Our first fundraiser

"Would you like to help us clean up our quilts - they're all covered in oil?" brought many people into our booth on a very wet and soggy day in last Sunday. Spirits were high at our first fundraiser held during the Fall Fair on Gabriola. Four glorious quilts were on display, covered with "oil blobs" which, for a Loonie, passerby's could remove. Many people came back again and again to see what would emerge. Slowly an incredibly cute otter was cleaned up, 

then a seal on a rock, some starfish... and then a salmon, as more and more pins were removed. Kids in particular enjoyed helping out, and parents appreciated the visual connection to get the message across.

$ 222.00 was raised and sent home with the Dogwood Initiative representative who had come up from Victoria for the day to raise awareness about the issues at hand. Here's the article she wrote about our project: http://dogwoodinitiative.org/blog/unspoiled-unoiled-coast-quilt-project?utm_source=AdaptiveMailer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=E-News&org=354&lvl=100&ite=350&lea=78355&ctr=0&par=1

What on Earth have we done?

The last several weeks we have all been totally immersed in finishing up four spectacular quilts for our first fundraiser this coming weekend. I, for one, have barely had time to think too much about why I am doing all this work, and what would be the repercussions of an oil spill in our own backyard. One of our members forwarded this video to me and tonight I sat watching and listening to it. I could not get through it without weeping. The horror of what we have done overwhelmed me.

http://www.socialistproject.ca/leftstreamed/ls65.php?ref=nf

I say we, because I believe that only when we accept that it is us who have allowed things to get this far will we take up the responsibility for putting a stop to it and to change things. And we are the only ones that can do it. In all of history, change has never, ever, happened from above. It never will. It simply is not in most governments or corporations interest. Change has always, always come from below. From us.

What on Earth have we done? I asked myself despairingly as I watched this video.

But the real question is: What on Earth are we going to do?

Whatever it is, however you help to change things, I urge you to get out there and do it! Now!

We can make a difference.

Our first fundraiser for Dogwood Initiative "No Tankers" campaign

The Fall Fair on Sept 12 from Noon to 3 p.m. at the Gabriola Commons is rapidly approaching. We have three or four stunning quilts nearing completion that will be on display in our first fundraiser for the Dogwood Initiative "No Tankers" campaign.

The quilts will be covered with black fabric "oil blotches", which people can remove for a small donation. Eventually, the quilts will be revealed in all their glory. This is an excellent visual message and we hope to repeat it later at other locations.

The quilts are beautiful, and are becoming more enticing with every stitch!

Kristin and Shena

BC Artists protest Oil Spills

Here's a recent article in the Vancouver Sun regarding the "UnOILed ~ UnspOILed!" The UnspOILed Coast Quilt project. http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Protest+quilts+contribute+spill+discussion/3405930/story.html

It's also the first formal unveiling of the first of the wall-hanging quilts that are being assembled for the fund-raising project. Isn't it glorious!

The people who made these squares were from Gabriola and Salt Spring Islands, some were quilters, some didn't know how to sew. There is also a painted piece (the boat) and the pieces were made by both male and female...

Want to get involved? Email me at shenam@shaw.ca ~ we'd love you to be a part of this!

THANK YOU
SHENA

For coming to our meeting and giving

GROWLS members information on how

we can be involved with this exciting project.

We live on a fragile planet. What a good way to say NO to

oil tankers/pipelines by individuals

creating squares for quilts. Quilts tell a story.

Maybe we can wrap this wounded world in

a beautiful quilt .

Peace and Love from GROWLS

Taking responsibility

Spotted recently at a BP gas station...

Oceans Day on Gabriola

I spent the afternoon talking up the UnspOILed Coast Quilt project at Descanso Bay campground where many had gathered to celebrate "Oceans of Life".

Did you know that there are a field of hot hydrothermal vents called Endeavour, off the coast of British Columbia, which is home to 12 species that do not exist anywhere else in the world? Or that sea sponges are used in drugs to treat asthma and cancer? And that one oyster alone can help to clean approximately 50 gallons of water each day as it filters plankton from seawater? Just three of the thousands of reasons why we need to protect it at all costs...

Check out the World Oceans Day Website at: http://www.theoceanproject.org/wod/wod.php

The UnspOILed Coast Quilt Project

PURPOSE
To fundraise for the "No Tankers" campaign, to advocate for a permanent ban on off-shore drilling in BC, and to raise public awareness about the issues.

THEME
Use your imagination to make a quilt block in celebration of something special and worth protecting on our BC coast.

EVERYONE IS WELCOME to make a quilt square--quilters, artists, kids, and everyday people.
If you can't sew, don't worry - you can paint or draw on fabric!

SIZE: you can make a square or a rectangle.

o Square: 13” by 13”
Keep your design away from the very edge - leave a half-inch around each side for the seams.

o Rectangle: 13” by 28” (these dimensions may seem odd, but the extra length is needed for the pieces of the quilt to fit together properly).
Keep your design away from the very edge - leave a half-inch around each side for the seams.

o When the quilt is sewn together, the finished squares will be 12" x 12", and the finished rectangles will be 12” x 27”, and anything too close to the edges may disappear into the seams

MATERIALS, SUPPLIES, TECHNIQUES
o You can use any fabric you wish, as long as it is durable. Cotton quilt fabrics are easy to work with, but fancy or unusual fabrics are fine too. Feel free to add stuff to decorate or embellish your square.

o You can use unconventional techniques, as long as your square is durable. Fabric paints, acrylic paints, and permanent felt markers are fine, and so is stitching, of course.

o For advice or fabric scraps, please contact Kristin kristinmiller@shaw.ca

PROCESS
In the autumn, we will sew the squares together and do the quilting. Then the quilt will be covered with numerous black patches and put on display at a fundraising event.

With each donation received, a patch is removed, until the quilt is revealed in all its glory. Then we can decide as a group whether to keep, sell, or donate the quilt.

We want to fundraise for the Dogwood Initiatives “No Tankers” campaign, to advocate for a permanent ban on oil drilling in BC coastal waters, and perhaps also to raise money for grass-roots programs benefiting coastal Louisiana.

DEADLINE to finish quilt squares: August 1st, 2010

FOR MORE INFORMATION please contact Shena Meadowcroft at shenam@shaw.ca

And so it begins...

On May 31, 2010, Kristin Miller, a quilter on Gabriola Island, BC, sent out an email to ten people with the following words: "The terrible mess with the BP oil well off the Louisiana coast has me sick at heart, and feeling the need to do something to help prevent a similar disaster on our coast, and perhaps also to help out in Louisiana somehow..." she went on to outline some of her ideas.

Nine of the ten people immediately responded positively with comments ranging from "great idea" to "I'd love to be part of it" to "Count me in!"
The very next day six of these women met at Kristin's to discuss the concept further.

Within 24 hours a movement was underway...