Fired up, ready to go! - Week 1 Mid-Week Check-In

This is the email that went out to all of the In Protest Sew Along participants on Friday morning. But since I've had a bunch of new folks sign up since then, I decided to start posting the check-ins here as well.

Good morning, everyone! We're partway through week one of the In Protest Sew Along and I have a couple of things to share with you all.

Let's start with a thank you:

When I first dreamed up this sew-along, I truly thought it would be a small thing, maybe 10 or 15 of us coming together. And that would have been wonderful. Instead, you completely blew my expectations out of the water, with more than 150 of you joining this quilty protest movement. I am so deeply grateful to have you all here.

The last few months (years) of news have been heavy. Watching people in power make decisions that harm the people I love, the patients I care for, and so many vulnerable communities has left me feeling small, powerless, and alone. So much of it feels fundamentally at odds with the moral, ethical, and legal values I was taught to believe in. It’s been hard to hold hope.

And then you all showed up.

Reading your stories, witnessing your righteous anger, and seeing the depth of care you hold for others has done more for my spirit than I can properly put into words. This sew-along has already become something bigger than a pattern or a project. It’s a reminder that I am not alone, and neither are you.

When I first planned this, I intended to offer a single $50 donation to the nonprofit of one randomly selected participant’s choice. With the size and energy of this group, that no longer feels like anything close to enough. So instead, I will be randomly selecting five participants to each receive a $200 donation to the nonprofit of their choice, along with a free pattern. And I will be donating any remaining proceeds from pattern sales of In Protest during the sew along to organizations close to my heart, including ACLU and Planned Parenthood.

Thank you for trusting me with your time, your creativity, and your voices. Thank you for showing up and standing together. This matters more than you know.

Progress on my Hate Has No Home Here sign block

Some housekeeping details:

I have tried to assign everyone who opted in to the Instagram chat to a group. If you opted in and are not assigned, send me a message on Instagram (@quiltbynight). There are a few people whose message settings are such that I cannot add you to a chat, but if you message me, we can troubleshoot.

These chat groups are a safe space to share ideas, ask questions, and make some new quilty friends. The sense of community in these chats has been incredible. I've been loving the opportunity to peek behind the scenes and learn more about you and all of the incredible things that you do. We have members from around the world, across generations, and with a wide array of interests and lived experiences.

Fabric Thoughts:

A lot of you have asked about what colors to use for the hand. Your options here are truly endless, but here are a couple of tips.

Choosing a gradient: The hand uses 5 colors from light to dark. You can decide if you want those colors to be lifelike or more pop-art inspired. I recommend using a solid or a low volume print for the hand. I chose Moda Grunge in Bellini and Peach Nectar for my lightest two shades, a salmon colored solid for my middle shade, dark pink for my fourth shade, and a dark burgundy for my darkest shade.

Nails: If you are giving your hand nail polish, you'll want a darker and lighter shade of your nail polish color. I recommend using the lighter shade in place of H2 and the darker shade in place of H1 and H3 for painted nails. Since opaque nail polish covers the lunula (the light colored half moon at the base of your nail) you can use just two colors instead of three to give your nails some dimension and keep them from looking flat. In the pattern templates, I have the color label on the nail pieces noted with an asterisk so that it's easy to find them.

Hand Example

Week 1 check ins (optional):

This week is all about getting ready. Get your pattern printed, choose your fabrics, pick a pattern or concept for your sign. Sometime between now and 1/12/26, check in on Instagram by posting a photo of your fabric pull, your ideas, or your progress on your sign block. Don't forget to tag me @quiltbynight in the post so that I can see and keep track of your check-ins!

Thanks again for being here :)

Warmly,

Becky