Queer Quilting: Stitching the fabric of our lives into community and connection.

On a sunny winter day in Melbourne, surrounded by fabric, thread, and the hum of conversation, we gathered around a large table to stitch. Some participants had only recently arrived in Australia; others had been here for years. What united everyone - aside from the quilt we were creating—was the safe space created by Many Coloured Sky.

Since 2018, Many Coloured Sky has been working with a growing community of LGBTIQA+ refugees and people seeking asylum in Australia—nearly 500 individuals from 43 countries across five continents. From their space in Melbourne, they run a range of in-person programs and activities designed to build skills, foster connection, and grow supportive networks. The Queer Quilt is one of these offerings.

Quilting with queer refugees and asylum seekers isn’t just about making something by hand. It’s about reclaiming space and a sense of connection. Each square of fabric tells a story—shaped by memories of a home, a symbol of identity, or a tribute to survival. Some patches are bright, full of joy and self-expression. Others are delicate, full of precision and detail. Together, they form a bold, beautiful expression of their supportive LGBTIQA+ community.

Sitting side by side, people shared stories, laughter, or a quiet focus as they stitched. In this space, connection wasn’t always spoken—it was felt. It showed up in the handing over of scissors, the teaching of a stitch, the sharing of a cup of tea.

In a world that too often tries to erase the most vulnerable, this collective quilt says: We are all welcome here. And we belong—together. When the quilt is finished, it won’t just tell their stories—it will become a blanket to provide comfort, show persistence, and display their unique expression of unity.

Stitching alongside refugees and asylum seekers creates kinship. It’s a reminder that solidarity isn’t always loud or public—it can be quiet, hand-stitched, and full of love. And in times like these, when the fabric of our societies feels worn and frayed, we need more of this kind of stitching together.

Extradition confusion

For those of you that were a little confused about the outcome of Dan’s hearing on the 24th May - you were not alone. It’s taken me a bit of time to get my head around the proceedings. Dan’s legal team decided it was not the right forum to fight the extradition order. There , unfortunately, was no opportunity to put an argument forward, it was a process of ticking boxes. Australia have signed Dan over for extradition to the US.

The only person with any power to hear the entirety of Dan’s case is Attorney General Mark Dreyfus.

The family and Dan’s legal; team are now on a finite amount of time to present their case to the Attorney General. Below I have attached a copy of my draft sent to question and implore the Attorney General to review this case under Australian law.

If you have a few minutes please see the draft of my letter sent, as an example.

Email’s can be sent to the Attorney General, Senator Penny Wong and your local MP. You can find contact details for your local Federal MP or one of your Senators, here visit: https://electorate.aec.gov.au/ and Mark Dreyfus email is: attorney@ag.gov.au 

Sign the petition for the Attorney General here: https://www.change.org/p/release-my-husband-australian-daniel-duggan-and-refuse-his-extradition-to-the-us

Below you can hear Saffrine, Dan’s wife, speak outside the court after the decision on the 24th.

Thank you for taking the time to support and the Duggan’s in their fight for a fair trial for Dan.

A draft of my letter to Attorney General Mark Dreyfus:

Mordialloc, VIC, 3195 

Sent via email to attorney@ag.gov.au  

June, 2024

Dear Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, 

I am writing to draw your attention to the plight of the Duggan family and to request that you do not approve the extradition of Daniel Duggan, an Australian father of six.  

As a concerned citizen I feel devastated by this situation.

Dan has been held in solitary confinement in Lithgow Correctional Centre since October 2022. He faces no charges in Australia and the 12-year-old allegations against him by the United States seem to be politically motivated. They were brought about at a time when the relations between the United States and China soured.  

Dan is accused of training Chinese pilots as an instructor at a South African flight school. This training of civilians took place in 2012, when he was an Australian citizen. This was not against the law in Australia in 2012, nor is it now.  

The United States has crushed the rights of an Australian citizen by having him incarcerated in a 2x4m cell in solitary confinement for more than 19 months. He has access to visitors for one hour per week, is only sometimes allowed outside and was denied a computer to prepare for his extradition hearing.  

To make matters even worse, the United States have seized his wife’s Australian property (her only substantial asset) which she was trying to sell to pay for not only his defence, but to raise their six school age children.  

I am shocked that something like this has happened in Australia. The sovereignty of Australia is at stake if we let the US government dictate to us and take our own citizens off Australian streets to persecute them as political prisoners.   

I ask that you reject the US extradition request and allow Dan to come home to his wife and kids. Enough is enough.

Yours Sincerely,

Melinda Keily

** The above letter is a draft of my letter.

Dan Duggan and the fight for freedom

The Duggan family are coming to terms with Dan facing an extradition hearing in just 7 3 weeks 3 days now (Friday 24th May), despite legal aid not being approved.

The Magistrate Daniel Reiss denied this Australian citizen’s application to delay the extradition hearing even though his legal team, led by Bernard Collaery, clearly demonstrated that he needed more time to get Legal Aid after the United States blocked the sale of Saffrine’s property in December. The property was in the process of being sold to pay for legal bills.

You can access more details here including some words from Dan’s counsel outside the court.
The most important thing right now is assisting The Duggan family financially so that Dan can have a fair trial. Dan’s now spent 542 570 days far too long in solitary confinement here in Australia, without any local charges. This alone is inhumane!

There is a way you can support:

• buy a Bird for Freedom and have your support & name hand printed & stitched into Dan’s Freedom Quilt as a keepsake for the Duggan family (see below) or donate and make an anonymous contribution.

This quilt aims to provide comfort to Dan & the Duggan family and help provide some much-needed funds to support Saffrine and the children as well as Dan’s legal defense.

I will be individually printing each golden Bird for Freedom and we will be hand stitching names of individuals, family’s or community groups into Dan's quilt, as a symbol of support for Dan and his right to a fair trial and his freedom.

Buy a Bird for Freedom:

$500 - GOLD

You can buy one as an individual or rally your friends and all chip in towards a bird.

However, if $500 is above your nominated range, any amount is greatly appreciated, every cent helps!

Please transfer your nominated amount to the following account with reference ‘freedom quilt’ in the descrition:

Name: FDD Fundraising 

BSB: 062-667 

Account number: 1059 1974

Once done, if you would like your name added to the quilt please email proof of purchase to melindakeilyquilts[at]gmail.com (at = @) with the name you would like added. Maximum letter count per Bird is 10 letters, including symbols.

 For more information about Dan’s story, visit: https://freedanduggan.org/ and see my previous post.

Thank you. x

Free Dan Duggan

I came across Dan Duggan’s story at a wedding in January 2023. During the evening I connected with a friend I hadn’t seen since pre Covid. Emma told me about her friend, Dan Duggan, who was in maximum security solitary confinement and had been detained there for months.

Dan & his wife, Saffrine, are great friends of Emma’s. Em was heartbroken for the impossibility of Dan’s imprisonment and the untenable nature with which he was being held.

Fast forward another 6 months and I met up with Emma again. We got to talking about Dan and I learnt he was STILL being held in maximum security solitary confinement awaiting extradition by the U S for apparently training Chinese Military to fly, 10 years ago, in South Africa.

Dan is an ex US Marine who became an Australian Citizen when he married Saffrine 12 years ago. They have 6 school aged children & live in country NSW. The morning Dan was taken  by the AFP he had dropped his kids to school &  was on his way to meet Saffrine. He never showed up.

It took 3 months of imprisonment before Dan was even informed of his charges. He was and remains in deep shock & complete disbelief at this living nightmare - a shock shared by his wife and children. They also bare the huge weight of grief, anger and financial strain. It’s currently over 330 400 500 days now that Dan has been locked in a 2 x 4m cell, alone. It’s a human rights abuse.

The Australian government are holding him at the here-say of the US. There have been no local charges and there is no know reason for Dan to be held in these conditions. If extradited Dan faces 65 years imprisonment at the hands of the US. It’s unfathomable yet this is very real and happening to a man missed terribly by his family, right here in Australia.

Watch the 7.30 Report interview for more information.

Ways you can help:

• Sign the petition here.

• Donate to help cover the huge mounting legal fees and support Saffrine as she raises their 6 kids solo while Dan is incarcerated.

• Write to Attorney General Mark Dreyfus and request Dan’s release mark.dreyfus.mp@aph.gov.au

• Write to your local representative to ask for Dan’s release. Search here.

• Take a photo of yourself holding a #freedanduggan sign and post it to your socials. Tag @freedanduggannow #freedanduggan

• Write to Dan. Solitary confinement would have a profound impact on every one of our mental health. Help Dan’s mental health with a letter that lets him know he’s not forgotten. Daniel Duggan C/O Lithgow Correctional Centra, PO Box 666, Lithgow, NSW 2790

Follow, repost, donate, talk to others….. we all have ways we can help from where we are. No movement of support is too small.

I am making the above quilt for Dan, which I’ll keep you updated on via Instagram @melindakeilyquilts Saffrine has chosen to feature the Duggan tartan and we are working on a design that represents Dan, Saffrine and their 6 kids via the poppies - each representing a family member. We’ll also incorporate pieces of clothing from the family that mean something about Dan to each member. It’s a quilt for Freedom to let Dan know he is not forgotten. It’s our intention that Dan can wrap himself in the love and support of this quilt.

If you would like to be a part of Dan’s Freedom Quilt please see the above post for details.

Find out more about Dan’s freedom campaign:

Free Dan Duggan Campaign website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Emma (left) & Saffrine (right) met at uni in the 90’s.

Grief, the process of redefining a relationship after loss

After my dad passed away this year, in May, I began hand sewing a block a day as a way to sit with my grief. These pieces have been a way of touching in daily to see how grief is unfolding in me, to see what is shifting and what questions remain.

The blocks currently remain in a pile on my desk. I’ve hit a hiatus…. I guess it’s part of my grief process. I require some space to settle.

In the meantime, I started to compile a list of things that have helped me. This resources list around grief may be beneficial to someone else also experiencing a loss of some kind….death, divorce, distance, disability, incarceration, disease….. there are so many ways we grieve. It’s often something we tend to quietly, alone.

This list helped to soothe me on my hardest days. I hope, by dipping in and out, this list helps someone else too.

David Whyte: Seeking Language large enough.

Ocean Vuong: A life worthy of our breath.

John O’Donohue: The inner landscape of beauty.

Mary Oliver: I got saved by the beauty of the world.

Francis Weller: The wild edge of sorrow. The sacred work of grief.

Tara Brach: Grieving & timeless love.

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross: To Live until we say goodbye.

BJ Miller & Mettle Health: The many faces of grief.

Steven Jenkinson: Die wise, while there is such thing as wisdom.

Josh Schrei: Enter the meadows of joy.

Isa Gucciardi: Buddhist perspectives on death.

Michael Singer: Giving meaning to the time between your birth and death.

Hubberman: The science & process of healing from grief.

Elizabeth Alexander (Book): In the light of the world.

Francis Weller & Mark Groves: Finding your soul in the darkness.

Gregory Orr: Shaping grief with language.

Pauline Boss: The myth of closure (ambiguous loss).

Atul Gawande: Being Mortal. Medicine and what matters in the end.

All there is with Anderson Cooper & Kirsten Johnson: Aticipatory Grief

Parker Palmer & Jerry Colonna: How have you lived your life?

The Louis Theroux Podcast: Interview with Nick Cave on his remarkable career, religion & dealing with grief.

BJ Miller (TED Talk): What really matters in the end.

Kirsten Johnson (Movie): Dick Johnson is Dead

Joan Didion (Doco): The centre will not hold.

Steven Jenkinson (Doco): Grief Walker.

If you have any additional resources that have helped you navigate loss I’d love to hear about them. please send on details and I’ll add them to the list, once I’ve listened.

You signed the quilt…now what?

It’s been great to receive messages, emails and calls from people asking questions or sharing their experiences around this quilt for Kevin Henry. It means people have actively consider Kevin’s story and engaged in their own understanding before adding their name in support of Kevin.

Thank you to all who have reached out with questions and to those who have given their name in support of Kevin.

For some, it hasn’t felt right to sign the quilt for Kevin without taking further action.

So, what can you do next…….?

For me Amy McQuire, Martin Hodgson and Debbie Kilroy have been instrumental in educating me on the realities of Kevin’s story..

If you have the means Donate consistently. This helps Amy & Martin continue with Kevin’s exoneration process. Kevin would be the first ‘living’ Indigenous Australian to be exonerated in QLD.

Talk to people about Kevin Henry, his story and what the invisibility around this story means on a larger scale for Indigenous Peoples.

Pause, reflect and allow these learnings to settle into your nervous system. Check what you need to do to support yourself so you can continue showing up? ‘My Grandmother’s Hands’ has some great somatic practices.

I came across this quote recently “We can not shame ourselves into change, we can only love ourselves into evolution.” - Dr J.K. Reverend Angel Kyodo Williams and Tara Brach talk about this in their interview “Facing the Truths that keep us from Love”. It’s an hour long and offers an accessable understanding of this work.

Start! Find your way. Ask questions. you’re guaranteed to get things wrong & make mistakes. I certainly have …. and still continue to unfortunately. Our colonial history & socialisation make it inevitable that we’ll stumble. Don’t let the stumbling stop you.

There are so many wonderful resources out there. Curtain The Podcast as a start, Blood on the Tracks: What happened to Mark Hains Podcast, Kadija Gdla has this list. Yarn have this , Peppermint Magazine , Mia Muse “The work of White People in Dismantling Racism.” ….. & so on.

Take the time to build your own resources. Read, listen, watch. Then pause, reflect and be willing to act. I once read a line in Dumbo Feather (but can’t for the life of me remember who the interviewee was) that said “it won’t be politicians who make change, it will be passionate people.” It stuck with me. It is also everyday people, like you and me, who affect change when we take action.

53 names have been added to the quilt so far. It’s slowly coming to completion and will then make it’s way to Kevin. However, there’s still time and room for more names if you want to add yours.

A Tribute to my Grandfather, Joe.

10 months in the making.
1,344 paper cranes.

For those that have been following at @melindakeilyquilts you’ll know each individual crane symbolises a day my Grandfather, Joe, was enlisted in WWII, 1344 days. He fought in Rabaul, Papau New Guinea, against the Japanese which is why I chose paper cranes over my usual medium of textiles.

I made this to honour Joe’s story and the legacy of trauma it left within our family system. As is now confirmed through research generational traumas are inherited down the family line until they can be witnessed in their truth. So I offer it here to be seen and held in all it’s complexity, with great compassion.

This project has also been a way to talk to my son about the impact of war and what it decimates on an individual, family and societal level.
In our current culture where gaming, social media, constant news feeds and clever Defence Force marketing saturate the consciousness of our youth it’s important to reflect on the cost of war. C-PTSD,  Defence & Veteran suicide, displacement, death & decimation, mutilation, the power of supremacist systems to suppress, ethicacy & arms dealing by those in power. These are all aspects of war that are important to explore with our youth.

How do we hold space for the full catastrophe of war so we can come to a greater understanding of how our lives are implicated, personally & as a collective?

I don’t profess to have the answers. This project enabled me to hold the questions so greater understanding can emerge in my system.

This bundle of beauty is intertwined with photos, letters & war documents of Joe’s. The joy & beauty helped me to hold the heavy load.  An ancient Japanese legend says that anyone who folds 1,000 origami cranes will be granted happiness and eternal good luck. I wish this for all individuals, families and cultures affected by war and oppressive systems, so that generational wounds can heal and cultures can begin to truly unite.

#familyconstellations #papercrane #wwii #bigquestions

Kevin Henry

I started working on this “Who is Kevin Henry?” quilt after coming across Amy Mc Quire and Martin Hodgson’s ‘Curtain - The Podcast’ late last year. I spent the next 3 weeks, as I walked my dog , listening to episodes of Amy & Martin while they uncovered new evidence, detailed the failings of the forensic team and the complacency of Rockhampton Police in the investigation of Lynda’s tragic death back in September 1991.

Theses failings led to the conviction of Kevin Henry, a 22 year old Woorabinda man, who was visiting Rockhampton at the time. The information and the incompetencies revealed in this podcast so disturbed me that I just couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard about this case before. I felt sickened and heartbroken for Kevin and for his family.

Each quilt has it’s own story and the process of quilting allows me the space to contemplate as I stitch. This quilt has given me time to understand the privilege that comes with my outrage. I haven’t had to know who Kevin Henry, Robyn Kina, Derek Bromley, Mark Haines, Elijah Doherty and so many others are. It’s also why I am oftentimes blind to the inconsistencies, injustices and failings of the judicial and law enforcement system stacked against our First Nations Peoples. The rate of incarceration, deaths in custody, the age at which we criminalise Indigenous children here in Australia, the number of missing and murdered Indigenous women…..these too are things I have had to know little about as I navigate my life. The uncomfortable truth is: this is our white privilege.

As I continue to stitch this quilt some (and by no means, all) of the questions that surface in my mind are; Why is there so much invisibility when it comes to Indigenous lives here in Australia? How do I personally hold something so big & complex? How do I contribute to a more truthful future? What am I teaching my son about equity?

Kevin has maintained his innocence for the last 29 years. Maintaining his innocence cost him additional years of freedom. Unless Kevin ‘reformed’ during his incarceration he was unable to be considered for parole. Kevin refused to ‘reform’ because he maintained his innocence. Amy and Martin worked tirelessly to appeal over the years and continued to be met with the shortcomings & inflexibility of our judicial system. They continue to work to have Kevin’s case exonerated, now that he has been released.

Some other questions that rise as I stitch are ‘How does one personally survive this level of injustice?’ and ‘What does it take to hold your moral compass with such grace and dignity, against all odds?’

I have so much to learn and integrate when it comes to allyship. However, at the very least I know Kevin’s voice deserves to be heard; with adequate legal representation: by lawyers who can read the statement and verify it’s content, without coercion or force and with the support of his family and his community by his side.

On the back of this quilt I am stitching a message to Kevin that reads:

Dear Kevin,

Words here won’t do justice to the enormity of your losses.

We are sorry for the 29 years you spent without your family, your freedom & your community.

Each name stitched here stands in support of your truth.

We hope the world hears your story and learns the truth of who you really are.

In deep respect,

For anyone who would like to be a part of this quilt, please reach out. By adding your name to this quilt in support of Kevin you are sending a message that every individual has the right to a fair trial, that every voice is valid and of equal worth - regardless of race or literacy levels - and that Kevin’s truth deserves to be heard.

Once complete, this quilt will be sent to Kevin, via Martin Hodgson. My hope is that the support helps to create some visibility around Kevin’s story and to let Kevin know there are people who stand by his truth and want to offer their support so he can tell it in his own voice.

Other ways you can support:

Listen to the Podcast: Curtain The Podcast

Follow @amymcquire_ & @martinghodgson on Instagram fr updates

Support their continuing legal fees as they work to have Kevin’s case exonerated via Patreon.

Subscribe to Amy’s Substack here.

Send me a message to have your name added to the quilt in support of Kevin, here or on my Instagram @melindakeilyquilts

Have conversations with your family and friends about Kevin Henry.

Make it a point to learn more about the rate of Indigenous incarceration, deaths in custody, the age at which we criminalise our Indigenous children, the number of missing and murdered Indigenous women. @debkilroy is a great resource.

Recap of my Spring Fling 2022

In Spring 2022 I held a small solo exhibition of hand sewn work at People vs Empire, in Hawthorn. The work detailed pieces created during the Melbourne lockdowns of 2020 & 2021.

In collaboration with Meneka & John, owners of People vs Empire, we offered this exhibition to celebrate the slow meditative qualities of intentional practices…. tending to your indoor plants, slow stitching, walking the dog or cooking a meal, with love, as a way to ground and find refuge in these shifting times.

Spring Fling was an exhibition about shedding old ways and offering them out to the world in order to make room for the new. 

New life, love, systems and hope.

A huge thank you to everyone who came to support my work. It felt courageous to exhibit these pieces. Receiving photos and comments from people attending the exhibition was a great way to connect and it was pretty wonderful to receive them. Thank you.