One quilt square can tell a story.
An entire quilt can illustrate a history.
Such is the inspiration behind the Great American Birthday Quilt, a project inviting participants to commemorate the nation’s semiquincentennial by creating quilt blocks that celebrate what they love most about America.
The United States will celebrate its 250th birthday in 2026, marking the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Steve Prince, director of engagement and distinguished artist in residence at the Muscarelle Museum of Art in Williamsburg, is heading the project in partnership with Visit Williamsburg.
“Quilting circles have a long history with people gathering together in what became like a rite of passage for different generations,” Prince said. “They would sew harmoniously as one.”
The completed patchwork quilt, combining the squares, will be 5 feet by 250 feet long. It will debut in spring 2026 and be on display at the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center after a public exhibition at historic sites nationwide.
Prince will lead free workshops before the Nov. 30 deadline to assist anyone needing direction on making a square. The block can be made using fabric, a background square, scissors and fabric glue. Buttons, yarn, felt, paper, ribbon, sequins and feathers can be adhered to the fabric. The colors red, white and blue are encouraged.
No sewing is required, though experienced quilters can submit a block the traditional way.
Prince and his staff started the project at Fort Monroe during July 4 festivities with fabric donated by community members.
“When I sit down and tell you my story that’s embedded within these broken pieces of fabric that I still found life in, the same thing is true of you – seeing these discarded pieces and still seeing life within them,” he said. “If we can look beyond the broken fabric pieces and look at each other through that lens, then how much closer will we be together as a people?”
Prince will accommodate groups that want to set up a square-making workshop. He gives detailed instructions online on making and submitting the squares. Prince will be holding a workshop on Community Arts Day at the Muscarelle on September 20.
As each square is meant to share a voice, a memory, a dream or an inspiration, Prince asks participants to reflect on their design before the hands-on component.
“We want people to express some aspect of who they are, where they’ve come from, things or elements or stories that have shaped them,” he said.
His great-grandmother, a quilter, inspired his contribution.
“She fashioned a hoop dress and she hid two of her kids underneath the hoop dress,” he said. “My great-grandmother walked to freedom with those two kids. One of the kids underneath that dress was my grandmother.”
Prince has orchestrated as many as 70 quilting workshops nationwide, including one commissioned by the city of Williamsburg. That communal quilt project, comprised of individual squares reflecting on the power of community, started in 2022 and will eventually span about a mile.
When the birthday quilt finishes its tour of Virginia, it will be incorporated into the communal quilt.
Prince likens patchwork quilting to improvisational survival. People struggling with finances have to figure out how to make do with scraps. During the world wars, every American was expected to contribute to the whole.
“Quilting has both the aesthetic component tied to it, but a quilt is also a utilitarian object that has beauty,” he said. With growing concerns about sustainability, “We’re moving further and further into those moments when we have to figure out how to work with the resources we have.”
The Virginia Quilt Museum in Dayton, in Rockingham County, is also honoring America’s 250th with a project called “Stitching Together History.” Quilters from around the commonwealth, including many from Hampton Roads, handcrafted 20-by-20-inch quilts depicting a person, place, event or idea from Virginia’s history that were submitted to the museum
Each of the quilts will be featured in a book and on display at the quilt museum starting on July 4, 2026.
Visit visitwilliamsburg.com/america250-birthday-quilt to submit work or for more information.