Australia! Hooray!

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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.