When people ask me what I do, I tell them I’m a chemist turned folk artist who writes in my spare time. While I’ve been known to expound on matters scientific, most readers of Thalia Was Here don’t know that my day job is as a folk artist. I love to express what my mind conjures up in my favorite medium: fabric. Sometimes my artistic ideas become a pleasing reality, other times they don’t. Today I’m sharing my idea for celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Navy which I think worked out pretty well, dare I say it myself.
2025 marks the 250th anniversary (or the semiquincentennial, for those of us nicknamed “Roget” by our sister) of the beginning of the American Revolution in 1775. As 2024 drew to a close and the 251st anniversary (even Roget doesn’t have a word for that) of the Boston Tea Party was celebrated in December, I thought about how I could commemorate the coming year and honor my revolting ancestors. Well, you know what I mean.
The only thing I was sure of was that my homage to the quest for independence would be in quilt form. The next step was to determine the subject I’d interpret with fabric, batting, and thread. In the early days of 2025, I had an artistic epiphany that became the quilt I call “Everyone Loves a Sailor.”
Friends of Thalia know that my late father was a U.S. Marine and took great pride in those who came before him and the Corps’ storied history. My natural inclination was to make something related to the Marines. I grew up celebrating The Birthday™ which took place on November 10, 1775, by a resolution of the Second Continental Congress. Captain Samuel Nicholas was appointed as its first Commandant/recruiting officer. He signed up his first recruits at the bar of the Tun Tavern in Philadelphia on that very day. I know the history and the hymn. I’m team Marine. Oorah!
But then the unthinkable happened. While delving deeper into the history of the U.S. Marine Corps, I began studying the history of the U.S. Navy. I was hooked.
On October 13, 1775, the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution forming the Continental Navy. For those keeping track, that’s 28 days before the Marine Corps Oo-ed its first Rah over a whole lot of ale on a chilly Philly night.
Dad apparently hasn’t accessed the controls for the lightning yet, so I’ll keep going.
As dissent grew and revolution became inevitable, the colony of Rhode Island clamored for a navy of its own because its smuggling endeavors were being curtailed by the Royal Navy. If you’re not familiar with Rhode Island, that is so on brand. Rhode Island passed its own resolution to create a fleet in August of 1775, but it wouldn’t be taken up by Congress until October. After the resolution passed, it took the nascent Navy until December to commission four ships. Building a fleet from scratch takes time and, obviously, there wasn’t enough time to construct new warships. Thus, those first four ships of the Continental Fleet were refitted merchant ships. Of them, the Alfred was the first to raise the Grand Flag of the Union. What a moment that must have been! All four ships of the brand spanking new Continental Navy launched in January of 1776 into an icy Delaware River.
Admittedly, the campaigns of the Continental Navy were not as successful as those of the Continental Army. No one expected the flotilla of merchant-turned-war ships to sink the fleet of Britannia. But they were brave, relentless, and served with distinction. John Paul Jones’ cry of “I have not yet begun to fight!” in response to a query of surrender is repeated to this day when the chips are down. While Jones admitted he didn’t say those exact words, the paraphrase made him a folk hero. Testimony to the fact that everyone loves a sailor.
As Tag Team rapped in the ’90s: Whoomp, there it is.
My tribute to the trepidation of 1775 would celebrate a fledgling nation’s formation of a navy on a shoestring budget with repurposed ships and determined Sailors and Marines. And what better way to do it than in the language of sail: signal flags. “Everyone Loves a Sailor” honors all who have and will sail beneath the stars and stripes from the Huzzah! of 1775 to the Hooyah! of 2025 and beyond.
What started as a tribute to others has become an honor of my own. “Everyone Loves a Sailor” is part of the Summer Celebration of New England Quilts exhibit at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, MA. I had hoped it would be considered by my guild as an entry but never thought it would be chosen. To represent this group of quilters is a pretty big deal. The talent on display at our April quilt show in Jamaica Plain, MA, was astounding. With trepidation I sent off the entry form to the museum’s Director and, to my delight, she accepted it. And yes, I called my mom first.
It’s a privilege to be surrounded by talented artists and to call my fellow PBQers my friends. Without them, honestly, this quilt wouldn’t exist. Their encouragement, support, and humor gave me the chutzpah to cut up a bajillion pieces of fabric and sew them into a quilt that I know my father, the Marine, would salute.
Hooyah, indeed.
PS: I hope you like the following video. Turn the volume up. The Navy has a pretty neat band, too.
PPS: Feel free to stop by the New England Quilt Museum, 18 Shattuck St, Lowell, MA to see “Everyone Loves a Sailor” and the other quilts representing quilt guilds throughout New England. It’s an uplifting exhibit of artistry and imagination. And if you choose my quilt as your Viewer’s Choice Award vote, my guild, Proper Bostonian Quilters, could win its own exhibit at the museum next year, which, frankly, would be awesome.
Check out these links:
- My day job: The Bean House
- New England Quilt Museum
- Proper Bostonian Quilters
- National Museum of the U.S. Navy
- U.S. Naval War College Museum
Articles with Folk Art or Military Themes
