Honey Girl Books & Gifts: cozy, with an edge...
Sustaining Community and Humanity
Honey Girl Books and Gifts is the creation of Julia Douthwaite Viglione, a writer and teacher as well as a designer / seamstress. The mission is to sustain and nurture humanity through connections: connections created by literature and textile arts.
While on the faculty of the University of Notre Dame in 2012 she created "Write YOUR Story," a semester-long writing workshop for people aged 8-12 in South Bend, Indiana. In 2018, it came home with her to Seattle, WA! Enrollment now open for the fall 2023 term, to be held at Concord Elementary School in South Park! WYS aims to inspire kids with the same love of reading and writing that has made our lives so rich and satisfying. The price for all classes, as it always was, is free.
Like Write YOUR Story, HGBG is a deliberately small, sustainable business. We use fabrics from all kinds of sources, as appropriate for the products. Each work is slightly different. All products are made in West Seattle, WA, USA.
For years, Grandma's 1928 White Rotary sewing machine was the sole support for HGBG. Although a lovely new Juki machine has taken its place, you can hear the soothing sounds of Grandma's machine in action (above).
An in-person book club on "Classic Novels (and Movies)" is another way to weave together literature and community.
West Seattle Classic Novels (and Movies) September meeting:
When: Sunday, September 24, 2023, 3:00pm - 4:30pm
Where: C and P Coffee, on California Ave SW: we gather at an outdoor table in the back.
Title: George Eliot, Middlemarch books V--VIII (Second half)
Who: All are welcome! Free and open to the public.
The "RARE" quilt initiative: I am making two quilts per year, customized for recipients of the Roosevelt Alumni for Racial Equity (RARE) scholarships. I love contributing this way as an alumna of Roosevelt HS. The first two were delivered to Leah and Elsabeth in May-June 2021; the third went to Elroe, 2022's winner; and the fourth and fifth were made in May--June of this year for the winners of the 2023 competition, Camila and Yuena! Congratulations to all! Go Roughriders!
Grandma with her family in
White Salmon, WA circa 1915
(she’s front row, second from right)