Indecision Quilt
Indecision 2000 Quilt
Click on the links or thumbnails below to view close-ups of Indecision Quilt Blocks! Suzanne's Quilt Shop has assembled a quilt from this collection of donated blocks. The patterns are not for sale. Read more on how this project began.
More . . .
Did you have trouble with hanging chads on your ballot? Bored with Gore? Tired of Beating Around the Bush? Don't get mad about it. Quilt about it. With the historical outcome of this Presidential Election hanging on by a thread we decided to have a little fun.
Before women had the right to vote they expressed their political sentiments in quilts. Some traditional quilt blocks used in many quilts of the 1800s are the Whig Rose, Clay's Choice, Fifty-Four Forty or Fight, Whig's Defeat and Presidential Rose. The Women's Christian Temperance Union fought for temperance in alcohol, women's rights and child labor laws. A popular pattern used to express their cause was the Drunkard's Path.
This year women across the country expressed their sentiments about the Presidential election by helping us make a quilt. 12 1/2" (raw edge) quilt blocks using a favorite sewing technique were submitted by Feb 12, 2001. After the hand recounts are complete, we are planning on combining all the blocks into a quilt that we will exhibit around the country at quilt shows.
Easier than punching a hole in a ballot, right!
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The 2000 Presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore was one of great controvery in voting issues. Palm Beach County was in the center of the problems because of the type of ballot used. The votes had to be counted by hand and it took weeks before the country new that George W. Bush won.
At Suzanne's Quilt Shop in Royal Palm Beach, Florida we decided to make a political quilt to help folks express there feeling about the turn of events.
There are some subtle messages in the blocks. The baby represents a grandma wondering what election result would be the best for her first grandchild. It also represents the unborn who will never have a chance to vote. Right to Life was a key issued in the election race. Two blocks showed that they were in favor of the Republicans(flag flying higher and the elephant above the donkey). Survivor television show was popular that year.One block shows Bush being a survivor sailing away and Gore being hit on the head with a coconut and flat on his back.
A copy of the controversial "butterfly ballot" for Palm Beach County is featured in one block along with a crying towel under a palm tree. The three county officials that certified the recounting of the votes have signatures in another block. In addition there is a patriotic butterfly block. Another quilter showcased a yellow Ryder truck carrying the final certified ballots to Tallahassee with full television and police escort.
Some quilter's chose to use subtle humor. The big hat block states an old Texas expression "He is all hat and no cattle!" . The block with the Tennessee road sign that reads Welcome to Tennessee - Home of Vice President Al Gore and 15 electoral votes for George W. Bush.
Other expressions of anger, temperance and the freedom of speech and voting were also showcased. As one quilter stated with her fabric choice. Chickens were running around with there heads chopped off and monkey's were going banana's. It was a crazy time and I think she was talking about people not the animals.
