Memorial Day 2013

Memorial Day is a time to remember the more than one million men and women who have died in military service to the USA.   On this day the flag is lowered to half-staff, where it remains until noon.  This lovely flag quilt is quilted with the lyrics to the national anthem.

Old Glory by Lucy Wong-Leonard

Lucy Wong-Leonard, who pieced and quilted Old Glory, says: "This quilt is to commemorate the Chinese veterans of WWII, disabled veterans, and the fallen."

close up, Old Glory by Lucy Wong-Leonard

Metallic thread was used to quilt the words of the U.S. National Anthem in the cream-colored areas. We love the use of cream and orange-red for the "stripes". The red-and-cream pieces are offset as in a bargello quilt to create the wavy lines across the surface of the quilt.  However, instead of using straight squares, each block was made by sewing a small triangle in one corner of the square.  This creates smooth lines rather than the jagged look of a typical bargello.

close up, Old Glory by Lucy Wong-Leonard

It is all but forgotten that 20,000 Chinese Americans served in World War II. Their all-Chinese American units served a special mission: to assist American Flying Tigers pilots and train Chinese Air Force ground crews to defend against Japanese invasion. They flew the "Hump" (the lower range of the Himalayan mountains), drove the legendary Burma Road, performed troop transport, repaired planes, and did crash recovery. For more information and photos see this article by Victoria Moy.

Image credits:  Photos are by Quilt Inspiration.  "Old Glory" was shown at the 2013 Arizona Quilters Guild show.