Tag Archives: embroidery

Red Umbrella Embroidery project: Fight for the rights of Sex Workers!!

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I got these beautiful domed antique brass frames, made in Germany, last Fall.

I found them on German eBay. I got a half dozen of them, they are tiny and very lovely, and I wanted to do something special with them.

I decided to embroider the Red Umbrella, which is the international symbol of solidarity with sex workers. The one below is in the Black Trans Flag colors, as well as the rainbow for Pride- I used superfine holographic thread and hundreds and hundreds of stitches.

Black leadership tells us to center the most marginalized.

To listen to what sex workers tell us they need, and work to help them get it.

Protect Black Trans Sex Workers embroidery with holographic thread by Suzanne Forbes June 2020Maybe someday every home will have the symbol of solidarity with sex workers.

Maybe someday every home will declare itself a safe space for the most vulnerable people in society, the people who have to work to live and yet are never given the protections of workers.

I have known and loved sex workers since I was a teen; I learn more all the time about how to listen to what they are telling me they need.

The most urgent need for sex workers all over the world is the Decriminalization of Sex Work. Not the Nordic Model, not legalization and government regulation – Decrim.red umbrella embroidery by Suzanne Forbes June 2020

Decriminalize sex work NOW.

Here are some of the reasons why sex workers tell us that Decrim is the model they want.

Here is an extremely useful article on how to make sex workers’ lives easier.

Read “Revolting Prostitutes: The fight for Sex Workers’ Rights”.

Now more than ever, when so many sworkers can’t work because of COVID-19 yet are excluded from government support in most countries, donate to sex workers’ aid funds.

People need money to live. This is our German fund for workers who aren’t getting government aid. Orgs like The Black Trans Travel Fund and The Okra Project help BPOC trans people get basic needs like food and transport met.

SEX WORKER RIGHTS ARE LABOR RIGHTS. SEX WORKER RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS. 

You can hold up a red umbrella.

 

 

Project roundup: some things I’ve been working on!

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Projects by Suzanne Forbes March to May 20 2020As usual, I have lots of small bricolage and embroidery projects going, so here’s a roundup!

Motto of EG embroidered by Suzanne Forbes WIP May 2020My Beloved Friend-Muse-Patron Eva said something on twitter I thought made good sense, so I embroidered it as a motto.

On bug fabric of course! It was my first time embroidering text, which is harder than you’d think. I tried two new things.

First, I printed the text on regular paper and used my new LED lightbox to project it through the light cotton fabric. Then, when the piece was finished, I sprayed the hell out of both sides of it with craft fixativ.

Motto of EG embroidered by Suzanne Forbes May 2020On the rare occasions when I’ve done a piece this big, I have had problems with the fabric warping or wrinkling. Especially the big cotton octopus. So I am hoping the craft fixativ, which is an acrylic film, will help prevent moisture from making the fabric stretch.

If you would like to see truly excellent embroidering of (often salty) text mottos, visit my SIL Caitlin’s Insta.

Sacred Heart Bricolage by Suzanne Forbes May 2020 Sacred heart embroidery bricolage!

Sacred Heart Bricolage detail by Suzanne Forbes May 2020I used a commercial heart appliqué as the base and sewed it onto velvet, then heavily re-embroidered it all and added crystals, beads and red plastic pearls from a New Orleans bead string with a lobster on it that had been in my materials stash for decades.

I like to make Sacred Hearts every year, because they are such a powerful symbol of faith. I guess I need a lot of faith this year, cause this is the second one I’ve made so far and it’s only May!

 

Dragonfly pillbox hat!dragonfly pillbox hat Suzanne Forbes march 2020

No filter, the colors are actually that bright.

I had had this dragonfly floating around in my crafts supplies for at least ten years, getting bent up and dusty. I rescued it, rehabilitated it, studded it with jewels, and attached it to this bright blue commercial pillbox base. I happened to have ordered some hat veiling with velvet dots and some purple pompom trim that all matched perfectly. It all came together delightfully and I really look forward to wearing it outside at some point, Goddess willing.

More bricolage projects coming soon, with a VERY wild insect dolly and her bird-horse steed, when I go on Make-Cation on May 20 🙂