Last summer, my family was invited to the retirement of a dear Navy shipmate in Washington, DC. Since my son had not been to the museums, we took the opportunity to have a small family vacation. Somehow, in my travel research, I found out about a quilt exhibit at the DAR museum. Imagine that!
It was last July and it was HOT! We spent the morning at the Air and Space museum, queuing up OUTSIDE while waiting to get through the metal detectors. Then came National Archives, with a nice indoor, air -conditioned wait. Just two museums took most of our day. Then I realized DAR would be closing….and I was a bazillion miles away from it. Walking was not an option, so we quickly downloaded the Lime app, got some bikes and made our way toward the Capitol. My boys were not interested in a quilt exhibit, so they toured the food carts while I pedaled my behind to DAR.
I wasted time getting lost, trying to pedal while looking at my GPS, then circling DAR looking for the appropriate Lime bike rack. When I arrived, the security guard was concerned for my life, pointing to the water fountain. I refreshed myself and made my way inside. Luckily, the exhibit was just one room of the museum, so I was able to finish before closing.
Just my luck, my phone died before I could get photos of all the quilts (thanks GPS!). Also my luck that I’m unable to attach them to this blog at the moment. But lucky for you, the museum has a video of the quilt in their archives. Here’s the link:
https://www.dar.org/museum/exhibitions/piece-her-mind-culture-and-technology-american-quilts
I really enjoyed the political theme of these quilts, and how women spoke their mind using fabric and thread. Modern women enjoy more freedoms, of course. I wonder what I would say if my quilts were the only way I could speak. What about you?