The Butterfly Effect 2 Where To Watch

[Gordon Neal]

Lastweek we sent hundreds of H.A.N.D.S. (Help And Nourishment for Darfuri Survivors) decorated by JWW activists to Ann Richard, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, along with a letter (you can read a copy of the letter here).

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Why did this make me think about the butterfly? It is because I know that the food crisis is not restricted to the camps in Chad, nor does it impact solely the Darfuris living there. Actions taken by the UN to help the Darfuris may impact other, equally food insecure, refugees in other countries.

We usually think about Sudan, and Darfur in particular, as a place people flee from, not a haven refugees flock to. But this is not the case in our butterfly connected world. Just recently the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, reported that refugees fleeing South Sudan passed the 1 Million mark. This horrific statistic includes the mostly women and children, survivors of gender based violence and violent attacks, some elderly or disabled and many in need of medical care, who have poured into East Darfur, South Darfur and White Nile states. Increased food insecurity has caused more South Sudanese to migrate to additional neighboring countries, but the South Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan that covers refugee programs in these countries is funded only at 2%, leaving a severe funding shortage for the provision of clean water and food.

Recently, more than 15,000 South Sudanese arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), only to find the same food shortages and lack of humanitarian aid that plagued them back home. Authorities in DRC sent more than 300 South Sudanese refugees back to the UNHCR for transport to Uganda where they will join more than 88,000 South Sudanese who are crowding Ugandan refugee camps already overburdened and under-provisioned. Just as in Chad, the UN food rations have been drastically reduced, water is in short supply and diseases like cholera are rampant in the most crowded camps. These refugees are among the lucky ones, however, because the Ugandan government has a policy of providing refugee families with land to farm and equipment to build a home so they can contribute meaningfully to economic development in that country.

The Butterfly Effect links hungry Darfuri refugees in Chad to the food insecure South Sudanese refugees in Sudan, DRC, and Uganda, and to the more than 50 million people around the world in places like Syria, Yemen, Burundi and Central African Republic (CAR) who lack sufficient food as a result of violent conflicts in their countries. The UNHCR and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) are underfunded and overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the need.

The pattern includes printable templates and pattern papers so you have everything you need to jump right in or you can order laser cut paper packs and acrylic templates at PinkDoorFabrics.com.

I believe that any level sewist can create this pattern, even EPP beginners! Complete instructions on EPP are not included, but many tutorials can be found online. You can also check out my Beginners Guide to EPP. Even if you are experience with EPP, you may find some helpful information in this post, plus links to all my favorite tools!

Next I will be diving into tools and techniques for EPP. I will be sharing some detailed information and tutorial links, but this is still a surface level intro to help get you started. I will be doing a deep dive into all of this and more with my own photos and video tutorials during the Butterfly Effect Sew Along which will be scheduled later this Spring (probably early May), so stay tuned for that!

There are a few tools that are essential for EPP and several others that are simply beneficial and make the process easier, more efficient and more accurate. These tools include papers, templates, needles, thread, a thimble, a glue pen, small scissors, a small rotary cutter, Friction pen, SewTites, washi tape, Clover Clips, and more. You can see many of these items above and I will discuss them all in more detail.

My Butterfly Effect pattern includes printable templates and you can also order acrylic templates from Pink Door Fabrics. There are two options available. One includes a full set of templates for every piece of the pattern and the second is a mini set which includes acrylic templates for the butterfly and moth wings. You would then print and cut the other templates yourself.

Above you can see a set of acrylic templates from Pink Door fabrics. They ship with paper on the back that you peel off. I *always* fussy cut so I love acrylic templates. They are also beneficial because you can easily use them to cut your fabrics with a small 28mm rotary cutter. If you did this with paper templates, you could cut into your templates, so you would need to trace your shapes and then cut them with scissors. If you choose to trace shapes on your fabric, I love using a Frixion pen that erases with heat.

When it comes to stitching your pieces together, there are a variety of methods. None are right, wrong or better than another, it all comes down to personal preference. I recommend, once again, experimenting and finding what works best for you. Keep in mind, this may change with practice and over time or even with the specific project you are working on, so always be open to trying new things.

My preferred method of stitching is the flat back stitch. This is when you keep your pieces flat, butted up next to each other, and stitch across the seam. This is opposed to other methods where you place your pieces face to face and whip stitch or ladder stitch along an edge.

I like using a flat back stitch because I find it the easiest way to keep everything perfectly lined up and because your stitches are invisible! Above you can see that all my seams are neat, even and have no stitches showing. Below is a shot of the back where you can see my stitches. One thing to note is that invisible stitches is a preference. Sometimes different methods are used to intentionally see stitches.

I learned the flat back stitch from Karen the DIY Addict. She has a short video that I first watched here and she also just released a fantastic master class on the flat back stitch which you can find below. This video also includes ample information about basting.

I will share more videos and details during the sew along, but when I flat back stitch, I use a generous amount of washi tape/painters tape and Clover Clips, but also totally rely on SewTites, specifically when my project gets bigger. They are a game changer!! (You can use code lillyella for 15% off on their site, too!). When I start joining multiple pieces together and have a lot of seams and folded fabric, I use tape, pins and SewTites to move things out of the way as needed.

Finally, here is an article by Amira The Little Mushroom Cap talking about five different stitching methods. Once again, you can find endless articles and tutorials with an internet search.

There are a few more tools that I use on the reg that really help me with my EPP (and all my sewing projects!). I will talk about them more in depth during the upcoming Sew Along, but here is a quick list with links:

1) The nature of effective critique. Most obviously, Ron is showing that critique that is kind, helpful and very specific, focused on a well-defined outcome is immensely powerful. He is also showing that children can learn to do this. Austin improved his butterfly based on feedback from his peers. David explains this in detail in his excellent post.

I am no expert on critique per se but there are lots of people who are. As has been pointed out to me today, with thanks to Tait Coles, Darren Mead, David Fawcett and Martin Said, there are some superb blogs and documents about critique and feedback. David has compiled them at the end of this excellent post:

The condition demands extensive bandaging, from head to toe, in a regimen that can take hours every morning and evening. Infection of the open wounds is common, and fingers and toes frequently fuse together as a result of the constant scarring and healing between the digits. Because the condition can also affect internal organs and the gastrointestinal tract, patients struggle to maintain adequate nutrition and often experience organ and dental problems.

In addition, the group is pursuing at least two other approaches to combat the disease. One, called therapeutic reprogramming, is similar to the current trial but would rely on stem cells created in a laboratory. Another, called protein therapy, would directly deliver the missing collagen protein to the surface of the skin.

The top layer of the skin, the epidermis, is made up primarily of keratinocytes. These flat, irregularly shaped cells create an impervious sheet locking out water and bacteria. Under the epidermis, which can range from 0.2 to 4 millimeters in thickness, are two fibrous sheets collectively called the basement membrane. Like the bologna in a sandwich, the basement membrane separates the epidermis from the dermis, which consists of connective tissue housing hair follicles, sweat glands and blood vessels.

In decades past, children with EB died within a few years from massive infection or fluid loss from their wounds. They are often severely underweight, as their bodies frantically divert calories to skin healing, rather than using them for growth or weight gain. As bandaging techniques and antibiotic therapies have improved, children are living into their 20s, only to face another challenge: The constant rounds of regeneration drastically increase the chances of developing a skin cancer known as squamous cell carcinoma. Although this type of cancer is often curable in healthy people, it recurs repeatedly at multiple sites across the body in people with EB. The cancer, combined with frequent difficulties with nutrition as patients struggle to eat with painful sores in their mouths and throughout their digestive system, as well as other organ problems, means that few with EB live past the age of 30.

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