Alyson Olander

In recent weeks, I've found myself disappointed by the quilting community. Our country is in disarray. Our people are hurting and our people are dying. Yet some in the quilting community say, "I'm just here to see quilts. I just want to get back to quilting." Friends, fellow quilters, we need to wake up! Quilting, crafting, and making things with our hands has always had a political component. Have you read the names of traditional quilt blocks? Just the names! "century of progress", "railroad", "free trade", "waste not" - these have obvious political connections. My quilt is a reaction to the folks who just want to turn a blind eye to the political history of this art medium that we love. The colors and word configuration represent the 3 stars and 2 stripes of the DC flag - the center of politics in this country and also the name of our quilt guild. I used 10 different fabrics from across the quilt fabric spectrum - some modern, some solids, traditional, prints, cotton and linen - to represent the 10 years the DC Modern Quilt Guild has been sewing together. Finally, the quilting incorporates 50 different traditional quilt block names, some with clear political connections and some not so obvious.

Not in any particular order, here's the list of traditional quilt block names I quilted into it:

windows, morning, buckwheat, swallow, old windmill, star of hope, broken sugar bowl, shoo fly, weathervane, sawtooth, spool, waste not, economy, homeward bound, big dipper, maple star, log cabin, churn dash, four four time, fox paw, free trade, gentleman's fancy, coffin star, Indian star, bear paw, good fortune, century of progress, attic windows, broken dishes, northern lights, railroad, jack knife, four winds, pine tree, evening star, homemaker, waterwheel, seasons, ribbons, flock, practical orchard, wrench, checkerboard, night and day, silver lane, wild goose chase, end of day, wood lily, linoleum, bat wing