutting out the pattern. My Indy community will also need to be out of lockdown by then in order to access spaces big enough to lay out the patterns. If this isn't the case, we'll try it at home in my tiny little studio. (I hope you hear my laughter in this!)

This is an exciting time as we can see nearly two decades of work coming to a close within the next 18 months. We can then launch the traveling exhibit with ALL the quilts. I am not sure what that world will look like after the pandemic passes, but the increased violence being experienced by African Americans during this time is proof positive of the need to still do this work. From Ahmaud Arbery who was shot and killed while jogging after being chased down by two white men to a young girl singled out of a group of teens then attacked and choked by a white male doctor for not social distancing, being black during covid-19 has added an extra layer of violence.

Honestly, I feel some of these crimes of violence reflect a deep seeded desire to do this harm (anyway) and RONA is being used as an excuse. The mentality that whites have a "right" to control black bodies in public spaces is an increased threat during this time and on full display. Take for instance the unequal enforcement of social distancing policies applied by the New York Police Department. Blacks folks slammed to the ground, knee on the neck and handcuffed. White folks treated as if its another day in Central Park.

But I digress.

Once the tops for both Quilt VIII and Quilt V are completed, I will begin searching for funding to get them quilted. Please let me know if you come across any grants in the arts, social justice, racial justice and healing, peacebuilding, gender studies, black studies and other sectors that may assist with this final push across the finish line. Or, at least the end of what I am terming TLQP: The Originals. Already TLQP 2.0 has started dancing around on the fringes and boy is it interesting. Singing new dialogues and possibilities for community healing through the thread.

Namaskar!

Thank you for continuing the journey.

Stay safe!

Wrapping you in love and light.

With gratitude,

LaShawnda

Garden adventures! April 2020.

Quilt VIII: Lawrence and His Sisters

All systems are GO!!!!!! (Imagine blinking lights!)

As a recap, this quilt completes the story of the lynching of Laura Nelson and her children. What happened to her children on that fateful day on May 25, 1911? We know through photographic evidence that just feet away from her on the same bridge died her 12 year old son, Lawrence. And those images indicate that he was castrated in the process. But what of her daughters? The two year old Carrie and an unnamed baby girl of two months? Not a word. Not a peep on what happened to them. Not an image. So, here in this quilt they are woven in as two little girls playing hand games. Their memory and existence not forgotten. And we have removed the castration of Lawrence and covered him in the shroud of his own blanket.

In Quilt VIII, we have come full circle.

Again, I ask the question: How do we remember the history, but embrace their humanity? How do we wrap these children in love? Piece their humanity back together in the face of man's inhumanity to man?

How to participate:

Donate Fabric: Fabric can be personal and/or inspired by boyhood. But not the boyhood of 2020 with its video games, Star Wars and superheroes. The boyhood Lawrence would have enjoyed in 1911: growing up on the farm with animals and pet dogs; relaxing days at the pond fishing with Papa; nights laying on the porch counting the stars to keep cool; eating fresh berries picked from the field; anticipating mama's homemade pies cooling on the window sill; the promise of possibilities. . . first love, children, grandchildren, good life and good death, many nights looking up at the stars. To ensure their ancestors are there as well to wrap them in the embrace of millenniums, you can incorporate African and African motif fabrics. You can also send fabric that represents girlhood of the same time period. With same notions as Lawrence. That means NO DISNEY PRINCESS fabric! LOL!
Sew Sections: To construct the frame around Lawrence, we are sewing 5 x 5 inch blocks together. The 5 inches includes the 1/4 inch inseam. Each section of blocks should be no larger than 4 blocks across by 5 blocks down. Confused on block size? Then checkout a CHARM PACK at the local fabric store, which will give you an idea of the size.

With gratitude for your continued support along this journey to fulfill what has become a calling.

Ashe!

LaShawnda

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice in July 2019.
Rest In Power Nelson Family. Next time I go, I'll leave four bouquets.

Quilt V: The Making Quilt

Quilt V, The Making Quilt has come center stage to move into maximum overdrive production. . . in a few months that is. Fabric has been hand-dyed and the patterns have been dreamed about, sent by others, developed through family archives and woven together into a design. This quilt has been the longest in production in terms of designing! Finally, all systems are go. It is like being on the tarmac at the airport. Next in line. Ready and waiting to ZOOM up and away. As soon as Quilt VIII's top is completed, we'll jump right in and start working on it immediately. Kinda. Sorta. Maybe a week or so after resting from Quilt VIII.

How to participate:

Donate Fabric: We are accepting indigo fabric only. Batiks and other patterns are welcomed.
Embroidery: Community members can also participate by embroidering symbols into the fabrics of the stars. When we reach that step, I'll send a call out and you let me know if you want to embroider.
Sewing Fabric: If you are in the area of the following communities we'll also have opportunities to assist with hand stitching: Illinois cities of Chicago and Peoria; Indiana cities of Indianapolis and Fort Wayne; Kentucky cities of Lexington and Louisville; and Ohio cities of Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, OH. All of this is dependent on rules around social distancing and lockdown orders as they pertain to each state.

REALLY looking forward to get the needle and thread to get this one going. Gathering the necessary components for this quilt for 17 years!

With gratitude,

LaShawnda

Keep casting stones LQP People!

ARTICLES TO READ

Tess Asplund, with Fist Raised Against the Leadership of The Nordic Resistance Movement (Nrm). (Twitter/David Lagerlöf).
Click here to learn more about her simple, but powerful stand against injustice and hate.

RESOURCES TO GET YOU STARTED

As we continue to do our work in the world, here are some additional articles and resources to assist us in having these conversations.

First, I will direct you here to The Lynch Quilts Project website, which has a list of organizational resources to help you get ready.

Second, I direct you to the site #CharlestonSyllabus, which has resulted in a nearly 20 page bibliography of articles, books, research, etc. that explore race in America. In addition, you can click here to purchase the book (Charleston Syllabus: Readings on Race, Racism and Racial Violence), which is a condensed version of the on-line syllabus.

Finally, below are a series of articles that explore these issues that have become more focused on the national spotlight in regards

History
Understanding the past persecution of black Americans is crucial to understanding the racism that pervades the country today.