STITCHING TOGETHER HISTORY CELEBRATES 250TH ANNIVERSARY WITH 250 PIECES ABOUT VIRGINIA
By Butch Maier
History connects us as the timeline of life weaves a thread through the centuries. A new book uses quilts to tell the state’s story.
Stitching Together History: 250 Quilts Commemorating the Commonwealth of Virginia (2026, Schiffer Publishing, $34.99, hardcover) celebrates the 250th anniversary of the United States with 250 quilts that artistically express Virginia’s contributions to the nation.
The Virginia Quilt Museum book was pieced together by Mary Kerr and Donna Marcinkowski DeSoto. Kerr is an American Quilt Society–certified appraiser, quilt curator, and award-winning quilter. She has been a quilt instructor for more than 40 years. DeSoto is a fiber artist, art quilt curator, and the author of several quilt books, including Inspired by the Nation’s Capital. She has resided in Virginia for more than 40 years, quilting all the while.
The quilts, created by award-winning fiber artists and accomplished amateurs, reflect Virginia’s 250 years in the U.S. in a remarkable way.
Coastal Virginia-focused quilts featured in the book include:
Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge at Sandbridge: depiction of the waterfowl habitat
Battle of Hampton Roads: smoke billowing from two ships
Cursing Neptune: Virginia Beach statue with symbols referencing the old “No Cursing” signs
Discovery Inland Journey: ship off the coast during Captain John Smith’s 1607 search for food
Ella Fitzgerald: jazz legend from Newport News
Emancipation Oak: magnificent tree in Hampton where Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was read
Freedom’s Fortress: casting off chains at Fort Monroe, created by Norfolk’s Wilma Gerald
Godspeed: Discovery boat headed for Jamestown inside a map, created by Williamsburg’s Lisa Stegeland
Grand Illumination—Williamsburg: annual simultaneous fireworks celebrations
Hampton University: the chapel clock tower and Emancipation Oak
Historic Eastern State Hospital: first American hospital devoted exclusively to treating the mentally ill, created by Williamsburg’s Kathleen Decker
Made by the Band: multitalented Pharrell Williams of Virginia Beach, appropriately wearing multiple hats
James Armistead and His Role at the Battle of Yorktown: man born into slavery who was credited with bringing major intelligence to Marquis de Lafayette
Mary Smith Peake and the Emancipation Oak: woman teaching Black enslaved and free people
Missy, Missy: music superstar Missy Elliott of Portsmouth
Most Haunted Road in Virginia: the bends of Elbow Road
Neptune: view of the Oceanfront statue with the ocean behind it
Piecing Together Life in the New World at Jamestown: the Susan Constant at the Jamestown Colony landing
Presidents Park, Williamsburg, Virginia: tribute to sculptures
Powhatan Hunting Grounds: dense forests of the Tidewater area
Sea Turtles at Virginia Coastal Waters: nest eggs and little ones crawling to the ocean
Separate … but Equal? Cornland School, a one-room schoolhouse in Chesapeake, created by Chesapeake’s Jean Carideo
Ships of Norfolk: Naval Station Norfolk map and ships, created by Norfolk’s Laura Nelson
The Amazing Peanut: honoring the cash crop that saved the Tidewater farming economy, created by Suffolk’s Kristine Byrne
The Arrival of the Susan Constant: view of the Jamestown-bound ship from shore
The Battle of Great Bridge: silhouettes of troops taking aim during important fight, created by Chesapeake’s Anne Thompson
The Great Dismal Swamp: appreciation for the swamp’s beauty
The Hearth at William & Mary College: memorial commemorating the slaves who worked there
Virginia Gardens: inspired by the colonial gardens of Virginia in Williamsburg, at Monticello, and at Mount Vernon
Wallops Island: pretty depiction of the natural area
William & Mary: the beloved Crim Dell Bridge
Williamsburg Winery: grapes and a landscape
Yellow Lotus: flower native to Sandbridge area of Virginia Beach
Yorktown 1781: map of the last land battle of the Revolutionary War
Stitching Together History is available for purchase online at Schifferbooks.com, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and Bookshop.org.
Virginia Reelin’
Quilt by Lois Born of Woodstock, Virginia
Image courtesy of Schiffer Publishing
From the book: “The Virginia Reel block brings traditional piecing into this original design. Each Reel block merrily chases itself around in a dance, while the whole is a dance spinning from the greater to the smaller. The visual movement of the block recalls old-time Virginia dancers in their marvelous dresses.”
Sea Turtles at Virginia Coastal Waters
Quilt by Karin Tauber of Blacksburg
Image courtesy of Schiffer Publishing
From the book: “Chesapeake Bay and the coastal waters of Virginia are home to five of the world’s seven sea turtle species. Loggerhead turtles are the most abundant. Each year between 5,000 and 10,000 sea turtles come into the Chesapeake Bay to feed. The majority of these turtles are juveniles. Adult sea turtles nest along the shores of the Barrier Islands. All sea turtle species are protected under the Endangered Species Act.”
The Battle of Great Bridge
Quilt by Anne Thompson of Chesapeake
Image courtesy of Schiffer Publishing
From the book: “Many of us learned about the history of Lexington and Concord, but few know how important the Battle of Great Bridge was to the war for independence. The colonial victory at the Battle of Great Bridge proved that British troops could be defeated. My inspiration for the quilt is from a brief movie at the Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways History Museum in Chesapeake, Virginia. With permission from the executive director, Elizabeth Goodwin, I took several still shots of the movie. I learned that on a cold December morning, patriots stood fast behind the barricade and defeated the attacking British, ultimately resulting in the opening of a supply line, via the Chesapeake Bay, to Washington’s troops. The course of history could have changed in this one minute had the British won this battle on December 9, 1775.”
Butch Maier
