In This Issue:

• New show opening this week!
• About the new work, Portal 3
• Why hand-stitching feels so good
• How we can take care of our hands
• How we can keep going in the face of, well, everything
• A video about folding laundry

Qu'aint: Uncovering Opens this Thursday!

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The newest iteration of the Qu'aint Collaboration is debuting this week at [Artspace] at Untitled in Oklahoma City. Read on for all the wheres and whens.

What: Uncovering is a new art exhibition by the Qu'aint Collaboration, a group of Oklahoma artists exploring the ongoing conversations between painting and quilting.
​When: Thursday May 23 - Saturday July 6 2024
​Where: [Artspace] at Untitled, 1 NE 3rd St, Oklahoma City (link to Google Maps)

Opening Reception: Thursday May 23, 5-8 pm
​Where to park: There is street parking on NE 3rd Street and in the surrounding neighborhood. There is also a gravel lot on the north side of Untitled, accessible from NE 4th Street.
​Need dinner plans? I recommend The Wedge Pizzeria on NE 1st St, just a few blocks from the gallery. There are many dining options in Automobile Alley and Bricktown (both near the venue).

​Click here to see more info on the [Artspace] at Untitled website.

​Click here for event details on Facebook.​

Portal 3

I'm excited to share this new quilt with you, which will be in the Uncovering show.

Portals For Kevin 3: Portal for Nex. Reclaimed garments and household linens, commercial cottons. Machine pieced and hand quilted. 34.5 x 34.5 inches. 2024 by Sarah Atlee. $760

I'm especially satisfied by two aspects of this piece.

One is the minimal composition, which is really challenging for a maximalist like me. Exercising restraint in my work does not come easily.

The other is that Portal 3 is entirely hand quilted. And I'm so into that right now. Hand quilting is the most grounding, brain-cleansing, soul-soothing activity I currently have at my disposal.

(How long did it take to quilt this piece? Most of Game of Thrones.)

Why does hand stitching feel so good?

I found several answers to this question in a recent New Yorker article by Ayelet Waldman: Piecing for Cover - At our darkest moments, why do so many of us take up quilting? (This article is behind a paywall, but following are some choice quotes.)

content advisory: The full article includes descriptions of war and violence. The sections I've quoted here do not.

Hand sewing and similar activities also provide bilateral stimulation (used to treat PTSD), wakeful rest, and "a deep sense of agency and reward."

If you do any kind of work by hand, this probably comes as no surprise.

Detail of Praise the Lord Quilt, 1885. Found in St. Joseph, Missouri. Cotton, hand appliqued, hand pieced, hand and machine quilted. Maker unidentified. Photo by Sarah Atlee.

Caring For Our Hands

Speaking of hand work, I just saw a video by Karen Brown of Just Get It Done Quilts on taking care of our most valuable tools: our hands. Here is a video of her hand care regimen which includes cleaning, moisturizing, stretching, and more. Even if handicrafts don't figure heavily in your routine, there are a lot of valuable self-care tips here.

How to Market In a Broken World

I've been trying to find words to describe how I'm holding deep grief and generative joy at the same time. Cody Cook-Parrott keeps phrasing it perfectly.​

Being an artist is tough enough when the exterior world feels "normal" (whatever that means). It's harder when multiple large-scale crises are happening every hour of every day. No matter what we do, we feel like we should do more. Do we even deserve the time, space, and skills that we have? Hopelessness abounds.

But we must keep going. Keep making. Keep being kind.

I certainly don't have answers. But I can make quilts. I'm going to keep doing that. I also like Austin Kleon's book Keep Going as a resource in turbulent times. Ask for it at your local book slingin' joint.

For more words on making and feeling in times of crisis, I suggest following Monday Monday by Cody Cook-Parrot. (You can read public posts on Substack without subscribing. Just click the "no thanks" button.)

A Video For Those Who Read This Far

One of my current jobs is housekeeping. I made my own cleaning rags out of discarded t-shirt fabrics. (Effective, washable, economical, long-lasting!) After laundering them, I fold them Konmari-style (thirdsies then thirdsies again) and stow them for next time.

Note: This is my first time embedding an Instagram Reel into my newsletter. Just in case it doesn't work, here is a link to my original post.​