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Stars, Stripes, and Stitches…Let’s Celebrate!

Orange, California (the city I am blessed to call home) has embraced America’s upcoming 250th anniversary with great enthusiasm…..and with a quilt.  Yep, you heard it right! The city created an installation at the Parks and Recreation Office called The City of Orange Freedom Quilt.  They asked the residents to stop by and create their own patriotic “quilt square” celebrating 250 years of American history, freedom, and community pride.  Wait, what?  How could this be?  I love my city, I love quilting, and I LOVE America!  They did not have to ask this quilter twice!  I sped down to the office faster than Paul Revere on his famous Midnight Ride yelling, “The quilters are coming, the quilters are coming!”  OK, not really, but I wanted to.

When I arrived there were various art supplies neatly displayed along with some 6 x 6 inch pieces of red, white, and blue papers.  There was a sign asking folks of all ages to create a square for our community quilt.  Folks were drawing images or writing meaningful words on their squares, but I took mine home.  I sewed patriotic fabrics (crazy quilt style) on my square and brought it back the next day.  The receptionist literally gasped and held it gently in her hands asking if I could make more.  It was a precious moment for me.  It made me thankful that I could sew something that my city appreciated, but what really touched me was what this installation represented.  There was a sign by the quilt that stated, Together, we will build a vibrant community display…one square at a time. 

Well isn’t this true about our amazing country, our local cities, and our vibrant community of quilters?  Quilting has been on our shores for over 350 years, brought by European settlers in the late 1700’s. Quilting continues to grow and evolve as quilters bring new ideas  (like outdoor quilting) to the creative table.  I can’t wait to see what the next 250 years of quilting has to offer to the “fabric of our country” as we learn from each other and from the global quilting community. So from our living spaces to our landscapes (or sea to shining sea), let's continue to create new quilts…. together!