About the Donor

Quilting became Ben Millett's creative outlet outside his work at an agriculture company in Des Moines, Iowa. He enjoyed designing and piecing quilt tops, but would be frustrated that his quilting lines were wobbly. Around this same time, he realized that he was not as straight as he'd been convinced to be. "Not So Straight" became a tongue-in-cheek rally cry (and for a time his brand name) as Ben quilted, reminding both himself and others of who he is.

He takes a modern approach with his quilted projects, preferring to work with solids in saturated colors (unless he has green prints on hand). Those projects are meant for everyday use and for display, and sometimes both at the same time. He is grateful his husband and his son let him retreat to the craft room for hours on end to bring those to projects to fruition.

Ben currently sews on the Elnita EF1.

Follow Ben online

benmillett.us

IG @benmillett

Size

54" x 72"

Description

This throw-size quilt is made with the eleven colors of the Progress Pride Flag and is constructed with the traditional Courthouse Steps block. The word "equal" is quilted across the quilt, as a reminder that even though people who identify as LGBTQ+ are indeed equal, rights reflecting that equality sometimes can only come through the courts.

From the Donor

As I was working on this design, I was using Courthouse Steps primarily because of the straight-forward construction process.

After sitting with it and as I was piecing, the significance of this block with these colors and the intended destination of the @gsafe auction hit me.

How many rights have LGBTQ+ individuals been able to experience only as a result of judicial action? How many bills have been considered and laws enacted to limit the rights of these individuals, that have then had to reversed by courts?

Too many, that's how many. And there are still more coming.

I do know that the Equality Act won't solve everything, but it's a non-court step in the right direction. Just thinking of a day when people don't treat others as lesser-than because of what they look like, what their gender is, or who they love.

As I contemplated quilting, I wanted something more meaningful than decorative. What is something that we know within the community that these legislators don't? That we are Equal. We are Equal in our right to life, Equal in liberty and protections under the law, and Equal in our pursuit of happiness.