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.

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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, and in 2018 it came with her to Seattle!

The "Write YOUR Story" fall 2022 session is now underway! 

Nine young writers are busy at work, meeting with us on Thursdays, 4:30-5:30pm, from September 22 to December 22, at Curious Kidstuff toy store in West Seattle.  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.

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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. 

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An in-person book club on "Classic Novels (and Movies)" is another way to weave together literature and community.

Next meeting:

When: Sunday, December 11, 2022, 3:00pm - 4:30pm

Where: C and P Coffee, on California Ave SW: we gather at an outdoor table in the back.

Event: Discussion of two classic stories that have been adapted into movies. You are invited to view the films and compare them to the stories (if time permits). The books to read are:

1. Arthur Schnitzler, Dream Story. Also known as Rhapsody: A Dream Novel, a 1926 novella by the Austrian writer Schnitzler (128 pages). It was adapted into a film by Stanley Kubrick called Eyes Wide Shut (1999), starring Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise.

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2. James Joyce, “The Dead.” First published in 1924, this story is the last one in the Irish writer Joyce’s collection of short stories, Dubliners. It is about 50 pages.  A film version of The Dead exists as well: it is the 1987 drama directed by John Huston, written by his son Tony Huston, and starring his daughter Anjelica Huston. 

For more details, contact juliawsea@gmail.com

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Since June 2020, I've also been making, selling, and giving "Respect" quilts--

an HGBG original design--as a contribution to the #BLM. These blankets are built of fabrics bought from a number of Black-owned businesses across the USA, including "Harlem Toile de Jouy," as well as old jeans and vintage linens. This project aims to tighten the connections of Black and white friends and political co-conspirators across the country, while celebrating our common humanity.

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The "RARE" quilt initiative: I am making two quilts per year, customized for recipients of the Roosevelt Alumni for Racial Equity (RARE) scholarships, in Seattle, WA. The first two were delivered in May-June 2021; the third went to 2022's winner in April of this year; joy was all around !

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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).