France? C'est bon!

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!)

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

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

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?

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!

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.