Roller Derby Quilt

A little quiet in quilt-land

2012-01-11T09:35:00.000-05:00

This is a LOLcat and he speaks for the quilt.

I hate that my most recent blog post has been an outdated image of the awesome fundraiser that NHRD held for my sweet husbandman. However, it's been rather quiet here in the quilting studio recently and that's my fault. I'm sitting on a couple of awesome squares that are screaming to be posted (*AHEM* Japan *AHEM*) and I need to correct that soon.

Once I get up off my butt and post those last few updates, I'm in a bit of trouble. Beyond the above-mentioned squares, I'm almost out of new contributions. Without new ones, well, [gets out bullhorn.... beep boop feedback feedback] ...is this thing on?

I NEED MORE SQUARES!!! HELP!!!!

I need more squares! If you have a league that's not represented, please make a square. If your league is already represented, but your specific team isn't, please make a square. If you personally don't have a square to represent you, please make a square!

If you have any questions about submitting a square (or more) to the quilt, email me at rollerderbyquilt at gmail dot com. I would love whatever you'd be willing to send. Tell your friends, your teammates, and your family members. Skaters, refs, NSO's, announcers, volunteers, family members, and fans are all welcome to make squares. The more the merrier! Please keep 'em coming, and spread the word that the quilt needs you.

Send Pelvis to Denver!

2011-09-30T17:42:00.001-04:00

I have no words. Wait, no, I have a few...

My husband, Pelvis Costello, has been invited to announce at the WFTDA national tournament this November, but we can't afford the cost of the flight to Denver. New Hampshire Roller Derby heard about this and decided that they want to help send their pal to the big show, because holy crap, they're wonderful people.

Please take a moment and hit up their fundraising link here. Even donating $1 would be a big help. Please spread the word, too. The more people who know about this fundraiser the better!

NHRD, you are amazing friends. Thank you so much for doing such a kind thing for my wonderful, sweet man.

France? C'est bon!

2011-06-22T13:24:00.001-04:00

Getting my hands on this square was no easy task. I emailed the Bloody Riot Girls of Renne, France asking if they would be interested in submitting a square to the quilt. What followed was an exchange of emails translated by Kitty Twister, who has a degree in French and was willing to put it to use for a good cause. I was extremely grateful for her help, as I'm a product of my culture and thus only speak English fluently. Well, English, some useful phrases in Japanese (toire wa dokko desu ka?) and a string of colorful insults in Italian (thanks dad).

The piece they contributed was well worth the the email chain. Anyone who works with yarn will know that this clearly took its creator some time. It's gorgeous! Thanks Bloody Riot Girls for making such a wonderful contribution, and for putting up with my inability to speak your beautiful language. If anyone else in France wants to contribute a square, please let me know! What do you think, Paris? Bordeaux? Orléans? Metz? Tolous? I know there are more....

Wish List (edited because WHOA the formatting was nuts!)

2011-06-15T14:37:00.001-04:00

When I started this, my goals were to get squares from other leagues. I reached that goal pretty much right away thanks to Zsa Zsa GaBoom from Kansas. My next goal was to get a patch from a league outside the US, and that wish was granted by Roisin Roulette of the Birmingham Blitz Derby Dames. Then I wanted a square from a country that spoke a language other than English as its primary language, and Gotherburg's Julia Ruth Ninja decided to rep Sweden. Just recently my biggest dream came true when I got a package from Australia. With each new goal comes a new one, and I apparently need some new goals.

I figured I'd start by calling out some friends, friends of friends, and some of my favorite leagues to watch as a fan.
If you're not mentioned here, don't feel left out. I stopped writing when my lunch period was over, so this list is just a small sampling of the people I'd like to see on the quilt:

Pelvis Costello (no more excuses, husbandman)
Lady Oshun
Reverend Al Mighty
Dee Stortion
Dumptruck (you promised, dude)
Metallikat
Georgia W. Tush (you are too adorable not to have a square)
Hayley Contagious (wife!)
Three Day Bender (perhaps a "Bender Knows Best" square?)
Baby Fighterfly
Hearty Break-fist
Day-Glo Divine
Philzie (do our rides together mean nothing, buddy?)
Shelby Bruisin'
Ir8 Pirate
Slam I Am (come on, skater sister!)
Chicana Bruzya
Ivanna B. Vicious
Rita Rulebook
~~Filthy McNasty~~ (thanks for the leggings!)
Ophelia Bonesbreak (perhaps with a pug?)
Ina Infirmirary (wait... I hear it's "Crafty" now?)
Val Capone
Slay D. Bug
Bobby Narco (you said you'd represent the anthem singers, man!)
Annie Cockledeux
Craisy Dukes
Quadzilla
Plastic Patrick
Ivanna Clobber
Justice Feelgood Marshal
Dolly Rocket
Bane-ana
Beyonsláy
Suzy Hotrod
Bonnie Thunders
Demanda Riot

I'd also love squares representing any of the following derby organizations and/or vendors. Derby has blossomed into such a rich culture, and so far the quilt largely represents specific people. Let's get the groups in on this:

WFTDA
MRDA
AFTDA
Derby News Network
Powerjammers
Roller Derby Inside Track
Bruised Boutique
Wicked Skatewear

...aaaaand there's the lunch bell. There are so many more people, leagues, and groups I'd like to see included. If you are one of these people or know them, please help me make sure they have a place on the quilt.

Wish list

2011-06-15T13:08:00.004-04:00

WHOA formatting issues! I'll have to go back and re-write this from scratch. Here is a photo of my dog for you to enjoy while you wait:

Mass Maelstrom

2011-06-08T11:01:00.009-04:00

Central Mass Roller Derby's men's team may have my favorite team name ever: the Mass Maelstrom. I loved Edgar Allen Poe as a gloomy teenager, I think whirlpools are neat, and was afraid of Charybdis "coming to get me" when I swam in large bodies of water as a little kid. Plus, I like the "male" pun they've got going on there. I'm glad to see CMRD represented on the quilt, as they're BDD's neighbors and I love them like whoa.

Also, this patch is gorgeous. The photo doesn't really do it justice, so you'll have to take my word for it. It's a faithful representation of the team's logo, down to the details on Thor's hammer and his "I'm coming for you next, jerk" hand gesture. Uber Wench has this to say about her creative process:

When Peter Rottentail asked me to do a square for the Mass Maelstrom for the derby quilt, I accepted, but I wasn't sure how to proceed. I've been playing roller derby since September, 2009, and in the real world I repair ancient bookbindings, so my first instinct was to make a leather collage. I brought a copy of the Maelstrom logo to my bookbinding studio and began to contemplate it. After an extended and largely inactive contemplation period, and an unsuccessful attempt to execute the leather idea, I decided to branch out a little with my materials.

Once I let go of the all-leather concept, the square came together very quickly. The viking's head and helmet are leather, his torso and hair are fabric. I cut "MASS" out of a batik fabric, and hand embroidered "maelstrom" onto the same fabric beneath it. The fist and hammer are very detailed in the logo, so I just printed them (on paper), cut them out, and pasted them on. I drew the blue background swirls onto the fabric with colored pencil and permanent marker. Then I sat down at the sewing machine, stitched the blue backing fabric into place and then "drew" with my sewing machine, adding lines and accents, and reinforcing the temporarily pasted attachments.

I love the different textures in the square, and the way that diverse materials create a united whole, just like the Maelstrom: different players sticking together to make one cogent team!

Thanks Uber Wench for making this killer block! I'm glad CMRD is represented now. We've covered three leagues in Massachusetts, but there's another one left unrepresented. What about you, Mass Attack Roller Derby? You want in?

Dreadmeat? Really?

2011-06-01T13:34:00.001-04:00

I spent way more time on this
than I care to admit.

Every once in a while I do a google search for "roller derby quilt" to see what's out there, and I find a few gems. I somehow missed this article back in February. Skip down to the bottom and you'll notice that the author refers to me as "Dreadmeat." As my dear friend Hayley Contagious would say, really bro?

He links to the BDD site and quotes lines from Maude Forbid's profile, so he's seen the BDD website. Also, I definitely said that thing about hitting people with my butt to some reporter somewhere, so he's sorta kinda done his research. I'm completely mystified about where the name "Dreadmeat" even came from.

I did, however, find a few sites referring to raw food diets for dogs, a band from Auckland, NZ, and some kind of reggae steak recipe.

Australia! Hooray!

2011-05-26T14:56:00.002-04:00

One of my biggest hopes when I started getting contributions from other leagues was to get a square from a reeeeally far away place like Australia. I'm psyched to say my dream has come true! Master Maniac, an official from Towns Villains Roller Derby sent me this square all the way from Townsville in North Queensland, Australia. It was so exciting to get an email from my husband simply stating "your Australian package has arrived." I've never gotten mail from the other side of the world and it totally made me feel special and important.

He found out about the quilt through an interview I did at Uproar on the Lakeshore. "As HorrorBelle, TVRD League President, calls me a 'Derby Nerd' I was watching the interview you did with Uma Plata on Bout Derby and you mentioned during that interview that you didn't have a Patch from an Australia League. So I took that as my cue to get all arty and crafty and make one to send to you."

Even better still, Master Maniac kindly shared news of the quilt with other leagues nearby. I've gotten a lot of web traffic from Australia every since, and even a few "how can we contribute" emails too. I would love for this square to get some friends, so if you're a skater from any league in Australia, New Zealand, or the surrounding areas, please contribute a square!

A fundraising square from Bitchez Bruze of PVRD

2011-05-17T12:57:00.001-04:00

Some time ago I was at a Pioneer Valley Roller Derby bout out in Western Mass, and Bitchez Bruze gave me a shirt to use in the quilt. Months later a friend handed off some camo fabric for the quilt, also courtesy of Bitchez. It's taken me forever, but I finally paired the two to make the patch you see to the left. Thanks Bitchez!

The shirt comes from a fundraiser PVRD did a while back. They screen printed these shirts and raised over 5K for the American Cancer Society. PVRD has several survivors on the league as well as a number of skaters with family who have fought cancer. It's great to have a memory of this for the quilt for all those who play derby who have also battled this terrible disease.

PVRD is participating in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life again this year. Here is their donation page if you would like to chip in a little to help find a cure, and here is the event page on PVRD's site if you would like to see their black and white charity bout on Sunday, May 22 at Lossone Rink at Williston Northampton School.

Help find Lil' Paine's skates!

2011-05-02T17:47:00.000-04:00

Help us get home!

HELP A DERBY SISTER FIND THESE SKATES!

These were stolen from the Boston area from Lil' Paine, one of the coaches (and rockstar jammers) of the Boston Massacre and a dear friend of mine. As you can see in the photo, they're custom gold and white 595 reactors with narrow dubs wheels. If you see these skates ANYWHERE they are likely hers - these are a custom job and are very distinctive. They cost a LOT of money and she's a school teacher like me - it won't be easy to just get another pair!

Please email info@bruisedboutique.com with any leads!! Please share this photo and repost this message to all of your social networking accounts so her skates can get back home.

Want some quilt merch? Of course you do!

2011-04-25T09:19:00.000-04:00

I'm working on a fancier site with a shop and such, but until that materializes I figured I'd repost the merch info to satisfy those of you who have been asking me where you can buttons and patches and the like. I have plenty to go around and other designs in the works as well.

Buttons are $1.00

1 inch round buttons

Stickers are $1.50

2.5" round stickers
good for indoor and outdoor use

Patches are $5

3" round, iron-on patch

If you want one of these before I finish setting up a little online store part of the site, email me at rollerderbyquilt (at) gmail (dot) com. I accept paypal and will ship anywhere. Customers pay shipping and handling.

Derby Quilt on display at the Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center

2011-04-12T14:33:00.000-04:00

What's this? Another quilt show? How excellent is that?

Come see the quilt at the Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center from April 8-July 29. The reception is this Thursday, April 14, from 6-9PM.

Here's the card for the show. Please spread the word and come to the reception to eat our cheese and drink our wine. I'll be there (not on skates, boo) and I'd love to say hello.

Detroit Derby Girls

2011-03-23T00:31:00.003-04:00

Photo by the Mad Hatcher

Craftsmanship appears to be the theme lately. I have yet another extremely well-made square to show off, this time from the Detroit Derby Girls.The Mad Hatcher sent me this wonderfully complex block representing the wealth of diversity in her league. She phrases it far better than I could, so here are the deets in her own words:

"I choose this particular kind of block that is very heavy in piecing. I wanted to do something that has many small pieces with very different types of prints because one the coolest things about Detroit Derby Girls is the immense variety of backgrounds represented by our skaters. We have skaters who are teachers, students, unemployed, graphic designers, lawyers, retail management, waiters, doctors, and so on. And we come from a number of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, as well as different socioeconomic backgrounds. We all have different approaches to skating and derby techniques, to training, to eating right and practicing derby skills. But I also wanted all of those pieces to be unified by similar colorways: red and black, our league colors. Because at the end of the day, we work hard to figure out what makes us work best as a league, to capitalize on the overlaps. So, that's the narrative behind the block!"

I love this square both because of its meaning and its gorgeous piecework. I'm going to have to step up my game if I want the borders around these new contributions to look half as good as the blocks themselves. Nicely done, Mad Hatcher!

ECE Team Goth

2011-03-20T10:33:00.000-04:00

I had ample time to dig through my giant pile of clothes while our new bedroom closet was being created. The pile got progressively smaller with each day of having to sleep next to, around, and even under all of my refugee clothing, and I found several shirts that were too full of derby stank to ever wear again, ever. My "team goth" shirt was on the top of the pile, both because it smelled like death and because it resembled a burnt dishrag. How did I find the armholes in something THIS shredded?

If you play derby in the northeast, you have heard of the East Coast Derby Extravaganza. If you live under a rock and/or call any other region home, it's a three-day festival of derby awesomeness in Feasterville, PA. The Philly Rollergirls put this on annually, much to the joy of all who attend. There are sanctioned WFTDA bouts, bouts for B Teams and mixed teams like NERD, and challenge bouts based on themes like Mario vs. Luigi, Robot vs. Godzilla, and Goth vs. Hipster.

I represented Team Goth and had an absolute blast in a way that only goths can. Before the bout we sat around putting on spooky makeup and shredding numerous layers of fishnets. During the bout we played hard and looked awesome in our all-black outfits. After the bout we cried tears of joy because we won. For the rest of the weekend we hung out in the pool and at the side of other bouts, because ECE helps people make insta-friends like that.

If you're anywhere within driving distance of ECE, consider checking it out. It's an incredible weekend, even if you're just watching the action.

DC Rollergirls

2011-03-09T13:30:00.002-05:00

Back at Eastern Regionals, I overheard the DC bench coach, Potomac Ripper, giving a moving pep talk to the DC travel team. After tweeting about how it made me cry (shut up) someone retweeted it and he found out. He came over, we chatted, and after a while conversation turned to the quilt. The next morning I found a DC Rollergirls shirt on my table, and I was all kinds of excited.

It's been kicking around my studio for some time, looking for an appropriate background. After the box of Derby Skinz scraps came I foun the solution. There were juuuuuuust enough small pieces of silver-on-blue stars and red and white holographic stripes that I could cobble together this fancy little flag representing the colors of the DC All Stars. I'm thrilled that my machine was able to handle the four-way stretch material, because I've never quite gotten the hang of working with that stuff.

Thanks Potomac Ripper, and thanks Derby Skinz for helping this square look all fancy. Go team us.

Holy crap! Sweden!

2011-03-02T11:14:00.000-05:00

When I first started getting squares in the mail, I fantasized about getting contributions from other countries. When I got my first square from Canada, my ambitions spread overseas. After someone hooked me up with a square from the UK, I hoped to one dat get a patch from someone representing a country that used any language but English as its official language. I'll need to find a new dream, because Sweden has answered.

Julia Ruth Ninja of Gothenburg Roller Derby sent out this square to represent the West Coast Bombshells. She used a great combination of materials, including carefully cut and stitched leather. My mother was all over the corset-looking piece on the bottom, especially. I have to say I agree.

Thank you so much Ninja! I'm thrilled that derby is branching out, and even more thrilled that the quilt is starting to show how far it's reaching. Who's next? South America? Asia? Down under? Let's get on that, people.

Stage 2 (I can't believe I'm doing this again...)

2011-02-23T12:02:00.002-05:00

They look so sweet and innocent

I've been carting around this one big, awesome section of the quilt for months now. Whenever I exhibit it, people always ask the same question:

"So is this the whole finished quilt?"

It certainly looks finished. It's ten feet square with lovely finished edges, and it has enough different blocks that it could be considered "done" to someone who is less enthusiastically ADHD than I am. However, my answer is always the same:

"Oh HELL no. I have twice as much at home in my studio."

I've been collecting blocks quite steadily since the first gallery show and there's no way I'm stopping now. I counted my pile o' squares the other day and it looks like I have just enough to make another 10' x 10' section. My poor hands are already screaming in protest. My knees and back too. Sheesh.

Thankfully I have a back-up sewing machine (thanks mom!), tons of extra material (thanks Derby Skinz!) and plenty of floor space now. This should be a VAST improvement over my process last year. Looking back, I have no idea how I survived working on our coffee table and sewing in that tiny shared study.

This will probably ruin my chances of ever getting the whole quilt into a carry-on ever again.

Motherly Love from Suburbia/Connecticut: Part 3

2011-02-16T00:15:00.000-05:00

Last but not least, this is the third block from Lynne McDonald, the derby mama and quilter with mad "skillz," as my students would say. This piece represents the announcers of Suburbia Roller Derby, Sam Handwich and Stew L. Sample. Sam Handwich is Lynne's son and Awol's boyfriend. I kind of love this roller derby family.

A key part of the design is the memorial patch for Maddie, Sam's dog. Lynne included an article about Maddie, who died tragically when she was still quite young. In Lynne's words, "I included a memory of Sam's dog, Maddie, on his block because during her short life she became a loyal fan and friend, attending most bouts with Sam. The girls on the team grew to love Maddie as much as we did."

Thank you so much Lynne. These blocks are absolutely GORGEOUS, and the details in the designs are so personal. These serve as impressive records of these wonderful people in your life, and I promise to take good care of them as they become a part of the quilt.

Motherly Love from Suburbia/Connecticut: Part 2

2011-02-09T14:05:00.000-05:00

Ready for more spectacular craftsmanship? You'd better sit down. This one is fierce. Lynne made this for Awol, who is dating her son, Sam Handwich. She skates for both Suburban Brawl and the Botoxic Avengers along with Lynne's daughter, Taryn Limbs. The design on this one is just killer, and the syringe appliqué looks even better in person.

Next week, part 3. Hooray for prolific quilting roller derby mamas, eh?

Motherly love from Suburbia/Connecticut: Part 1

2011-02-02T11:46:00.002-05:00

This is part one of a three parter, because this is clearly too much quilting skill to smash into one entry. Lynne McDonald is a proud parent of a rollergirl and a skilled quilter to boot. She blended these two loves into three stunning blocks, and in her words "I don't know anything about roller derby, attended only a few bouts (and kepy my eyes covered for much of it), but I do know about quilting.

Lynne, I can certainly see that you do. Goodness me, look at that craftsmanship! Please click on the photo to the right if you don't believe me. Simply gorgeous.

She made this first block for her daughter, Taryn Limbs. She's skated for both Connecticut and Suburbia, and her teams are represented in the corners of the quilt. I'm absolutely enamored with the amount of information on this piece - teams, dates, leagues.... it's a gorgeous record of her daughter's experience so far.

Next week, part 2.

Fist pumps!

2011-01-26T16:33:00.000-05:00

My friends from Jersey have informed me that the quilt is now legit. Thank you Doom Hilda for repping New Jersey's newest derby league. She sent in this lovely square showing off the Jerzy Derby Brigade league's logo and one of their two teams, the Corporal Punishers. Rock on, Doom.

The quilt may be legit, but it's far from complete. I mean, how can it be without any of the other Jersey leagues represented? Jersey is a small state blessed with a ton of leagues, and I'd hate for the quilt to inaccurately represent this state teeming with skaters.

What do you say, Garden State, Jersey Shore, Shore Points, Hellrazors, South Jersey, Skyland, Psycho 78's.... am I missing any? You want in or what?

I love Derby Skinz

2011-01-19T12:18:00.001-05:00

It looks like a drag queen threw
up in here.

Nasty Niss, I love you to pieces. At Derby in the Burbs, she was kind enough to offer to send me a pile of scraps to use in the quilt. Shortly thereafter she sent me this box of stretchy, holographic awesomeness. It was a very, very good day.

The photo doesn't adequately show the size of the box, which is jam packed with every pattern you see on the derbyskinz.com site. The strips between the quilt squares in the next section (yes, NEXT) will be all kinds of fancy. Also, the color of the strips will more accurately reflect the colors we typically see on the track, as everyone who is anyone wears these things.

Thanks Derby Skinz, and thanks Nasty! I can't wait to play with these.

Derby in the Burbs

2011-01-12T11:40:00.000-05:00

Remember how I said that Meredith from Suburbia Roller Derby made an even better square than her previous contribution? I finally got around to taking photos of it to show off. It's worth clicking the photo on the left to view it full size. Killer embroidery, eh?

Any news on the derby name, Meredith? Thank you so much for making such a gorgeous piece, and for agreeing to part with it for the sake of making sure Eastern Regionals 2010 was represented in the quilt. Between you and an upcoming quilter, this next section of the quilt will look quite sophisticated. Nicely done!

Interview on Boutderby.com

2011-01-07T18:28:00.000-05:00

Uma and Tim form boutderby.com interviewed me about the quilt during Uproar on the Lakeshore, and the video is up. Click on the photo to the left to view it.

Thanks you guys for taking an interest in the quilt! I was dead serious about that nudge to all you Aussies and Kiwis out there. ;)

Ithaca League of Women Rollers

2010-12-29T11:00:00.001-05:00

This patch came to me in the mail on the day the first exhibit opened. Psychodelic Nightmare made this square to represent the Ithaca League of Women Rollers, with their two teams, The Blue Stockings and the Suffer Jets, flanking the league logo.

It was nicely poetic to get a fresh square just as the first section of the quilt made its debut. I'm now that much closer to covering all of New York!

Nora'Easter

2010-12-23T11:27:00.000-05:00

When I first saw Nora'Easter at a skate clinic, I was sure I was completely screwed. I remember skating behind her in the rink and watching her comfort on wheels and I knew that the bar was very high for tryouts. I lucked out and there was room for both of us in the class of 2007/2008. She became a Cosmonaughty, and I later became a Nutcracker. Still, we'll always be fellow freshies as far as I'm concerned.

I enjoyed one great season with her as a member of BDD before she moved to Maine. It rocked watching her rep the Cosmos, and I was really sad to see her leave BDD. I admit to having a lingering hope she'll get sick of all the moose and bears in her current home and move back to the rude drivers and packed subway cars of Boston. We miss you!

Montreal Roller Derby

2010-12-17T11:16:00.000-05:00

One of my goals at Eastern Regionals was to get a square from Montreal Roller Derby, the sweethearts of WFTDA. After giving The Rev the stink eye every time he passed my vendor table, he responded in the classiest way possible - he have me his sweatshirt and let me use my seam ripper to remove this lovely back patch.

Now The New Skidz on the Block are represented and I'm several different flavors of excited. I also still have The Rev's sweatshirt, which I will totally return the next time we're in the same room.

Suburbia Roller Derby

2010-12-13T10:08:00.000-05:00

I got this square a couple of days before leaving for Derby in the Burbs, WFTDA's 2010 Eastern Regional Tournament. It seemed fitting to have a league patch for the league that was hosting, and I was happy to have it on my vendor table for everyone to see.

This patch was made by Meredith, a freshmeat skater with Suburbia who is apparently a quilter and all around fabric ninja. "The ladies of Suburbia rock!" according to Meredith. "I'm still just a meatie working through my scrimmage hours, but I've drunk the Kool Aid and I'm proud to have them kick my ass around every practice."

Her skill totally shows in her craftsmanship. Holy crap this thing is well made. It got a TON of attention at the tournament, and everyone wanted to pick it up and examine the stitching up close. Thanks Suburbia Roller Derby for being outstanding hosts during Derby in the Burbs, and thanks Meredith for making such a beautiful patch. You both rock. Nicely done.

Teamwork

2010-12-08T14:52:00.001-05:00

My family will kill me for posting this photo, but I'm doing it anyway:

Pepper's not my sister, but she's on my team, so that counts.

I love looking through old photos in the "quilt" folder on my desktop because I find little gems like these. The above photo was taken just after we'd finished de-installing the first exhibit of the quilt at MassArt this summer. I couldn't possibly have taken it all down without them. Pepper, my mom, Pelvis, and my dad rubbed their fingers raw removing the vinyl letters from that wall. I'm extremely lucky they didn't kill me after the power failed and the heat guns stopped working.

Mike and Melinda, saving my butt.

These other photos were from the same exhibit, but aren't by any means an exhaustive record of everyone who deserves major thanks for doing pain-in-the-ass work. To the left, there's Mike and Melinda, who came at the last possible second to help me re-hang the quilt after it fell. They dropped plans and zipped over into a land of no parking for a job that wound up taking only ten minutes. Below is a photo of my skater sister, Shay, and my teammate, Speed Metal, who helped me pin hundreds of letters and envelopes to a very hard, unforgiving wall. They had hands of steel.

I've had SO MUCH HELP with this project it simply blows my mind. Of course, the people who contribute squares have made the quilt actually happen and always have my thanks. However, my thanks in this post are to the people who responded to last-minute "please save me" Facebook posts and text messages and offered me a different kind of help - the kind involving a lot more wobbly ladders, cut fingers, sore legs, and free pizza.

Shay and Metal risking their
fingers to numerous push-pins.

They've allowed me to sleep a little bit more because I didn't have to stay up all night installing an exhibit. They've allowed me to squeeze in a bathroom break or a nap while they watched the display at a tournament. They allowed me to be on time for class because they took over machine-quilting large chunks of border material together. They let me see my family because, well, they WERE my family and they came to help on oppressively hot summer days in a tiny gallery with no functioning windows.

Working on this giant beast of a project has really hammered home how many wonderful people I have in my life. I wish I had more photos of these acts of mega kindness and herosim on a small scale. I guess I'll have to settle for saying "thank you so much" and "you know who you are."

Merch

2010-12-02T09:47:00.000-05:00

I bit the bullet and got a few small items to sell. Traveling to show the quilt ain't cheap, so any proceeds raised by selling quilt merch will go towards plane tickets to tournaments, far-away-bouts, and other display opportunities. If you want to see the quilt visit a town near you, help a derby sister out and get some quilty accessories for your skate bag, or jacket.

Buttons are $1.00

1 inch round buttons

Stickers are $1.50

2.5" round stickers
good for indoor and outdoor use

Patches are $5

3" round, iron-on patch

If I sell enough of these I'll probably make some sweet shirts too. If you want one of these before I finish setting up a little online store part of the site, email me at rollerderbyquilt (at) gmail (dot) com. I accept paypal and will ship anywhere. Customers pay shipping and handling.

Cat O'Mighty

2010-11-29T11:33:00.002-05:00

Cat O'Mighty hooked me up with this square at a bout this summer. She's been a derby fan, volunteer, and skater in the new England area for the past few years, and I think it's safe to say that anyone in the New England area roller derby "scene" has probably seen her around, if not met her in some capacity.

Rather than paraphrase, here's the breakdown of her derby experience (as translated into patch form) in her own words:

First of all, special thanks to my wife Roxanne, The Cat O’Mighty’s Meow, for sewing the square after I did the design work and prepared the pieces, and being so supportive in general of my derby life.

In the summer of 2008, when I had just started learning how to skate so I could play derby, I presumed I’d be trying out for the Boston league. Afterall, I live right outside the city. But being a graduate student, the timing of Boston tryouts in the middle of the Fall Semester just didn’t work out. in a very surprising sequence of events in the Spring of 2009, Pioneer Valley Roller Derby recruited a long time friend, SideSwipe, to come play for their men’s team, the Dirty Dozen. I wound up commuting out west to practices with him. When it became clear that I could actually start playing derby in 2009 for PVRD, I seized the chance and joined the women’s team, Western Mass Destruction. Having been born in 1959, the opportunity to start playing in 2009 was just too precious to pass up. I knew I couldn’t keep postponing the chance to play indefinitely. Commuting 95 miles twice a week to practice was not a problem!

I knew, however, that I may not be able to make a long term playing career as a WMD. When I finally made the decision to commit to join the team, I discussed this with teammate Bitches Bruze. She reassured me that whatever might happen in the future, I’d always have a green handgrenade inside! That comment was the inspiration for this square.

At the end of the 2009 season, PVRD moved to a new practice location 120 miles from home. That was 25 miles beyond the edge of insanity. So for the 2010 season I transferred to Central Mass Roller Derby to join their first bouting season, and shortened my commute to 45 miles.

The square is made with parts of old WMD scrimmage shirts, and with a green handgrenade inside part of my old worn pink fishnets. I never wore pink in my life before derby. In real life, it’s not even a good colour on me! But somehow it instantly became my personal highlight colour. The little leopard print heart is a swatch of the fabric I used to cover the logos on all my pad straps. When I painted the gold leopard pattern swath around the top of my helmet, that pattern also happened to leave a large pink heart on the top. I never used hearts before either. But that happenstance heart on the top of my helmet has become a really important symbol for me and captures the love I have for the game, my teammates and opponents, the refs, and all the support crew and fans that help make this fantastic part of my life all happen <3

2019 or Bust! (and beyond…) =^,^=

Slam Chowdah

2010-11-23T11:27:00.003-05:00

That's my skater sister.

To know Slam Chowdah is to love her. This Cosmonaughty is delightfully silly, hard working, and best of all, she's my skater sister. I'm psyched she bowed under the constant pressure I kept laying on her to contribute to the quilt. I was one step away from plastering her car with post-it reminders.

Her original plan was to create a yarn background and then embroider the details on it with yarn in different colors. However, it didn't quite pan out, so "the end result was a round II salvation attempt." She started knitting this at my house during last year's freshmeat holiday party, and she gave me the finished piece this summer shortly before the first exhibit of the quilt. So far it's the only knit piece, making her contribution all kinds of special.

Endorsed by my mom, who rules.

While her square is equally as neat as she is (AKA very neat), she insists she's not a fan of the way it came out. Her cries of "oh god, my square sucks so bad" and "at least the glitter made it better" fall on deaf ears, though. According to the visitors to my table at Eastern Regionals and my mother, her square is vitamin awesome. Sorry, Chowdah, my mom is always right. She's a smart lady.

I'm glad to be a Boston Derby Dame with Chowdah, even though she's forever ruined my ability to order "clam chowder" like a normal person. She's a joy to skate with at practice, and a joy to skate against at bouts. She's someone who never seems to forget that this sport is supposed to be fun, and I love her for that.

Nationals Part 3 (it finally ends, really)

2010-11-19T11:15:00.000-05:00

We're finally down to one last day of the tournament and one day of travel. The end is in sight.

Kind of like this, but with less Cameron
and more Dread.

There were only two bouts on Sunday, so we managed to wedge in a trip to the Art Institute of Chicago with the teensy bit of morning time we had free. We had to squeeze a lot of art into an extremely short period of time, but my father, the retired painting teacher, will be pleased that we at least got to see A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. You're welcome, dad.

Oh right, this awesome weekend
had to end at some point. Damn.

We scrambled back to the venue in time to catch 90% of the battle for second and third place between Philly and Gotham. Once again the quilt was unmolested and I got to spend plenty of time chatting up people who were taking photos in front of it. If any of you are reading this blog, I'd love to get copies please! Thanks for the blog mentions, by the way. :D

We watched the championship bout and screamed and flipped out when RMRG came from behind and won by one point in the last jam. I couldn't decide who I actually wanted to win that one (again, I'm in love with Gotham), but got what I wanted: a bout during which lead changed hands several times, with a nail-biter of an ending. Can every bout be like that from now on?

I can do this by myself.

After the main crush of the crowd left the venue I was given a step ladder and some help courtesy of the UIC Pavillion staff. The quilt came down in about ten minutes with minimal mess and absolutely no broken limbs. I'm thrilled that I've changed hanging methods since this summer. The rope-through-a-tube-in-back method is both durable and easy to install/deinstall. I'm totally keeping it attached so I don't have to tear my hair out the next time I want to display this monster.

It fits. I am awesome.

We shuttled our way home, somehow wedging the quilt into a seat that needed to simultaneously be occupied by two adult human beings and a hundred square feet of fabric. By this point I was so grumpy from eating only popcorn and cheese all day that I hovered between needing to cry and wanting to bite the nearest person I could get my hands on. I tried to spare those who aren't stuck being married to me this hunger-induced-Hyde personality, as I'd prefer my friends only see the Jekyll. It didn't quite work, so I'm counting on the inherent niceness of my league-mates to save me on this one. Sorry guys.

When I don't eat I hate fun.

We ate at Hot Woks, Cool Sushi and had our first genuinely decent meal of the trip. While searching for that link I just discovered that this neat little restaurant is actually a small chain. The food snob in me feels a bit less hip. Oh well. The Obama-nami roll was delicious, so there.

Aaaaaction! [makes hand movements
like holstering guns a la the Action Man]

Much like other nights, Pelvis was all about the after party and I was all about suddenly becoming grumpy and shy after a long day. Notice a pattern here? I left the after party, but he stayed and enjoyed the fine company, packed dance floor, and crazy "action shots" being taken. Before you think he's some crazy party guy, he's not. He just likes to dance more than most people I know, which makes him exponentially more awesome.

All the engineering in the world
won't convince me that this is all
that's between me and a 37k foot
drop to my death. Sorry.

We flew back the next day, and once again the plane's powerful engines kept us alive. Next time I need to see what I can do to correct this whole "FLYING JUST FEELS IMPOSSIBLY WRONG" problem I have. I swear these two flights aged me about ten years just due to the stress, but dammit, I'm not going to allow myself to be limited to locations within drive-able distance anymore.

Terror aside, though, this weekend made me really, really, really want to display the quilt again, and as often as possible. I suppose I should start saving my pennies and hope that I get further opportunities to display the quilt at next year's round of tournaments and events. It certainly beats leaving it folded up in my attic studio all the time, eh?

Any thoughts on where this giant quilted beast needs to be seen next? I think I can handle a few more plane rides if that's the cost of having another weekend like this one.

Nationals Part 2

2010-11-15T11:08:00.001-05:00

This time we were in the middle, so
we weren't the loud kids.

Time for day two, now with new photos. Warning: there are numerous links. I can't help it if I like to show off the one piece of HTML code I actually understand.

We hit up the shuttle early the next morning to catch the first bout. Nothing had caught fire or exploded in the night, and the quilt was still up. Other than a few empty soda cans on the table housing my flyers (classy!) the quilt area was unmolested. Thank goodness, because taking it down and putting it up every day would have killed me.

Not pictured, me wondering when
the heck I was going to go to the
bathroom, because OMG derby!

Saturday was the day of constant derby from sunup to sundown. I was running on coffee (gross) and some coffee cake (less gross) and that's about it, but the promise of more exciting derby and showing off the quilt had me feeling pretty wired. This was a good thing too, because people were everywhere to be found. It was crowded as hell with newly arrived visitors who couldn't get Friday off work. The jet-lag was palpable.

Not pictured: people not
just waiting for their
friends to come back
with their beer.

I talked up the project to a lot of people who hadn't heard of it and made sure they walked away with flyers. I ran into people who had contributed, several of whom I'd never met face to face (I'm lookin' at you, Dagney Taghurt). I also met an old internet friend from the pre-derby days. Metallikat, now a London Rollergirl, used to run a spectacular guide to synthetic hair extensions. Meeting someone with whom I'd corresponded regularly before either of us strapped on skates was easily one of the highlights of the trip. I was so excited I was quite rude to her two friends and didn't introduce myself. I'm so sorry, ladies!

Not my photo. I shamelessly clipped
this from Busy Burger's Yelp page.
Don't judge me.

We hit up Busy Burger during the dinner break and had a surprisingly delicious meal, considering the burger honestly didn't look like much. We ran into Randy Pan the Goat Boy and Vince Hannity and made our way back to the venue. They paused to chase the "Untouchable" tour bus and tried to touch it, proving it's totally touchable. I consider this to be further proof that announcers have the most fun at these events, although the Bay Area Derby Girls and Montreal might disagree with me.

Section 113 represent.

Back at the venue we enjoyed derby, derby, and.... wait for it... more derby. My folks later asked me if watching the same sport all day ever got boring, and my answer was simply "absolutely not." Sometimes it felt like we were watching a new sport with each game because the teams all played so differently. It was hard to peel myself away from the action to check on the quilt and feed myself. I managed. Still, "eating" mainly consisted of stadium popcorn, because that kiosk had the shortest line.

There ain't no party like

our announcers' dance

party.

Leaving my seat was also made much tougher by my entertaining company. Thanks to Pelvis and Lady Oshun, section 113 clearly had the most happenin' dance party. Much fun was had, even by those of us who were too busy holding cheese fries to get up and dance. This helped me survive my the loss of my favorite team in the tournament, Gotham. RMRG beat them to the soundtrack of my wordless screams of loss mixed with reluctant muttered amazement at the overall outstanding playing.

Not pictured: other group
names such as "Moo Bitch!
"Roller derby rocks!"
and "Monkey Bean"

The day concluded with Pelvis going out once again, and me hanging out in the lobby with Salome Splatter, "Mr. Splatter" (AKA our awesome roommates for the trip") and Three Day Bender. We missed our chance to snag a $100 that was just lying on the floor next to our table, watched derby people try to infiltrate the ritzy wedding in the Empire Room of the hotel (there was a conga line, people, they deserved it) and let the evening wind down calmly and pleasantly.

I'm told that the hotel was absolutely crazypants with celebrating derby people for much of the night, but I can't report on what I slept through. More on the last day soon, as this is becoming more novel than blog post. Sometimes I forget that teh intarnets are supposed to be all about speed and such.

Back from Nationals. Actual recap, day 1.

2010-11-10T09:39:00.002-05:00

Now that I'm back from Uproar on the Lakeshore and can blog using more than just my thumbs, it's time to reflect on the trip. A lot happened over the course of this awesome four day weekend, so here's part one:

I just can't make myself
believe that these huge
planes can stay in the air.

After surviving the crippling anxiety of the flight, we spent the night in the huge-mongous Palmer hotel and zipped off to the venue in the shuttle. The school-bus filled with derby people felt very much like summer camp, complete with the loud kids populating the back of the bus. A bunch of announcers represented said loud kids, namely Pelvis Costello, Dumptruck, John Maddening, and D'Nouncer Duane Cunningham. Many inappropriate jokes were made, at least a few about bodily functions. It was like being thirteen years old again, complete with wacky hair.

We got to the venue as everything was being set up. Ua Betterplaynice, Windy City ref and web/sponsorship dude, hooked me up with a great spot for the quilt. It was directly across from the WFTDA booth, the team merch booth, the women's bathroom, and a beer kiosk, thus ensuring crazy foot traffic like whoa for the whole tournament. After rigging up a hanging solution that included some found wire from the underside of a ceiling decoration, we were in business.

Clearly I need more. Anyone's league
have any patches for sale?

It got nicely simple after that - I watched derby, checked on the quilt regularly, got tons of patches for my derby jacket, and ate more cheese fries than my stomach could comfortably handle. Every time I got up to walk around, there were people taking photos of the quilt. I saw a few group pics and at least one sneaky person trying to wrap herself in it like she was sleeping in a bed. Thank goodness I used heavy-duty hanging hardware, eh?

After a wonderful day of derby, we got some deep dish pizza with a few other Boston peeps who made the trek to Chicago. Pelvis went out, I stayed in, and we called it a night. More on the trip later when I snag the rest of the photos.

Blogging from bed

2010-11-07T02:39:00.002-05:00

My roommates are asleep, and my husband is out being a social butterfly. These are both good things. I simultaneously can't sleep and can't gather up enough energy to go out. Roller derby does that to me.

Thus, it's picture time:

Sleep. That's where I'm a viking.

We flew in at 9:30 and the combination of anxiety and meds meant to help my anxiety made me more exhausted than I could have predicted.

Not shown: the majorly high traffic location
by the WFTDA booth, team merch, and bathroom.

Man, I hope I didn't post this already. If I did it will soon be replaced. This is the quilt shortly after hanging it up by gate 113 in the UIC Pavillion. Not too shabby. I'm right across from the WFTDA booth and the ever-rotating team merch counter. Other than the occasional blockage caused by teams trying to store their merch in front of the quilt after their turn is up, this has been pretty sweet. I'm digging the foot traffic like whoa.

I finally get why people don't always
sit in the suicide seats.

The view from right in front of my spot is excellent. To be fair, though, there isn't a bad view in the house.

If I keep going to these tournaments
I'll need to make a cheese square.

As always, most of the food at the venue is saved only by a glistening coating of liquid cheese.

I ate all of it. Well, ok, so maybe some of the
crust stayed on the plate...

While the food away from the venue is made utterly outstanding by it's higher quality cheese. If I ever become lactose intolerant I will kill myself.

Hooray for fabric to play with!

Scarred Derby Designs hooked me up with square-making materials. I'll make sure to do them justice when I get back home.

Not shown: Randy Pan The Goat Boy and Vince Hannity
hovering over our seats, waiting for us to finish.

And Pelvis, as always, is adorable.

Pity my iPhone's camera has been too slow to catch some of the other photo worthy moments, such as the amazing skating, the dance party that naturally occurs when Lady Oshun, Pelvis, and Another Bad Creation mix, BADD fans writing "BOORING" on their stomachs in sharpie and screaming at the refs, people taking tons if pictures in front of the quilt, being interviewed for boutderby.com, and of course Dumptruck's many outfits. This experience can't can't even captured in one hell of a run on sentence. It's been just that excellent.

Tomorrow I plan to work it out. One more day of awesome derby. This has been an amazing experience so far, and I'm thrilled it's not over yet.

-- Post From My iPhone

Nationals

2010-11-06T16:30:00.001-04:00

Sweet location, amazing derby, nice people, lots of food covered in copious amounts of cheese. I approve of this so far. :D

-- Post From My iPhone

Next Stop: Nationals

2010-11-02T13:55:00.002-04:00

One of the other things that has kept me from having blog-time has been planning for the quilt's next trip: Uproar on the Lakeshore, the 2010 WFTDA National Championship Tournament.

Exhibiting the quilt at regionals was a blast. I can only imagine how much fun it will be to throw in derby at the national level, deep dish pizza, sausage, and the pride that will (hopefully) come from overcoming my crippling fear of flying to actually make this trip.

My poor husband will have to babysit me on the plane. I predict a lot of hand ~~crushing~~ holding.

Oh posting, you have gotten away from me!

2010-11-01T22:04:00.002-04:00

Some of you may assume I've been eaten by bears. That's really the only good reason for not posting about the second and third days of regionals. Hell I should also have posted about the pile of squares I've received since the trip. I'm a jerk, I know.

Thankfully I haven't been eaten by bears, I've simply been overwhelmed with the start of freshmeat season. Between tryouts, two rounds of decision meetings, and all sorts of other meaty goings-on, I've been running myself ragged. I'm psyched for the new meats, but man, the off season made me forget how hard it is to blog when I'm doing all derby all the time while not sleeping or showering, like, at all.

This was the least creepy images that came up
when I googled "fresh meat." The LEAST.

I assure you that regionals was pretty neat. I spent much of it tired, hungry, and buzzed on way more caffeine than I've ever had in my life. However, I wouldn't trade that weekend for any amount of sleep or balanced-meal type food. There were many exciting highlights:

I ate two of these every day. I am
aware of how bad an idea this was.

Thank goodness I caved and got room
service later. Still, it was mostly cheese.

Squares were donated. The Rev repped for Montreal.

Bane-ana was confusing and terrifying as always,
and yet somehow funny and adorable.

Yes, this is a photo of me sleeping under my
vendor table. Thank you PeeJay for holding
down the fort.

My monster hat from mymonsterhat.com.
There is totally a hole in the back for
my dreads. Convenient!

Another donation! Thanks Potomac Ripper
for leaving this shirt on my table.

More donations! Rock on Raci Lords.
River City now has a spot on the quilt.
thanks to you.

People signed my "guestbook." Thanks Reverend
Al for being a good roommate. No sharpie
moustaches for you when you're asleep.

So much happened, it's hard to sum this up in photos. Also, I took fewer than I had planned because I was having such a great time. If I could find a way to get the quilt to every tournament, I'd be thrilled. It was so exciting to see the quilt where it belonged - surrounded by the people who contributed squares and materials.

Regionals: Day 1

2010-09-29T20:11:00.001-04:00

Johnny Deep keeping me company

I'm sick. Being a high school teacher and spending several days around sick teenagers will do that to you. Because I'm a glass half full kind of girl, my immediate reaction to this is to say "well, at least this gives me time to write that regionals update." My loss is your gain.

Hooray for tables!

We left for NY following a full day of work plus an equally full evening of parent teacher's night. I'm sure the ride to White Plains would have felt long if I'd had a different set of car-buddies. Pelvis is always a great traveling companion, and we were also rooming/carpooling with the Reverend Al Mighty and Hayley Contagious. When we hit up a nearby diner, they didn't even make fun of my choice to have a banana milk shake and chili cheese fries after midnight, even though it was clearly a bad idea. That's friendship.

We slept for what felt like ten minutes in our very comfortable beds, only to be woken up in the morning by a very awake Reverend Al serenading us with "Springtime for Hitler." The fact that I didn't attempt to drown him in the toilet speaks volumes about his charm. That, and the fact that I realized we all had to be at the venue by 9AM to fulfill our vendor/announcer obligations, so he was actually doing us a favor. We raced to the venue to do our respective thangs. The big day had arrived.

I could hear their strategy. It was neat.

With the help of the very accommodating and generally wonderful ladies from Suburbia Roller Derby, we hung the quilt and set up shop. To say I had The Best Spot Ever is an understatement. I was right behind turn 4 and could see everything! I got a ton of foot traffic as well. In fact, I got so much foot traffic that I needed to make more copies of my flyers before I ran out entirely. Thankfully there was a Staples next door. As they say in the commercials, that was easy.

Convenient!

I spent the day talking about the quilt, handing out tons of flyers, and watching bout after bout after bout. It was an incredibly enjoyable day. My face hurt from smiling so much, even though I was so exhausted I felt like I might vomit under my vendor table. My roommates all went to one of the after parties to go ride a mechanical bull, I stayed home to watch the Discovery Channel and eat the best pizza I've had in years. Seriously, look at the photo and tell me you don't want some. Yum.

Fancy knife and fork pizza.

My day ended with me falling asleep and being vaguely aware of everyone else coming back to the room at some point. I definitely had pizza dreams, mainly consisting of the Reverend Al regaling me with stories about his life. Since these dreams so closely resembled the actual car ride, I won't trouble you with details.

More on the trip soon, once I've absorbed more cold meds and I feel slightly more human. Amazing experiences often come with a price, and for me it's usually a few day's worth of some kind of cold. Clearly this tournament is no exception.

Eastern regionals. Yeah, that happened. THUD

2010-09-27T11:53:00.002-04:00

Back from regionals and taking a quick second of my lunch break to let you all know I'm not dead. Ok, so I know you read this to keep up on the quilt's progress and not take notes on my general well being, I get it. Still, a dead Dread is an unfinished quilt, right?

I have a massive update to post once I get a nap and some time with my family. Expect tales of chili dogs, an amazing vendor spot right by turn 4, squares donated during the tournament, and that time when Pelvis and Dumptruck were creeping me the hell out in gravelly stereo. Oh, and if I find ways to delicately phrase things I might be able to throw in some Reverend Al Mighty stories. There could have been no better roommates than him and Hayley Contagious.

I loved showing the quilt at Derby in the Burbs. Can I do it again, right now?

The only upside of today's schedule...

2010-09-23T15:27:00.001-04:00

Steve has to load the car. Sure, it'll be rough going from a full work day to parent teacher night to the tournament with no break in between, especially considering that we'll arrive after midnight and have to be at the venue by nine AM. Epic fail. However, because I can't go home before we leave for the trip, Steve offered to save me from having to play the wild game of car-tetris that is loading the quilt into the trunk.

Thanks Steve. You are truly ~~a total sucker~~ the best husband.

Packing for Eastern regionals

2010-09-22T17:47:00.000-04:00

Suburbia Roller Derby was kind enough to hook me up with some hanging space for the quilt this weekend during the WFTDA Eastern Regionals tournament. How nice are they, eh? I couldn't be happier. Well, now that I've figured out a possible way to maybe hopefully hang it up, I couldn't be happier.

You see, the old hanging system was just godawful. I have no desire to ever see binder clips again let alone use the things to hold up a heavy, ten-foot-by-ten-foot quilt. Last night I put our sewing machine through hell attaching a ten-foot tube to house a length of rope. Hopefully this will be sufficient to keep this bugger off the ground for three days.

I'll have to ask if there's a nearby hardware store just in case something goes terribly awry. I hope to avoid spending my trip to regionals standing on a ladder and holding up the quilt with my hands.

Tequila Mockingbird - by Ska Face

2010-08-26T15:14:00.000-04:00

If you play derby, you've heard of Tequila Mockingbird. She skated for the Windy City Rollers as a member of The Fury, one of their home teams. On August 25th, 2007, she fell during a bout and suffered a serious spinal injury that left her unable to walk. Although she went through what all derby skaters fear, every photo I've seen of her shows her sporting a stunning smile. Through physical therapy and an incredible amount of perseverance and hard work, she has regained some movement in her limbs.

Ska Face, her teammate on The Fury, made this square in honor of her. I'm especially grateful to receive this contribution, as the quilt wouldn't be complete without it.

Tequila is still recovering, and her medical care is expensive. Please take a moment and go to www.helptequila.com and make a donation. We derby skaters (and refs, and fans) have to help each other out, eh?

Because my husband rocks

2010-08-25T02:17:00.001-04:00

Here are some more photos from the show.

The Reception

2010-08-21T15:06:00.001-04:00

Anyone who has ever exhibited knows the "I hope this works" feeling right as the doors open. Will people come? What if they can't find parking? What if they all went to the beach instead?

Well, they came.

Then more came.

Still more.

They brought their kids.

Even little ones.

Really little ones.

They brought their friends too.

Even ones on crutches.

They even brought flowers.

I have no idea how many people were there. People from every area of my life showed up. Tons of my teammates were there, and just as many Cosmos and Pissahs. Friends from before derby showed up. My in-laws were there. Friends from NHRD, PVRD, and CMRD came. Announcers, refs, and volunteers made it out. Potential freshmeat came. Derby widows from every team were there. BDD alumni came. My boss, a coworker, and even current and former students made it.

At the end, when just derby people and close friends were left in the gallery, I tried to let everyone know that it was time to go home. They cheered "Dread Smash!" instead and clapped for me. Of course I cried. Seeing all these people at the show, in a place where there was absolutely NO parking, in a gallery where it had to be at least 90 degrees with no air circulation and hardly any space to stand.... it was simply incredible.

I'll post more photos as I get them. I also have some new squares to show off too. Please note, that although I showed the quilt last night, the project is far from over. I'm planning on adding more to it, so please keep sending me your contributions. Last night was wonderful, and I hope to keep quilting and exhibiting until I retire from derby. As long as my knees hold out, I hope that will be a long, long time from now.

Graduation

2010-08-20T15:48:00.001-04:00

More updates will follow the reception tonight. For those of you who are wondering if I passed, I did indeed. Now time to graduate.

-- Post From My iPhone

Thesis defense

2010-08-17T11:57:00.001-04:00

Today's the day. They just finished five of the seven before me. I go on around 2PM.

--Posted from my sweet iPhone.

For those who use FB events as reminders...

2010-08-12T10:32:00.000-04:00

Here is the link to the FB event for the quilt. The reception is open to the public, so if you're in Boston next week and would like to have some wine and cheese with your quilt-viewing experience, please check it out.

I have a new square to add to the wall already. If you make a square and bring it with you I'll make sure it gets its spot in the gallery during the reception. How neat would that be?

I give in.

2010-08-09T18:39:00.000-04:00

Can't get enough of the quilt? Follow me on twitter.

A bit of neat publicity

2010-08-08T19:45:00.001-04:00

Check out these lovely pieces of internet awesome about the quilt:

Mr. X. Stitch is an outstanding blog about contemporary needlework and embroidery. He did a sweet writeup of the quilt just the other day. I'm thrilled he found my little blog!

Definitely check out this site. I lost myself in the various articles and links I found there, even though I should have been spending time hanging work for the show. Having wireless internet access in the gallery could be quite enjoyable, if somewhat counterproductive...

There's also a great Q & A on the Boston Derby Dames website. Thanks Mona Mour for your kind words!

Done. Sorta.

2010-08-06T19:17:00.003-04:00

The show opened yesterday at noon. I did it. This part is over, thank goodness.

It has cost me more than I want to think about right now, money-wise. It's also cost me my computer. My thesis defense is next week, so hopefully this will all have been worth it.

Please come and see it while it's up and open to the public. Here are the deets:

August 5-27, 2010
Reception: Friday August 20, 6-8 pm

Arnheim Gallery
South Building, MassArt
621 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA
Mon.-Sat. 12-6, Wed. 12-8

... and don't forget that I'm still accepting squares. I plan to continue this as long as I'm playing derby, and I figure I'll retire sometime around 2050, maybe even 2051 if my knees hold out.

Artist statement... kinda sorta.

2010-08-02T01:23:00.004-04:00

With Rollerconsolation and our league scrimmage taking up most of my weekend, I feel like I've been mentally away from thesis-land for a couple of days. It's been good for me because that distance helped me turn my stiff, horrible-sounding artist statement into something that feels right. It feels so right I'll even share my draft with you all:

I spend eight hours a week attacking other women on roller skates, throwing myself at them and knocking them to the ground. I spend nights chasing down and check-blocking my opponents, and I endure bruises, broken bones, and the threat of far worse every time I lace up my skates. This is my favorite part of every day, the source of the deepest pride I have ever felt, and the single hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I play roller derby.

This work is inspired by the community I have found since joining the Boston Derby Dames in the summer of 2007. I started the Roller Derby Quilt only a few months after becoming a “freshmeat” skater and I will continue it until I retire. It is a wall of collected cloth built from discarded uniform scraps, booty shorts, team jerseys, and shredded fishnets. It is filled with sweat and memories and a tiny bit of blood. The quilt was born from hundreds of hours’ worth of stitching, pinning, ripping, beading, ironing, and hand sewing. Over a hundred women (and a few men) have added their stories to the quilt by donating blocks, mailing me materials, and quilting sections to form the piece. Hundreds more have accepted my emails and forwarded them to their friends, teammates, and leagues.

Those who are a part of the roller derby community may cross the pink lines and gently touch the quilt. These people are a part of the project and it belongs in their hands. Those who are not are encouraged to read The Game and to take a bout flyer so that they may discover the world that we in the derby community have built together.

This is my tribute to the sport that has changed my life, and continues to reshape me as I strap on my helmet three times a week. It is my love letter and my thank-you card, my archive and my record. This work is my monument to my family on eight wheels.

There are a few clunky parts, but I'm pretty happy with it. It certainly beats the old version with its copious use of words like "upcycle" and "ephemera." Yeesh. Just because I can write like that doesn't mean it's appropriate for this show. The work is too honest for that, and when I'm being true to myself, I don't toss out the vocab grenades just because they're in my tool belt.

Empty space: 1, Me: 0

2010-07-30T16:39:00.003-04:00

Today I started installing the show. My empty corner of the gallery's general emptiness was both exciting and rather daunting, considering the fact that I had no idea how on earth I was going to hang this damned thing.

You see, installation of the show is as important as the work itself. I can't just hang it up and walk out with a smile on my face. I have to make sure the work is displayed in a way that helps viewers access it the way I need them to. Every pedestal, hook, and nail has to be carefully considered. I totally understand why this is the case. However, right now I absolutely, completely, and totally hate this.

Why do I hate this? Perhaps this series of images from today will help you understand:

The empty space. It thinks its so cool, being all empty and safe-looking. Look how smug it is.

This Ikea bag houses the quilt so perfectly it's as if it were designed solely for this purpose. Yes, I am aware of the irony.

This is when I noticed that there was a unusual amount of loose glitter on the floor. Oh well. If there's any quilt on which random glitter wouldn't appear out of place, it's this one.

This was the fun part. I'd never seen it unrolled in a large enough space to actually view it all together. It's either been in pieces, or draped over furniture.

Three hours later, I'd figured out how to hang it. I was so proud that I didn't get killed while balancing on one foot and using my free leg to pin the quilt to the ladder, thus keeping too much weight from causing the clips to slide. Notice how high up that ladder is?

It's, like, really high.

Really, seriously high. Scary high. Did I mention how much I hate this?

OMG OMG OMG I DID IT ALL BY MYSELF AND I'M STILL ALIVE!!!! Mom! Look what I did mom! Damn... it's a little low.... it should really be up about six inches higher. Hmm... I have ten minutes until I need to meet Suzie to go to the Cambridge HR office and turn in some paperwork. I can totally finish this in five minutes all by myself and have time to get a soda on the way.

Empty space: How's the heat up there, Icarus?

The sound effect is really all I have to share with you here. Snap......... snap...... SNAP SNAP SNAP!!! Thud.

For about thirty seconds after that, I'm sure people wondered if the Arnheim Gallery was demon posessed. I don't know if I uttered actual words, and may have instead invented new swears in my own fake language.

Preparing to defend my thesis

2010-07-29T15:59:00.000-04:00

And so it begins. Well, I suppose it also ends, in a sense, as this is the culmination of the program that prompted the quilt's birth. This is the beginning of my super-intense preparation for my thesis defense, but also (hopefully) the end of the road to getting my Masters and all the things that come with that degree. I admit to being very eager to go up that rather huge notch in the salary tree...

I was up for critique this week, and it was an interesting experience. it was the first time I'd seen the quilt laid out after it had been (mostly) pieced together. As a painting major during undergrad, I was used to stepping back from my work while making it so I could see the whole of the piece. That was impossible as the quilt grew because I simply didn't have the floor space. Seeing such a large chunk of it so close to being fully assembled was wonderful. After working on it so hard for so long, I'd grown nervous that no one but I would be able to see the work that went into it.

There's still much to do for the show. I need to baste and quilt one more section (the one on the far right in the second picture) and prep the edges for the borders. I need to attach the borders around each section and join the sections together. I need to wear-out and shred the tulle covering the borders to they look a bit more like well-loved fishnets.

Then I need to decide exactly how to exhibit this giant beast of a project. Yeah, I don't foresee a ton of sleep in my future.

A visit from Bhodi Slapva

2010-07-26T11:22:00.003-04:00

The quilt got its first out-of-state guest recently. Bhodi Slapva, a jammer for Central Arkansas Roller Derby's Rock-n- Renegades, just happened to be in Boston when her teammate posted the details of the quilt exhibit to their team's forum. Covalent Bondage created a square for this league, and I'm thrilled that one of her teammates could come out and see it in person. Phew... so many links...

Coming out to see the quilt wasn't exactly an easy feat. She had to take the T out of the city to my little suburb of Boston. She was willing to take a couple of trains and a bus to get here, which is quite a trek in an unfamiliar city. Thankfully the buses and trains ran on time. As anyone from Boston knows, that's not always a guarantee.

We met up at the bus stop and she came in to see the frantic work on the quilt firsthand. My folks were excited to meet an eager quilt viewer, and my father immediately started grilling her on what one calls a person from Arkansas (answer: "an Arkansan"). We hung out for a bit, and she asked great questions about the project. What was the inspiration? Which were the first squares? Like everyone else, she couldn't stop squeezing the square with the little 3D bum. I know I certainly can't.

It was an awesome visit. When I started this quilt I never would have guessed that it would get house guests. When I really think about it, this was a very unique experience. I met someone from far away who came to see a huge collaborative project in which her league has one little eight-by-eight square. When you really think about it, that's really special.

Thanks for taking the time (and all those trains) to come and check it out, dude. Who wants to be the quilt's next guest?

I started this. Oh my god.

2010-07-24T11:25:00.001-04:00

The other night I got a glimpse of the quilt partially assembled. Three sections are together. Because I'm my father's child, it totally made me cry.

I don't know what it was that overwhelmed me. Maybe it was seeing how far it's come. It could have been realizing the amount of hard work it took to get it to this state. I'd also been up past midnight for two nights in a row, so I was really exhausted.

I keep coming back to one thing, though: this whole time I had absolutely no idea what "it" would look like. It's not done, but now I can see the finished result in my head, and it's beautiful. Yeah, I have no words for that feeling. Just look at my face and you'll see.

I'm holding off on posting photos of the large strips finally pieced together, but I promise you, they look absolutely amazing. Come to the exhibit and see for yourself.

Exhibition, Aug 5-27

2010-07-21T19:44:00.010-04:00

The quilt started out as a project for my Masters degree and has become the bulk of my graduate thesis. It's hard for me to believe, but this is my final summer at MassArt and my thesis show is fast approaching.

I'll be showing one completed section of the quilt in all of its pieced-together glory. You, my dear readers, are all welcome to come and check it out face to face. The show is open to the public, and I would be thrilled to see quilt contributors and fans in attendance.

The quilt will be on display from August 5-27. The reception is on Friday, August 20, from 6-8PM at MassArt in Boston, MA. Click here to see the show details and relevant gallery addresses.

We'll have the usual wine and cheese, with a strong possibility of a cluster of rollergirls skating around as well. I sure as hell plan to be on skates, but that shouldn't be too much of a surprise.

Still accepting squares. You should totally send me some.

2010-07-15T13:26:00.000-04:00

Goblin really wants some new squares to cuddle. You don't want to disappoint Goblin, do you? I certainly don't. I find that when I do, she does mean, nasty things like spending more time with Steve than she does with me, or refusing to let me carry her around the house.

But yeah, seriously, send more squares. I don't want to think about what might happen if the deliveries cease.

Oak Park Illinois?

2010-07-08T12:21:00.000-04:00

My most regular visitor (according to my feed widget) is from Oak Park Illinois. Here are some fun facts about Oak Park for those of you who, like me, live too far from this fine place to learn about it through direct experience. For now teh intarmets tell us:

• Joseph Kettlestrings purchased the land that was to become Oak Park waaay the hell back in 1837. He paid $215.98 for the land.

• Oak Park was home to Earnest Hemingway. You may recognize his rather severe manner of dressing if you're not much of a reader.

• For those of you less interested in great literature, Dan Castellaneta came from Oak Park. You may know him as the voice of Homer Simpson.

• Frank Lloyd Wright spent a chunk of his architectural career here. Some of his early work, like Unity Temple, graces the streets.

I don't think I know anyone from this place, so hey there stranger! I wanted to say hello because it's neat that you've been reading me so regularly. I hope I'm keeping it interesting for you.

Pixie Bruiser

2010-07-01T11:20:00.000-04:00

I have still more proof that NHRD rocks my metaphorical socks. This square comes from Pixie Bruiser, who skates on the Queen City Cherry Bombs as well as the Seabrook Meltdowns. I love skating with her because she's just so darned pleasant to be around, and she somehow manages to make fairy wings look tough. I always picture her as the pixie who smiles and bats her eyelashes before tying your shoelaces together and giving you a nudge down a flight of stairs - sweet and innocent on the outside, but fierce and wicked on the inside.

She found derby through her love of skydiving, as is shown in her square as well as her number: 14 thousand ft. I have a ton of respect for anyone brave enough to voluntarily jump out of a moving plane. Add that to voluntarily strapping on skates and smashing into people and you have a delightfully badass lady. Thanks Pixie!

Help me make this into a book

2010-06-24T11:05:00.000-04:00

I've decided to self-publish a full-color book on the quilt. The thing is, this won't be cheap. Thus, I've altered my little donation button in the upper-righthand corner of this blog to reflect my new cause and my new goal: Raise enough money to be able to sell this book to all of you lovely people who would like it for your coffee table.

I'd like to do a full color book, probably paperback, with close-ups of each square I've received or created myself since this adventure began. Where possible, I'd also like to get photos of the people who contributed (those who are willing, of course) and/or any quotes they'd like to share. Thus, if you've donated a square already, I'll be hunting you down soon.

I can personally guarantee that your donations will be well worth it. The donated squares are dynamite thus far, and I assure you that my fancy RISD art school edumacation will make for some lovely page layouts. *bats eyelashes*

While Steve's away...

2010-06-17T18:46:00.014-04:00

Yeah, I know I have a studio that's superbly awesome in every way. However, what it lacks is a long stretch of clean carpet on which to pin the un-basted quilt sandwich. Steve's trip to Bennington seemed to be the best time to baste like a... person who bastes a lot of stuff. Yeah. Eloquent.

My floor will resemble a floor after I baste just one more section. I swear.

May B. Knotty

2010-06-10T10:26:00.000-04:00

Continuing on our theme of New Hampshire Roller Derby being completely awesome, here is a square from May B. Knotty. Both her derby name and her quilt contribution reference the complex Celtic knotwork tattoos she has on her back. She jams for both the Skate Free or Die All Stars as well as the Granite Skate troopers. She's quick, nimble, and determined on the track, and I personally love the look of hyper-concentration I see on her face every time she takes the jam line.

More NHRD squares are coming up. Did I mention how much I love these ladies?

A real quilt workshop!

2010-06-03T12:46:00.000-04:00

I've never had a space of my own other than a bedroom. That ended this weekend when we moved into our new apartment:

I have so much room. I can even divide things into areas. I'm making a sewing area, a reading area, a computer area, a printmaking area... I have space to have all of those and leave work out overnight in every one at once. What perfect timing, considering I need to show five panels of this giant quilt monster for my thesis show this summer.

This is going to make such a difference in my work. Being able to make things and not have to clean up nightly so that Steve has a place to sit, or the pets won't eat the pieces, or food won't spill all over it. I can't believe I finally have this.

Last night I stayed up until midnight cleaning and organizing. I have a long way to go until it's ready, but even knowing it's up there is the most wonderful feeling ever. I'm so excited I can barely concentrate. There are simply no words to adequately describe how happy I am.

S.S. Trixie

2010-05-28T10:02:00.003-04:00

This week's update comes courtesy of S.S. Trixie, another ferocious skater from New Hampshire Roller Derby. Trixie is one of the captains of the Skate Free or Die All Stars, and blocks for the newly created Seabrook Meltdowns, one of NHRD's new home teams.

On the track, she's one of my personal nightmares. However, off the track, she's as sweet and kind as her partner, Sin D. Lap Her. The contrast is rather striking, and it's been especially apparent the past few times our respective teams have scrimmaged one another. I remember one particular instance where she hit me so hard I spun 360 degrees before landing face-first on the track. As soon as I got up, shaken but smiling, I heard her shout "oh no, are you ok? I'm so sorry!" She's like an especially cuddly, lovable tank that shoots sunshine instead of mortars.

Sin D. Lap Her

2010-05-20T09:15:00.004-04:00

It's been a while, and I have a bunch of new contributions to show off. This is the first in a series of posts about my favorite league to the north, New Hampshire Roller Derby. They've been special friends of mine for years, beginning in the Way Back Time when I was just starting with BDD and their league was just starting up. We've all grown since I was showing my friends the plough stops I'd just learned at practice the day before. I can't believe how much we've all accomplished since then.

Anyway, enough reminiscing. On to the square. Sin D. Lap Her is a dear friend, and I'm thrilled to have a contribution from her. She skates for the Skate Free or Die All Stars, NHRD's A team, as well as the Granite Skate Troopers, one of their newly formed home teams. Want to see her skate? You should buy tickets to their bout this Saturday up in Manchester, NH. She's fast, tough, agile, and much better to have as a teammate than an opponent. She's also one of the sweetest, kindest people I've ever met. She even offered to help me move recently, despite the fact that she lives in a different state.

There you have it. A lovely square from one of my favorite people in one of my favorite leagues. More to come next week.

What the hell was I thinking?

2010-03-13T17:52:00.032-05:00

I was digging through old emails and I found my original "please make me a square" request for the quilt. This was back in the before time, when I knew absolutely nothing about quilting.

Wasn't I adorable? This all seemed so easy before I'd ever tried piecing anything together, ever. Somehow sewing over the giant clump of fabric in the center of each design never entered my mind.

I also didn't realize how restrictive this was! I must have been huffing some serious glue to think that I could get so many unique snowflakes roller derby skaters to be content following such a specific, limiting pattern. I would have been lucky to receive anything other than a few cookie-cutter squares and a TON of others that didn't adhere to the rules.

Live and learn, I guess. I can definitely say I've learned a lot during this process. I'm still new to quilting, and I have a long way to go before I can ever hope to claim to know what I'm doing. However, looking at this, I can see how far I've come in my understanding and respect for this medium.

Cat over, dog under.

2010-03-08T23:59:00.002-05:00

A lesson on working with the fauna in the quilting studio (AKA my living room):

I've accepted that they will be one of the major forces that determine when I work and when I do other non-working things, like sleeping, eating, and showering.

My cat's preferred method of stopping all progress on the quilt is to sit on top of a section and refuse to move. This is usually my signal to go get some chips, or surf teh intarnets. I know that many of you are wondering why I don't just shoo him away. Clearly his cat mind control can't be adequately captured through the lens of a camera.

Seriously. This cat could end world hunger, cure disease, and force us all to get along if he cared enough to direct his cat hypnosis on more altruistic things. Instead, he chooses to find a comfortable place to sit. Go figure.

The dog has a method all her own. Not to be outdone, she digs her way underneath the quilt. Tonight, this even included some tunneling around under the layers so she could more easily see the world around her, look adorable, and wag her tail.

Unlike the cat, who simply sits down in his chosen spot and commands everyone to leave him be, the dog uses her magic powers to make bystanders participate. Yes, she makes us wrap her in the quilt, much like she makes us talk for her using the high-pitched, Monty-Python-woman voice we've all come to use in her presence.

No, really, they're making me do it. Look into those cute, fuzzy faces and ask yourself if you have it in you to actually say "sorry chief, I need to baste that section now."

I didn't think so.

Fresh Eddie Fresh version 2.0

2010-03-05T12:18:00.001-05:00

Ladies and gentlemen, we have our first "quilt square do-over." Yes, even those of you who have made contributions in the past are always welcome to revise, edit, change, and otherwise re-submit your squares.To illustrate the point, one of my earliest contributors has shown that it it's possible to make a second square that is as keen as the first.

It's been a while since I've gotten quilty goodness in the mail, so I sent out more inquiries to a long list of total strangers, distant acquaintances, and dear friends. It seems appropriate that the next phase of quilt packages and envelopes would come from one of the first quilt to donate: Fresh Eddie Fresh, New England ref and skater for Pioneer Valley Roller Derby's Dirty Dozen.

I probably should have known who this was before even reading the envelope. I mean, seriously, who else would send me something with this on the back? Opening it up also resulted in some fun goodies. In addition to his square, he also added some stickers that have already found their way onto my quilt storage boxes. Keep sending stickers, people. I love them as much as I did when I was nine.

So I don't leave out the dog...

2010-03-01T09:56:00.001-05:00

Goblin has accepted the quilt into our living room life. In fact, she seems to rather enjoy it.

Quilting on the road

2010-02-27T12:48:00.021-05:00

Yes, I'll quilt anywhere. This was taken at the Green Mountain Derby Dames vs. New Hampshire Roller Derby game in a couple of weeks ago.

Before you say "but there are NEEDLES involved!" and have a hissy fit about my apparent disregard for track safety, don't fret. I put this down when the bout actually started. This was a good thing, too, because we almost had an announcer takedown right in front of me. Considering that the NHRD announcer who was almost run over by a GMDD jammer was Pelvis Costello (AKA my beloved husband) I certainly don't want to have anything stabby anywhere near that blue line. If he were in the hospital, how would I have gotten home?

Plus, I don't want to destroy the quilt or anything.

W. Terry Armstrong - volunteer, mascot, really loud dude in the stands

2010-02-24T10:55:00.003-05:00

Volunteers, derby widows, and fans take note: you can give me squares too. This one is from Mr. Terry Armstrong, who has been helping out at BDD and NHRD bouts for several seasons now. Those of you who listen to the wild and crazy screams coming from the Cosmo section of our home bouts will know him as "that dude who out-cheered the Pissah section by himself" or "damn, he's loud," or even "please make him stop." The man is vocal, and he uses his megaphone-like voice to express his love for his favorite ray-gun-wielding ladies on skates.

This piece of green and black is a chaos symbol from his Imperium days. Yes, Terry spent many years beating people up with foam swords, and this symbol is all over the leather armor he made by hand. I hope to toss in some Cosmo-friendly stars, and/or embroider his name in silver thread. Until then, here it is joined with its homies in a pieced-together section of the quilt.

Look for him at the Cosmo bench this season. He'll be stepping down from the stands and handing out helmet panties as one of the new bench managers. I suspect we'll still hear him screaming "let's go Cosmos" when the jam is on, though.

You're so considerate, Mr. Man.

2010-02-20T23:48:00.001-05:00

What was that, Mr. Man? Did you notice that I was working on that?

Perhaps you could move over and let me continue working on the project I've been working on for the past two years? Hmm? No? You're not moving? Not even a little bit? Oh, you're going to settle in, then. Right, I see that you're doing that cat thing where you tuck in your legs so you more closely resemble a spiral cut ham.

Just in case you haven't noticed, there are about twenty straight pins in that piece of muslin under your butt. Then again, you make your own decisions. Clearly you decided to sit on sharp things. You make your own choices because you are your own man, and I respect that.

Jerk.

BritKnee Breaker

2010-02-17T10:15:00.000-05:00

A while back, BritKnee Breaker hooked me up with her old Nutcracker shirt. She wanted to help out with the quilt, but she's allergic to crafting, so I offered to make her a square. She's my team captain, so naturally I'd be a fool to ignore her request. Also, she's one of the coaches of our travel team, the Boston Massacre, and it's wise to make this square to preserve my personal safety on the track. Most of all, she's a very dear friend, and it's fun to make quilt squares dedicated to the people I love like whoa.

It's shown here already joined with its neighbors, so the strips nearby aren't technically part of the square. I mainly stuck with the scrimmage shirt as is, and threw in some running stitches that crisscross her name in the same sharp, stabby way she crisscrosses the track. I free-motion stitched a few of the letters around her name just because I was having trouble pulling myself away from the sewing machine.

I may add some gold touches or ruffles later as a nod to her new Massacre coaching gig. However, for now, she's all Nut.

Still accepting squares, just so you know.

2010-02-13T08:17:00.001-05:00

A few people have emailed me to ask if I'm still accepting squares now that I'm piecing things together. The answer is oh hell YES. I have enough squares to put together the ones I have, but I've designed the whole thing so that I can add to it very easily. More contributions = more quilting = more awesome. The math is easy.

Please keep sending in your squares. This project is far from over, and I'd like to keep this going beyond the pieced together sections I currently have. Besides, my poor cat won't know what to do with himself if the coffee table goes back to the way it was.

Who needs a coffee table anyway?

2010-02-11T18:15:00.002-05:00

I've been unable to think about nearly anything else but putting this quilt together for the past couple of weeks. This is one of the most wonderful feelings I've felt in a long time. It's like a fancy, appliquéd quilting muse is chilling on my coffee table, giving me a back massage while we watch Project Runway together. I don't want it to stop!

I'm about halfway through putting together the blocks, but that leaves connecting the strips, making the quilt sandwich, and finally quilting the whole thing together. Oh, and of course there's starting all over again with the new squares I've gotten over the past couple of months. Man, I hope people send me squares forever, because I'm having so much fun I might actually die.

I'm sure my husband is very sick of the quilt taking up the living room table. Hopefully I can bang out a few more strips this weekend so he has a place to put his laptop again. However, my cat will be mad, as he loves lying on the scraps. Pleasing the men in my life is just impossible sometimes.

Como Derby Dames (or "oh my god, where did this post go?)

2010-02-08T08:25:00.004-05:00

I had a wonderful dream many, many moons ago. I dreamt that I blogged about a beautiful square from the CoMo Derby Dames of Colombia Missouri. I waxed poetic about the awesomeness of this square, and if I do say so myself, it was some of the best writing I've ever done. Then I woke up and realized that this never actually happened. I occasionally hit my head pretty hard at practice, and it's clear that my memory is going.

Since I can't hope to re-create that blog post in all its glory, here's a new one. Cool square, eh? The whole league signed a handkerchief emblazoned with the league logo. I love individual squares, but when a whole league contributes to one, I think it's especially cool. Togetherness, sister (and/or brother) hood, teamwork... how very derby. I'd love to see more whole-league squares like this, so keep 'em coming.

Hazel Smut Crunch

2010-02-04T13:40:00.004-05:00

Hazel Smut Crunch of New Hampshire Roller Derby hooked me up with this square just recently. Rather than try to paraphrase her explanation of the deep symbolism, I'll be a bad blogger and shamelessly lift from her blog, Hazel Gets Crunched:

I used an old shoelace to do the main part of my name. I wanted it to look like old-school Palmer-method cursive writing. I like the piece of scrimmage jersey over a black and gray background that reminds me of the website I helped build for the league. I used pink buttons to spell out NHRD, since pink is our league's main color. I wrote my number and the rest of my name in silver fabric paint, which is how I made my first set of scrimmage jerseys. The red sparkly beads in the corner are there because I'm a sucker for anything red and sparkly. They also symbolize red tape--part of my role on the league is paperwork and untangling beaurocratic mumbo-jumbo like IRS filings and applications for permits from the city clerk's office. Overall, I'm pleased with how it came out and can't wait to send it to Dread.

Thanks Hazel, for your excellent square, and for giving me permission to quote your even more excellent "artist's statement" about the piece.

Rhinestones are our friends

2010-01-30T10:32:00.002-05:00

Kara T. Chop of NHRD made this sparkly quilt square at the recent quilting bee at my house. She went craft-store crazy and used an iron-on transfer, puff paint, and stick-on crystals to make this bedazzled piece of awesomeness.

I feel there's a lack of puff paint and crystals on this quilt so far. Remember, people, you can bedazzle the crap out of your squares. Roller derby is all about going against the grain, doing one's own thing, and finding ways to work sparkles into the most traditionally non-sparkle-friendly crap.

Sparkles are our friends!

Mr. Pants wants me to take a break

2010-01-24T13:58:00.001-05:00

Sometimes my cat determines when I take my breaks. This is one such time.

-- Post From My iPhone

Boston, Boston, Pinch Pinch Pinch!

2010-01-22T11:27:00.000-05:00

I recently had a quilting party at my apartment, and this was one of the squares that emerged. Anna WrecksYa made this representing the Massacre's outstanding achievement this season: becoming #3 in the Eastern Regional Tournament and competing at Nationals. She used the Massacre colors of blue and gold, and threw in a subtle lobster claw representing "Pinchy McMasshole," the team mascot. Way to rock the stretchy gold fabric, Anna!

Starting to connect the pieces...

2010-01-16T09:34:00.000-05:00

At long last, I'm putting together the squares I've collected. The project is far from over, so the layout is designed to allow for new squares I'll get in the future. I'm still happy to accept new squares from anyone who sends them, and I'll be making more squares myself in the coming months. I just wanted to start piecing the ones I already have together before the task became too daunting.

After a few hours of arranging, planning, mild bickering, and more arranging, my extremely patient mother and I laid out the quilt on her living room floor. We arranged the squares into columns, broke them into smaller sections, and pinned them on muslin so I'd have a record of the exact layout. Now the pinned pieces are sitting in a storage bin, awaiting all the fun piecing I have to do next.

Slowly but surely, this will all come together. Keep sending squares, old uniforms, and even fabric scraps. I need all the materials I can possibly get in order to cover this giant monster of a craft project.

Wicked Pissah (ahem, Nuts Out!)

2010-01-14T10:16:00.001-05:00

After making Harley's square, I still had the front of her old Pissah uniform hanging around. I couldn't possibly let that go to waste, so here it is in a spiffy new role: that that of the Wicked Pissah team square.

I'm especially proud of the gold chains. What Pissah uniform could be without those? Pity there was no room for some giant Revere hair and gold earrings. Maybe down the line another Pissah will hit up a wig store and make me a square with some rockin' 90's bangs. What do you think, Pissahs, are any of you up to the task?

Inspired to quilt

2010-01-10T11:34:00.001-05:00

Last night I got a great email from Viva Violence of the Mission City Brawlin Betties:

"I think this is such a rad project. I stumbled across your blog some time ago and was in total awe. Your idea stuck with me for some time, until it was time for my team to get our coach (Dita de los Muertos) a gift for end of the season. So I had all the girls make a square (& I added some simple stencil filler squares) and assembled it for her. Thanks for inspiring me. I've attached a couple of pics in case you're interested.

Derby <3, Viva Violence! Mission City Brawlin Betties Captain #-1"

How cool is this? I love looking at the details on each square and checking out the skater profiles to see who made what. What an amazing gift for a coach!

A very Pissah evening

2010-01-08T00:09:00.000-05:00

Tonight I holed up at my desk and made two squares from materials donated by two former Wicked Pissahs. I was inspired by my giant pile of red thread, and I figured I had a few hours to kill. I'm pretty happy with the results so far:

This one is for Jodie Faster, a Pissah jammer turned ref. She gave me a piece of her old Pissah sweatshirt, and I added some ref stripes to show her connection with BDD's hard working ref team.

This patch represents Harley Quinn, a Pissah blocker who has since hung up her gold chains for Massacre ruffles. It's hard to see the gold behind the red eyelet fabric, but I assure you it's as marvelously loud as a Pissah jersey should be.

I'm almost done with a Wicked Pissah one for the whole team. I just need some more red thread and gold chains. Thank goodness for the off-season... When we start up again I won't be able to handle all this red stuff without getting ready to hit things. Ahh, the beauty of competition...

-- Post From My iPhone

New square!

2009-12-08T08:00:00.001-05:00

It's been a while since I've gotten a square from outside my own league, so yesterday was an exciting mail day. Canadian Crusher, of the Bakersfield Diamond Divas, sent me this lovely note and this even lovelier square:

She contacted me about the quilt a week ago and I already have it in my hot little hands. Fantastic turn-around time, Crusher!

--w Post From My iPhone

Men's derby represent!

2009-07-16T09:51:00.000-04:00

Sugar Daddy of the New York Shock Exchange was kind enough to hook me up with an old jersey and back patch a while ago when he came to ref one of our bouts. I finally made it into a few huge squares:

I love the way NYSE uses button-down shirts as their uniform tops, and wanted to preserve that look. I repositioned the collar of the shirt, putting it on the back. Then I added buttons to finish it off.

Rock on Men's derby. I really hope I can catch a NYSE game one of these days.

-- Post From My iPhone

A couple of new squares

2009-06-25T17:04:00.000-04:00

Remember how I said I was working on a bunch of squares for peoplewho donated old jerseys? Here are two to tide you over:

Trish the Dish hooked me up with a Team Awesome jersey, and here is the first square I've finished using these materials. I'm working on a Team Awesome one too, so stay tuned.

I added to the Boston B Party square, so I thought it would be worth posting again. The embroidered doily under the teapot was made using each of our home team colors - Pink for the Nutcrackers, Blue for the Cosmonaughties, and Red for the Wicked Pissahs. We all skate together on the B Team, so it seemed only natural to make sure we were all represented.

More are coming, of course. I just need to clip a few stitches here and there.

-- Post From My iPhone

Oh, and in the Arlington Advocate too...

2009-06-24T13:38:00.000-04:00

Here's a sweet little interview featured in my local paper. Also, if you watch the slideshow, you'll be able to hear me talk about how much fun it is to hit people. I promise, I love derby for other reasons too. ;)

As featured in Blood and Thunder...

2009-06-14T00:06:00.001-04:00

I hear the new issue's out, and the quilt is in it! I suppose this explains why people are asking me about it more often than usual... Please keep asking, especially if you want to donate a square. I would love love LOVE more squares to add to the growing collection. More photos soon, but I need to hunt down a copy of this magazine.

Still working, and still hunting for more submissions.

2009-05-22T10:38:00.000-04:00

It's been a slow couple of months in roller derby quilt land. I've gotten a bunch of shirt donations from my league-mates, and I'm tinkering with them to create more squares that represent BDD. Expect to see updates with my finished squares for BritKnee Breaker, Harley Quinn, and Sara Doom. Given my ADD, this may take some time, as I'm working on these all at once.

Since I have no fun pictures of quilty-goodness to share right now, here is an amazing photo of me skating. Good lord, I am a large woman. That's kind of awesome. Before derby I didn't necessarily love being built like a linebacker, but I have to admit, now that my rhino-like build has a practical use, I'm rather proud of it. As much as it stinks to buy pants, it's comforting to know that I'm not a little weenie pushover.

Hell, while I'm at it, I'll also include a photo of something you'll never see: me jamming. Oh god, I hate jamming. At a bout, I'd do it for the comedy of it. It's like watching a little bulldog try to outrun a greyhound. Put that bulldog in a tutu and that greyhound in silver hotpants and you have me vs. someone like Killary Clinton. ;)

Don't mess with Texas

2009-03-06T07:11:00.000-05:00

Thank goodness for kind neighbors. This one went to a similarly named street around the corner and only just got to me know. Crash 'N Burnadette sent this to represent the Alamo City Rollergirls, and it would have been a shame for it to spend it's life in a condo just around the corner from its sisters and brothers in my office.

-- Post From My iPhone

Oh, and the quilt as of today...

2009-02-26T15:29:00.001-05:00

Not bad, eh? I figured I'd show off what we've all done so far. I know that some of you are wondering why there haven't been any posts about a few of these (like Ivanna S. Pankin, or Sarah Doom). This is because these particular squares are still being worked on and aren't ready for their close-ups yet. You'll have to wait to see what I do to those, but for now, enjoy the sheer "hugeongous-ness" (pronounced huge-jung-ous-ness) of the quilt in progress, and send me some more squares of your own.

Seriously, people. Send more. I'm still waiting.

Two more.

2009-02-25T22:16:00.001-05:00

I lied. Here are two more squares sent to me by a derby parent who's daughter skates for the Albany All Stars. Big Headed Honky's mom must be a pretty proud parent! She even blogged about these in her craft blog.

Thanks mama Honky. I love your squares, and I love how supportive you are of your daughter's crazy-dangerous contact sport. :D

At last! A huge update!

2009-02-25T21:44:00.001-05:00

It's been some time, I know.... however, I'll make up for the longtime silence by posting lots of images. First, here's one that I'm working on myself. It's a square dedicated to Hell, the classic derby drill in which everyone hauls ass around the track for ten minutes without stopping. This particular piece is made up of red sweatpant-stuff and stretchy gold lamé from Anna WrecksYa (one of our travel team skaters), and caution tape from one of our bouts. I'm still adding to it, but the little details aren't easy to see in a photo and I figured I'd post this pic anyway:

This next one was made by one of BDD's new skaters, Bedlam Belle. She came to our quilting Bee-DD and made this square to represent this year's crop of Freshmeat skaters. I love the two pieces of meat bashing into each other.

General Lee Feisty made this one just before she left BDD for snowy Denver. We enjoyed one short season with this fantastic skater, who transferred here from TXRD. She was there at the start of modern roller derby (you can see snippets of her in Rollergirls and Hell on Wheels) and it was wonderful to work with someone who had seen so much. Too bad she had to leave us so soon... but at least I have this to remember her by...

The next two squares came in the mail from Trippin' Daisy of the Steel City Derby Demons. First, her personal square:

... and next, her league square showing the colors of each team. Purple is for the Slumber Party Slashers, red for the Bitch Doctors, orange for the Wrecking Dolls, and green for the Hot Metal Hellions.

Lastly, I got a lovely square from Full Metal Jacque, a good friend and recently retired skater for one of our home teams, the Cosmonaughties. I miss the hell out of her, but thankfully she's not too far away, and she was kind enough to share this awesome square:

I have a few more squares that I got recently, plus photos of the quilting Bee-DD to post. I'll save those for my next update, but until then, keep 'em coming!

Post From My iPhone

More images coming, swear to god.

2009-01-28T19:37:00.001-05:00

I have a mountain of new quilt squares to show, and these photos will be coming soon. Sorry to keep you all waiting just a bit longer!

2008-12-23T10:16:00.001-05:00

Yesterday two more squares found their way to me, buried under a pile of last-minute gift packages from Amazon.com. It seems like this was the week of quilts involving photo transfers, so I'm pretty psyched. I'm a bit of a nut for taking digital images and printing them on fabric, so these squares are especially close to my heart. Check 'em out:

This first square is from Enya Grave of the Ft Wayne Derby Girls. This is the first group photo that's made it onto the quilt - excellent idea! I love the embroidery too.

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This letter came from a derby mom, who created a block for her daughter, Dead Lee Crush. She's a new skater for the Denver Roller Dolls, and apparently she has a very supportive mom. Hooray for awesome derby parents!

That's all for today, but I've been told that more are on the way. I also have a whole CD of photos of the quilting bee taken by the one and only Xena ParadoX, my teammate, longtime friend, and also a very patient and accommodating photographer. Expect to see those once my final paper for grad school is finished and my vacation officially starts. :D

-- Post From My iPhone

Gifts from the Snow Day Fairy

2008-12-21T11:43:00.001-05:00

Although I've been holed up in my apartment this weekend (damned grad school finals!) I did enjoy a few surprises. The first was a snow day on Friday (more time to work on my paper... huzzah) and the second was a very full mailbox. The following three quilt squares arrived yesterday morning:

Covalent Bondage from Central Arkansas Roller Derby sent in a square for her league. At first she was worried about it being too large, but 8" x 8" is really only a suggestion, so it's all good. Nothing about derby is cookie-cutter, and it wouldn't be right if every square were exactly the same size! This big and beautiful square will fit right in with GTA's league square, Dee Claw's personal square, and the oversized square I'm working on for Sarah Doom.

This one comes from Frag Doll of the Green Mountain Derby Dames. Rock on with your awesome embroidery! I dig the use of the Sublime Stitching roller derby embriodery pattern, and being a Nutcracker, I'm a huge sucker for pink tulle. :D

Last, but far from least, is this square from Cherry Madness of the Sacred City Derby Girls. This is dedicated to her crazy ankle injury back in September. Here are the details in her own words:

I broke my leg at practice 3 weeks ago yesterday. I have enclosed the x-ray for you to view. It rocks. 1 plate, mutilpe screws and pins. I had a 17mm dislocation of my ankle and 2 separate fractures in my fibula. Per one of my ortho surgeons, I pushed myself so hard that my ankle just exploded. Nice to know my body established a boundary. :] "

As sorry as I am to know her ankle exploded, I'm thrilled to have an x-ray make it into the quilt. This square is so marvelously bad-ass. Thanks Cherry!

Two more squares from this past week

2008-12-16T11:12:00.001-05:00

It's been a very busy week, quilt-wise. I got a few in the mail, was given some in person, made some myself, and hosted a quilting bee to get a few more squares from my league-mates. Many are still in the works, and I'm awaiting a CD of images from the bee. For now, you'll have to be happy with the following two lovely squares.

First, from the Dockyard Derby Dames of Tacoma, Washington:

Each of their home teams is represented: the Marauding Mollys, the Femme Fianna, the Trampires, the Hellbound Homewreckers, and their travel teams too. I love the different team logos!

... and this square from Killary Clinton, a freshmeat skater who joined BDD after reffing for another league.

She gave this to me as a birthday present at my surprise party. I can't get over the precise lettering, or the clean lines on the derby girl figure. Check out those button-wheels! Holy crafty, Batman.

More pics will come when I get more. I also hear I have a few packages in the mail too. Until then, check out this image of the quilt so far:

-- Post From My iPhone