The Spartiquilt

What is Spartacus? So many people have asked me, but how do you define a moment in time? A need? A defiance? A refusal to be defined by ignorance? It was and is a reclamation of self, a declaration of inherent worth. Thousands of voices speaking as one. "I am. I fight. I win. I have never given up and I never will." "I will clasp my pleasures close because Life has taught me their value." "I will fight for justice because I learned long, long ago that life is not fair" "I will endure with grace and hope and dignity because I know so well they are all any of us can ever keep close" "When you hurt me, I will smile and help you" "When you are battered and bruised and low, I will be there, and I will be the one who truly understands your pain" "These are my values. This is what I am worth. This is what I can give. If you stop the mad rush of life and listen, you will hear me. I am there and I have learned strange and wonderful things" "I cannot be beaten. You were wrong." A while ago, some people on blogs and twitter, people who instinctively knew Spartacus, felt him in their blood and their painful bones, had an idea. They would make a spartiquilt. Square by square, they would capture our moment. Stitch by stitch, moment by moment, they would show our hearts and dreams. I imagined the pioneers. Women of silk and steel, of hope and fear, of doubt and belief. How they crossed the great plains, never giving up. How they came together to sew their stories into painstaking beauty. Like us, they had time, even when they had nothing else. Like us, not all of them would make it, but in their art, all would be remembered. Like us they craved comfort above all, craved the life they used to know. Like us, they had a story to tell that few would believe and fewer would ever truly understand Like us, they were rarely heard. Like us they found a  quiet community to counter the individual,  reckless ambition that surrounded them. Like us, all they could leave was a testimony with a quiet fortitude and a precious hope. Not fragile after all. Not weak at all. ************ If you would like to make a square, it can be anything at all, details are here : http://www.spartacusforum.org.uk/forum/index.php/topic,396.0.html You can get info and ask any questions and there is a link to a dedicated #spartiquilt blog. I can't sew to save my life, but I left a poem I wrote that means a lot to me. The brilliant #spartiquilt ers will somehow transform it to a quilty squary thingy for me. Please, don't be shy, don't think your idea any less than another. Quilting brought all together, valued every stitch, gave everyone equal power and worth. Whatever you want to do, just do it and I swear, I will make this the most famous quilt for a generation. Because that is Spartacus. Alone we whisper, together we shout. ** I don't mean to imply that #spartiquilt is only for women, the pioneers were just an example. Anyone who is sick or disabled, their friends, families The fab guys at @InkwellArts have let us use their space, Tuesday 11am-1pm, Leeds, if anyone can physically come along and join in but do get in touch if you have access needs. @fibro_girl @clareOT