Through the eye of a needle: the story of two academics' use of fabric crafts to make defiant messages.

Abstract

This paper is the result of our joint reflections on our experiences of creating 'quilts' for the January 2007 New Zealand Quilt Symposium, their acceptance in the 'Human Rights (HR) Challenge' (Bella) and the 'Thinking Outside the Square Challenge' (Joyce). In July, Bella, with grace and good humour, succumbed to an aggressive form of cancer. She was adamant that these stories needed to be told and Bella's story is presented below in the original. When seen through the eye of her now stilled needle, her words seem particularly wise and insightful.