The Red and Whites

Last week, for five days, 651 red and white quilts hung in the Park Avenue Armory in New York City. Fans, lone stars, flying geese and appliqued flowers rose in rings, columns and spirals four stories into the air. The exhibit's title, "Infinite Variety," said it all. Although limited in color, the patterns seemed endless. I spent hours there last Sunday and came back with fresh eyes on Monday. Most of the quilts have no signatures, no labels, no documentation. It was an art show created by an army of unknown women, armed only with needles and two colors of fabric. I was in awe. This may have been the quilter's equivalent of Woodstock: a gathering of people come to witness an art form---an ephemeral "happening." Who knows what ripples of creativity it will have. Thank you, Mrs. Joanna Rose for sharing your quilts with us.