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Melora Bales

@melorabales.bsky.social

1.2K followers 334 following 343 posts

Fiber artist, gardener, mushroom hunter, chef, regenerative agriculture and environmental enthusiast, pro-science, progressive humanist. I am a safe space. 💗 harvestmoontiedye.etsy.com

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Melora Bales @melorabales.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

I recently completed the 12th design in my Sunbonnet Sue, Days of Rage hand embroidery series. After stumbling across old patterns from the 1930's, I was inspired to rework the designs to reflect how many of us are feeling right now. 💙 #embroidery #fiberarts #craftivism #artivism #Resist #art

I recently completed the 12th design in my embroidery series, so I thought I would share a bit about their origin.

I stumbled across antique public domain transfer patterns of Sunbonnet Sue, Days of the Week chore towels. The idea of embroidering a towel that was going to tell me which housework to do every day really got on my nerves. Add that to my anxiety about our current waterfall of civil rights atrocities and environmental crises, and I was inspired to rework the designs to reflect what many of us are thinking and feeling right now.

So, the Sunbonnet Sue, Days of Rage collection was born - a juxtaposition of sweet, vintage style and my frank, righteous anger with the current dystopian state of my country.

Fiber arts have long been dismissed as “women’s work” or “crafts” and are just recently claiming their rightful place among other fine art mediums. It’s important for women fiber artists to reference historical fiber art themes and styles, to highlight the fact that they have always been fine art - whether or not they were recognized as such.

Art has been a form of activism for centuries, and I’m proud to be a part of that tradition. I’m sure Sunbonnet Sue never thought she’d have to think about punching Nazis again, but at least this time she’s a part of the action and not stuck doing the damn laundry.

There are four Sunbonnet Sue designs in this pic. She is always wearing a dress with a large skirt and a bonnet that covers her face. The first is her sitting, reading a copy of 1984. It says "Read Banned Books" underneath her. The second one is her standing between two trees looking towards a natural scene. It says "Protect Our National Parks." Third one is two ladies having tea. It says, "The Only Dangerous Minority Are The Billionaires." The fourth one is her holding a sunflower, wearing blue and yellow (the colors of the Ukrainian flag) and it says, "Stand With Ukraine."

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Melora Bales @melorabales.bsky.social · 15/03/2025

That's the tea! Here's my newest design in the Sunbonnet Sue, Days of Rage collection. 💙Available as a finished piece or downloadable pattern in my Etsy shop, www.etsy.com/shop/Harvest... #artivism #resistance #Resist #embroidery #fiberart

Hand embroidery image of two vintage ladies sharing a pot of tea with the quote "The Only Dangerous Minority are the Billionaires."

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Melora Bales @melorabales.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

Sunbonnet Sue stands with Ukraine. 💙💛🌻 Newly finished piece 8 in the Sunbonnet Sue, Days of Rage collection. Support #artivism! Find finished pieces and downloadable patterns - www.etsy.com/shop/Harvest... #StandWithUkraine #embroidery #fiberart

Sunbonnet Sue stands with Ukraine!Newly finished piece 8 in the Sunbonnet Sue, Days of Rage collection. It's an embroidery of a vintage lady, but the top half of her dress and bonnet are blue, the full skirt of her dress is yellow, symbolizing the Ukrainian flag. She's holding a sunflower, the national flower of Ukraine. I am selling downloadable patterns of my series, as well as finished pieces like this one in my Etsy shop, https://www.etsy.com/shop/HarvestMoonTieDye

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Melora Bales @melorabales.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Bernie Sanders is a national treasure. In 2016, I raised money for his campaign by creating these Bernie tie dye shirts - they were so hard to do! I 💙 this image of them on my clothesline. I dream of how different our country would be today if Bernie had won in 2016. #BernieSanders #StandWithUkraine

This is an image of Bernie Sanders tie dye on a clothesline in my backyard. In 2016, I raised money for his campaign by designing, making, and selling these Bernie tie dye shirts - probably one of the most difficult designs I've ever made. I dream of how different our country would be today if Bernie had won back then.
Below the photo is a copy of a post from Sanders, criticizing Trump for siding with Putin over Zelensky. He ends it by stating, "Sorry, President Trump. We believe in democracy, not authoritarianism."

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Reposted by Melora Bales

RIDGE @1av8ter.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

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Jules⚖️📨 @northjules.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

💖

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Melora Bales @melorabales.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

Mini piece I made and sold to fundraise for #ukraine. Hand embroidery on upcycled tie dye fabric scraps - hundreds of French knots in that little 3-inch hoop. 💙💛🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine #embroidery #fiberarts #craftivism

Hand embroidery in a small three-inch hoop. There is a blue sky made of a scrap of tie dye fabric on the top half. The bottom half is a field of embroidered yellow sunflowers, which is the national flower of Ukraine. It is meant to symbolize the Ukrainian flag.

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Melora Bales @melorabales.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

Just finished up the latest piece in my Sunbonnet Sue, Days of Rage embroidery series. I got so mad after seeing that post from the White House that I had to stab some fabric 1,000+ times. Hand stitching helps me work through my big feelings in a healthy way. 💙 #embroidery #fiberarts #textilearts

Hand embroidered image of a vintage lady wearing a dress and bonnet, carrying a protest sign that reads "America has no king." This is piece seven in my series, Sunbonnet Sue, Days of Rage. It is inspired by the 1930's Sunbonnet Sue Days of the Week tea towel designs.

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Reposted by Melora Bales

Tampa Bay resister 🇺🇸🇨🇿🇨🇴🏴‍☠️⚡️🐶🎧 @depechemodefan101.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

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Stephen King @stephenking.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

Don’t buy stuff on February 28. Money’s the only thing these dicks understand. #resist

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Reposted by Melora Bales

Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

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Melora Bales @melorabales.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

I'm brand new to Bluesky, still learning how it all works. I'm a fiber artist, usually working with upcycled fabric scraps. I've been stitching my feelings lately, and this is my latest embroidery project - Sunbonnet Sue, Days of Rage collection. It's inspired by the 1930's Sunbonnet Sue designs.

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