Project Quilting 17.2: Scads of Plaid

This week's Project Quilting 17.2 challenge theme is Scads of Plaid. It's been a challenging week on multiple fronts and I wasn't sure whether I would have the bandwidth let alone inspiration to create an entry. 

On Friday, inspiration finally struck as I reflected on the current state of America and wondered how can we the people preserve our democracy? With this in mind, I pulled out my hand-carved mason jar and lady liberty stamps along with some silk fabric swatches. Several jars, jar lids, and Lady Liberty's were block-printed to have options for use in my piece. A white Uniball Signo pen was used to doodle stars into the blue jar and in the red jar to write out the Preamble to the US Constitution: "We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union..." Now I realize I wrote a lower case p instead of the uppercase P that is actually in the constitution and I wonder if that is a reflection of the perception of how we the people can oftentimes feel powerless in these times. In addition to reading and watching Dr. Heather Cox Richardson, I've also been following Dr. Joanne Freeman, an award-winning historian who studies the politics and culture of America's past to better understand our history as a nation. In her YouTube videos, Dr. Freeman frequently reminds us that We the People have great power and chutzpah. 

My other spark of inspiration was to create a small piece to contribute to the Studio Art Quilt Associate's Spotlight Auction, an online event taking place April 15-25, 2026. This showcase features 6" x 8" artworks that are displayed in mats with a 4.5" x 6.5" opening. In the photo below, I am using my rotary ruler to create the boundaries for my composition. 

Saturday, I woke up to learn of another murder by federal agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As the day unfolded, I watched the videos that were recorded of the execution of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year old American citizen and intensive care nurse at a VA hospital who was shown recording the events with his phone and assisting a woman who had been pepper-sprayed by federal agents. Watching these events unfold on video after video strengthened my resolve to finish this piece.

To fulfil Project Quilting's challenge requirement to explore plaid with your project, I found this fabulous tarnished metallic stitched plaid designer fabric in my stash to use for the background. I couldn't resist embellishing it with some red, white, and blue stitching.

The block-printed jars and Lady Liberty were fused and top-stitched into place before trimming the piece to the 8" x 6" required size for the Spotlight Auction. The edges were finished with Tulip dimensional fabric paint and propped up to air dry.

Here are all the supplies used to create this small piece...

As I created this piece, I continued to reflect on how the current administration continues to attack our American democracy along with the vital need for We the People to continue to exercise our freedom to peacefully protest and help our fellow community members. It's going to be a difficult road ahead, but we need to believe that we have both the compassion and strength to restore our faith in our country and our Constitution.

Preserving Our Democracy, Finishes 8" x 6"

And here is a digital mock up of how it will look displayed in a mat. More info will be posted to my social media and monthly newsletter as we get closer to the Spotlight Auction that will take place online from April 15-25!

Thank you to Kim and Trish for hosting these weekly Project Quilting challenges that continue to stretch my creativity and artistic voice!