No Means No

Quilting is "my thing", and I want to be able to use it to express things I believe in, messages that need to be heard, not just for pretty things to decorate my home. Don't get me wrong, decorating is what 95% of my quilting is all about! I am not a great speaker, or poet, or songwriter, but I can quilt, and if it can touch one heart, one life, for the better, then it is worth pursuing!

I see inspiration for quilts all over the place. I have plans to quilt things I get in my email inbox, signs I might see, songs I might hear, fabric that begs to be part of a story. I came across the "No Means No" message while browsing college websites for my kids. It is put out there by the Canadian Federation of Students. It really hit a nerve for me, and I was so proud of the young people of this generation who were fortunate to have the support and education of this message. It just begged to be made into a quilt. Don't ask me why!

I stayed up till 3:00 a.m. or so, the night before our Quilt Show back in Sept, to finish up this quilt that I needed to make. It was very simple in construction and was not going to win any awards, but it had a message that I wanted to share with anyone who might not have heard it.

And it enabled me to practice printing out text with my inkjet printer, and I also got to play with my shiva paintsticks and rubbing plates. In fact, I didn't have a black paintstick, so I used a clear blender with a black oil pastel, and it worked out just fine! Makes me feel like a real artist !

Oh, and the reason I am posting today about is because I found a home for it! It is not the sort of quilt that I want to hang up at my house! I knew the colleges and high schools already have lots of posters proclaiming the message, so I checked out the local youth center, and sure enough they were happy to have it. That is me on the left, and Christine from the youth centre on the right, receiving the quilt.

Hopefully, you will be able to read the message from the photos, don't forget to left-click on the images so they zoom in closer. Or, you can check out the website: http://www.cfs-fcee.ca/nomeansno/index_e.html for more information.

FYI- I did not receive permission to use this message in my quilt (I did email them for permission, but no one replied), so hopefully, I won't get into trouble!