Femina

Challenge #14 Unite for Hope

Femina - latin for woman is a very broad topic that we will be focusing on for the next three challenges.

I have decided to focus on how women throughout history have used textiles and fibre arts to communicate messages, in times of confinement, slavery and resistance.  Documentation throughout history has shown the use of textiles and fibres arts have been used as a method of recording the current events and sending messages to others.

In my third quilt for this challenge, I have tried to replicate the “Pussyhat” that gained popularity in late 2016 and early 2017.  Using a variety of pink fabrics, silk, hand dyes and recycled clothing and layers of batting I created these pussyhats.  I added slogans that were prominent at The January 2017 Woman’s march.

UNITE FOR HOPE

The "pussyhat" was an iconic symbol of solidarity worn during the historic Women's Marches on January 21, 2017. Designed as a form of "craftivism", the pink beanies with cat ears were created to reclaim a derogatory term used by Donald Trump and to send a unified message supporting women's rights.

The idea for the Pussyhat Project emerged after the 2016 United States presidential election as a way to create a visible symbol of solidarity for women's rights. Suh and Zweiman, launched the project with the goal of providing pink, cat-eared hats for participants in the Women's March on Washington in January 2017. The project quickly gained momentum, with people around the world knitting and wearing pussyhats as a symbol of support for women's rights, reproductive rights, and opposition to the policies of the Trump administration.