Quilts mean comfort and warmth and color. Quilts mean love. At a rough time for LGBTQ+ people, I’ve found that even when I feel depressed or frightened by current events, I still have the energy to quilt. Which is a good thing, because unlike some of my other self-soothing behaviors, such as eating junk food or playing video games, quilting has the fortunate side effect of producing something tangible and useful.

There’s a long American tradition of using quilts for fundraising. Quilts resist attempts to turn us against each other through racism or transphobia; quilting is about joining fragments together to create a whole.

Right now, if you’re local to West Philadelphia, you can go to Metropolitan Bakery and Cafe at 40th and Walnut and help raise funds for the Transgender Law Center. I’ve donated all labor and materials for some quilts, bunting, and potholders. If anyone is moved to buy anything, I’ll send 100% of the proceeds to the TLC. If we’re lucky enough that anything sells, I’ll be happy to make more.

I had three goals for this project.

Self-care. I need to find ways to keep it together.

Community joy. Maybe walking into a space full of affirmation and color will brighten someone’s day.

Fundraising. I wanted to do something. It’s vital to support the small but mighty nonprofits fighting so hard for legal protections for trans and gender nonconforming folks.

I made this Sibling’s Choice quilt last year for the class I audited on Laurie Ingalls Wilder and L.M. Montgomery. The bunting is in nonbinary pride colors.

The colorful central quilt is in a pattern called Wild Waves. I love this pattern so much. Simple, but so emotional!

It felt good to be making something positive in response to current events.