Whose Street? Our Street!

A year of being on the street and finally basting my quilt

It’s been a year.

As an act of resistance to the fascist takeover of the federal government, I’ve been holding a sign on the street and waving at cars since February 21, 2025. Heather Cox Richardson says, there is no doubt: the current regime is fascist. The qualifications for the definition have been met. Not to mention, she likes to point out, that Trump is “Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.” Like me, she remains flabbergasted that just a handful Congresspeople and Senators Won’t pull the plug on him, since that handful of people is all it would take.

I have continued to meet up with friends and acquaintances while I am out and about who do not care to join us on the street. They often say something along the lines of, “I can’t read the news, it’s too much. I have to take care of myself and my wellbeing. So, I can’t be involved, but thank you for your activism.”

(Insert annoyed face here.)

Of course, people have different reasons why they can’t be involved. Some people who struggle to keep themselves and family afloat (which is, in fact, all-consuming) actually cannot become involved, although they still feel the effects of the terror. They are not looking away from reality. But I also know a number of people who are doing just fine, reaping the rewards of capitalism and living well, who say that acknowledging the damage this government is doing to others and recognizing the suffering of others, is simply too much for them to bear. This means they can’t really enjoy a life of privilege if they have to acknowledge that people are being held in concentration camps for no reason at all and that Rene Good’s kids have lost their mother to a murderer who is still free and at large.

At this moment there is no way to be neutral or uninvolved. To just look the other way is to become an accomplice to the crime. The UN has pointed out that involvement with Epstein is a crime against humanity, and it’s not a big step to concluding that the administration’s theft of our data, our money, and our freedom also fits the definition of crimes against humanity.

I like this sign’s text: “You are doing what you would have done in 1930’s Germany.” There were 65 of us in the cold wind on Saturday morning. We are doing what we need to do — speak for those who do not have the luxury of doing so. The fact I feel compelled to block out faces in photos I share attest to how much of a threat our government has become.

This street in my town is our street. It’s was once the only stop light in town, and is still recognized as the main intersection. It is our community. Lately more of us are getting involved. We have been going to city council meetings, school board meetings and precinct meetings. This is what democracy looks like. It looks like people like us being active.

An individual can’t do well if others suffer from injustice. We can’t be divided, hence the concept of indivisible.

On to Melt the Ice Hat number two. Needles are still too big, but oh well. I did buy the pattern so it will have a more precise peek on the top.

It’s been nice to see a number of other women who have also knit these red hats at events. My second one is half done, and have yarn for two more. I also have purchased the correct sized needles for the next ones which are promised to dear friends.

I have finally basted my quilt. This feels like a huge step for me. I started this two years ago.

These are amazing machines, the sewing head floats above the fabric and can be operated by hand or computer.

Last Friday, I went to a long arm quilt shop and used the big machine (one pays by the hour, and you get a lot of help) to baste my quilt so I can do the hand quilting. It’s important to get ‘the quilt sandwich’ held together securely so it doesn’t bunch up or get out of place while hand quilting it.

It was a surprisingly emotional experience. A pieced quilt like this holds so much experience, finding the fabrics at thrift shops, shows and fabric stores, cutting and choosing colors, then working with larger pieces. It was also a struggle in many ways since I started it after Dave died and I was grieving. Spike was always beside me. Now he, too, is gone. Yet his love and loyalty are embedded in the many pieces of the log cabin design.

Spike was a spicy Velcro dog, always needy, always attentive, and always with me.

All the pieces make up our remembered experience.

Now it has a fluffy wool batting and I can hand quilt it, sewing into it all the moments of the next months of my life.

Also — I was talking about mending last time, and I have finally, after a few years of feeling I needed to do this, taken on the project of mending a 20-year-old cashmere bathrobe with the Sashiko technique I learned recently.

I re-did the sleeves and reinforced the back with fabric cut from thrifted sweaters. I used wool embroidery thread. I will probably keep working on this to make a more interesting pattern with the stitches, but this has added life to a loved but worn-out item - and that is the idea of Sashiko. It’s a work in progress.

There’s going to be a lot of mending coming up.

Also get ready to join in a NO KINGS Rally near you.

I will also add that our events are usually pretty fun, it’s nice to hang with neighbors. We have music and Jesse often brings doughnuts, although next time, he suggests he might bring hand-warmers! We are starting to plan our NO KINGS event for March 28th. We plan to make it memorable.

Thanks for being on this adventure with me. It’s a work in progress.

Ann

February 23, 2025

PS — If you can’t spare time to work for democracy, you can give money to

Indivisible National, ACLU, and/or Democracy Docket — The last two are actively taking legal action to protect us and our voting rights.