Bill Stearman, Quilt Maker

I'm feeling very grateful to have two of my quilts featured in the current issue (issue 51) of A Needle Pulling Thread  magazine. It is currently available online, but should be in stores soon!                                  

Congratulations! Your quilt The Power of One: Gender Fluidity (1328) has been selected for QuiltCon 2020 Artist Statement: We have a responsibility to act on social injustices. Trans folk are among the most 'at risk' individuals in our community. With your voice, that can change. Speak up for trans rights. Be inclusive of your trans neighbours. Challenge transphobia. Spread love with your smile. We all share the same world. We all have the same basic needs. And we all have the same basic rights!

These three patterns are currently available for on-line purchase ... It's a Breeze It's a Slippery Slope For Baby and Me The cost is $12 each, including shipping. Payment via e-transfer, or PayPal. b.stearman@hotmail.com They are also available at the following quilt shops Keystone Modern Creative , in Winnipeg, Manitoba Fun With Stitches , in Belleville, Ontario

Panic Attack Panic attacks seem to have become a thing for me ... tightness in my chest, a shortness of breath, and a general panic about … basically nothing. It seems they often accompany ADHD and Depression. Mine are rare, and I'm dealing with them. But they are real. This is what mine feel like.

ADHD Shifts (and yes, that IS the colour of negative space for me) 59” x 63” I have been blessed to live my life with ADHD. But this quilt actually speaks to 'Age Related ADHD' ... you know, when you go to the kitchen for something, and come back an hour later having made cookies, cleaned the stove, dried the dishes ... but without the coffee that you set out to get in the first place! Age Related ADHD is equally real, but much less of a blessing. 😊

  Rise Up: A Tribute to Successful Women In an industry where most of the end users are women, a disproportionate percentage of the folks at the top are men. This quilt is a tribute to a few of the many successful women who influence my quilting world. These include; American fabric designer, Victoria Findlay Wolfe; Australian fabric designer, Kathy Doughty; my long arm quilter, Deanna Gaudaur; and Geraldine Rorabeck, who ran Picton Fabric World on Main Street in Picton for 42 years.

The Power of One: Gender Fluidity We have a responsibility to act on social injustices. Trans folk are among the most 'at risk' individuals in our community. With your voice, that can change. Speak up for trans rights. Be inclusive of your trans neighbours. Challenge transphobia. Spread love with your smile. We all share the same world. We all have the same basic needs. And we all have the same basic rights!

Be a Man: Reflections on Masculinity, Part One I hated Gym class, especially the change room. Guys parading around wearing only jockstraps, flicking each other with towels. They knew how to 'man up'. Me, changing in the darkest corner, not so much. For years, the jockstrap represented my fear that I'd never be a man. Now, I understand the myth of manning up, and I am man enough! The jockstrap has a new role in my community for play rather than sport. And I'm comfortable with that.